Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!spdcc!ima!haddock!suitti
From: suitti@haddock.ISC.COM (Steve Uitti)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: What about the Turbo C compiler?
Keywords: BSD compatible, IO library
Message-ID: <5895@haddock.ISC.COM>
Date: 8 Aug 88 17:56:12 GMT
References: <371@gt-eedsp.UUCP>
Reply-To: suitti@haddock.ima.isc.com (Steve Uitti)
Organization: Interactive Systems, Boston
Lines: 36

In article <371@gt-eedsp.UUCP> drabik@gt-eedsp.UUCP (Timothy J. Drabik) writes:
>  Would some Turbo C users please comment on the
>merits or flaws in this compiler?
	I have Turbo C 1.4 (1.5 is out, and is supposed to be better,
but, I haven't gotten around to it.  Too many things going on.)

>I'm looking for a C compiler for a PC XT that will allow me to write
>software that runs both on the PC (MSDOS) and on 4.2 BSD on a 780,
>without too many headaches.  I'd be willing to make up for small
>differences in the header files.
	Most of the code that I've written in the last six years in C
under various UNIXes works with minimum pain under Turbo C.  Turbo C's
better warnings, and prototype capability have found bugs that
remained undiscovered in the UNIX versions for years.  The compiler
produces good code (even floating point, even for the 8087) quickly
(even on my 7.16 Mhz 8088 XT clone), and doesn't require infinite disk
space.

>  I also want easy low level IO port
>access on the PC: reading and writing bytes in the IO address space.
	I haven't had to do this.

>I prefer a `cc' command line interface to a separate `programming
>environment.'  Borland Turbo C apparently allows this, and is
>reasonably priced.
	I'm used to a "cc" line, but with Turbo C, I use the
interactive environment.  I'm basically lazy.  I'd rather use the pull
down menus and online help than read the manuals too much and write
makefiles.  The command line lets you do everything that the
environment lets you do, possibly even more.

	Turbo C was $65 over the counter last fall.  Microsoft C (5.0)
was something like $300.  I don't give it as good a review, even if it
were free.

	Stephen.