Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!iuvax!bsu-cs!cfchiesa
From: cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher F. Chiesa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: compilers for Atari 8bit
Message-ID: <1444@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Nov-87 17:31:44 EST
Article-I.D.: bsu-cs.1444
Posted: Sat Nov  7 17:31:44 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Nov-87 03:51:46 EST
References: <127@nucleus.UUCP> <24460P7O@PSUVMA>
Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana
Lines: 29
Summary: Kyan Pascal


I recently purchased Kyan Software's Pascal compiler, and I must admit
I'm a little disappointed.  The documentation is fairly thorogh in terms
of Pascal and actually writing programs, but the entire section on how
to get the environment (Editor, Compiler, Assembler, Utilities) seems to
refer to an earlier form of the system - the user interface is almost
completely DIFFERENT from what the manual says.  I was able to work it 
out because I have used an Atari (and other computers) for many years
and knew roughly what SHOULD need to be done, but I can see a lot of 
novices having trouble with this system as-is.

My other major complaint about Kyan Pascal is that nearly EVERYTHING on
the system is in a separate file which MUST be present on the SAME disk
as the program-to-be-compiled.  This leaves me with about 80 sectors
free to use for Pascal source, intermediate Assembly source, and final
executable file.  On top of that, many of the more useful functions, even
minor ones such as "PLOT" and "DRAWTO" equivalents, must be 'included'
into your source code from still more - guess what - "required" files.

You with 256K RAM should be all right, though, because there's support
for the XL/XE D8: Ramdisk device, leaving you with a little more elbow
room than I've got with a single-drive, single-density system.

Personally I'm thinking of sending it back.

Chris Chiesa
Senior, CS
Ball State University,
Muncie IN 47305