Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!well!tneff
From: tneff@well.UUCP (Tom Neff)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: AT&T C compilers
Summary: they should issue an ANSI compiler soon
Message-ID: <10924@well.UUCP>
Date: 9 Mar 89 17:12:53 GMT
References: <569@marob.MASA.COM> <1071@auspex.UUCP> <1109@wpi.wpi.edu> <9761@smoke.BRL.MIL>
Reply-To: tneff@well.UUCP (Tom Neff)
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 24

In article <9761@smoke.BRL.MIL> gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>) writes:
>AT&T decided to wait until there is a C standard before releasing
>a compiler that is claimed to conform to it.  Since the details of
>prototypes MIGHT have changed up until the very last minute, this
>avoids customers starting to use the new features and then having
>the rug pulled from under them when the features had to be changed.

Well AT&T may have their conservative reputation to uphold, but
speaking as a customer I wish they would get off the pot and release a
draft ANSI conformant compiler SOON.  Considering how un-cheap my
development and support licenses are, it is more than faintly annoying
to realize that a $99 PC compiler from the corner Radio Shack will
handle programs written using prototypes (say, in 1987) while my
compiler won't.

I admit it took a long time for the committee to wade through all those
drafts, but the changes have been minor for some time now and
*specifically* not "compiler breakers" that I have seen.

It occurs to me that some of this could be political.  I hope not though,
I just want the best compiler AT&T can release.
-- 
Tom Neff                  tneff@well.UUCP
                       or tneff@dasys1.UUCP