Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!emory!dtscp1!tridom!wht
From: wht@tridom.uucp (Warren Tucker)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.intel
Subject: Re: PLM vs. C for 80286/80386
Summary: PL/M is NOT very portable
Keywords: PLM C
Message-ID: <126@tridom.uucp>
Date: 7 Jun 89 23:42:22 GMT
References: <598@philtis.UUCP>
Organization: Tridom Corporation, Atlanta
Lines: 53


Having programmed PL/M-86 and -186 for three years and C for
five (not concurrently), I give the vote to C with two minor
caveats.

Pro C:

1.  PL/M-x86 is implemented for Intel 80x86 CPUs.  If you
can imagine you'll EVER want to move the design to another
architecture, C is an infinitely better language to put your
long hours of design, hacking, debugging and strenuous
testing into (medical systems get tested 'strenuously', yes
:-) ?  ).

2.  The tools for C language development abound.  The same
for PL-M are fewer and harder to find.  The same holds for
the availability of subroutine libraries and programs to
extract code and ideas from.

3.  C is a lot less wordy.  Having refused to use a macro
for the PL/M DECLARE keyword, my fingers are a great deal
more tired after finishing a module in PL/M.  EVERY function
or procedure used in a module not resident in it must be
DECLAREd EXTERNALly.  This is probably a weaker argument,
but it counts.

4.  Support.  I may be wrong, but I think there is a great
deal more C programmers out there than PL/M.

Pro PL/M:

5.  PL/M is inherently a strongly typed language.  It is
very hard to screw up the number and type of parameters
supplied to a function, etc.  This might be a good thing for
what you are trying to accomplish.  Passing a variable
number of arguments to some function like printf is nice,
but having the facility all over the language is why
function prototyping and lint were invented.

6.  I haven't seen any C compiler produce such good code for
the Intel CPU.  PL/M built-in functions use REP, LOOPxx,
MOVSB, etc.  in inline code, while C is always calling
external routines for such things (like _blmv for structure
assignment).  Such things are more important for ROM-based
MPU-controlled instruments than for, say, a disk-based
multi-MIP MRI system.

I hope this diatribe has been of some use.
-- 
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Warren Tucker, Tridom Corporation       ...!gatech!emory!tridom!wht 
Sforzando (It., sfohr-tsahn'-doh).  A direction to perform the tone
or chord with special stress, or marked and sudden emphasis.