Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: C++
Message-ID: <5825@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 26 Jan 89 22:57:30 GMT
References: <2653@wang7.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 44

in article <2653@wang7.UUCP>, klm@wang7.UUCP (Kevin L. McBride) says:
> Keywords: Manx

> Ok, so like Lettuce now has a ridiculously priced (IMHO) C++ compiler.

> $400 for Lattice is absurd (IMHO) considering I can buy a commercial port
> of cfront to my 386 Unix machine for half that price.

Well, you get what you pay for.  A compiler that produces inferior 8088
code (at least, the vast majority of MS-DOS compilers aren't producing
native '386 code) is certainly worth less than a compiler that can produce
real 32 bit code.

And of course, there's the volume issue.  There are undoubtedly more folks
using these PClone toys who'd like to use C++ than folks on the Amiga, at
least in real numbers if not percentage-wise.  Which is a shame, since 
there's really nothing in the PC that would lend itself to a good C++ 
object model, while most of the Amiga OS was practically built for C++.
The other thing that tends to lower costs is competition, and there are
several C++ translators and one compiler for the PC, while there's only 
one for the Amiga.  It's not the cost of the compiler that bothers me
(especially if you get it though the special upgrade deal with Lattice,
though I'm not sure that's still on), but the cost of the 68020 board you
need to make the cc->ccp->cfront->LC1->LC2->BLINK compilation process go
quickly l^).  

I hope that Manx or someone else produces a C++ compiler -- the competition
between the two C compilers for the Amiga has resulted in two excellent 
compilers, both of which started out pretty weak.  Same thing happened in
the Modula 2 arena.  C++ is currently my language of choice for applications
programs, and I'd like it to follow the same improvement paths.

> I would love to have C++ on my Amiga and am willing to pay a reasonable
> price for it.  Guess I'll have to wait a while.


> Kevin McBride         Another  //     | Also: 
> Wang Laboratories      Proud  //      | President, brewmeister, chief taster
> Desktop Image Systems     \\ // Amiga | McBeer Brewery, Nashua, NH
> ...!ima!wang7!klm          \X/  owner | ...!ima!wang7!gozer!klm
-- 
Dave Haynie  "The 32 Bit Guy"     Commodore-Amiga  "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: D-DAVE H     BIX: hazy
              Amiga -- It's not just a job, it's an obsession