Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tektronix!decvax!ucbvax!WISDOM.BITNET!aharon
From: aharon@WISDOM.BITNET (Aharon Shtull-Trauring)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Vax C Sucks Wind
Message-ID: <8802220606.AA16924@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 22 Feb 88 10:01:09 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 31


We are in the process of porting a very large system from Vax pascal to C,
with the express purpose of being able to run on Apollos and Suns also.
We used a semi-automatic translator and then cleaned up the code to make it
real C.  Nonehteless there is a close correlation between the C and Pascal.
Low and behold we noticed that the C objects are between 5 and 10 times larger
than the Pascal objects.  Worse yet, what was a 5000 block image (compiled
and linked with debug) under pascal, is now 40000 blocks.  After talking
to the Dec support people here in Israel, who turned to the European
support center, we were told that 'C under VMS is not a devlopment language'
(this is a direct, uncensored quote)!!!!!!!!!!!!  We are in fact starting
to do all our debugging on our Suns and Apollos.  Nonetheless, I do forsee
having to debug on the Vaxes to find all the wierd bugs VAXC no doubt will
cause.  I should mention, that most of the 40000 blocks were debug records
(according to the map).  Digital Europe claimed (again this is a direct quote)
that all the extra stuff is things the compiler added so that C can
emulate unix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  By the way our development machine is a Vaxstation
on a cluster (which unfortunatley shares an ethernet with Suns and APollos)
so a link can take well over an hour if doesn't die because of page file
hitting 0!

My question:
(1) Has anyone else encountered a similar problem and how did they get around
it (if they did)?
(2) Are there any good third party C compilers with good debuggers
available out there that run under VMS, that won't cause the same problems?

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                        aharon shtull-trauring
                        aharon@wisdom.bitnet