Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hoptoad!tim
From: tim@hoptoad.uucp (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Lightspeed C, MPW and TIFF
Message-ID: <7616@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: 10 Jun 89 04:20:41 GMT
References: <12075@well.UUCP>
Reply-To: tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney)
Organization: Eclectic Software, San Francisco
Lines: 53

In article <12075@well.UUCP> chris@well.UUCP (Chris Sears) writes:
>
>I have source code for a TIFF library written in MPW C.  The trouble is
>that I use Lightspeed C.  So I have a few questions:

I assume you mean the Bear River library?  It works, sort of, but it's
unBearably (sorry) slow and it's chock full of bugs.  We've been using
it since last Fall on my current project and the TIFF guy finally got
so fed up he threw it away and wrote a new one from scratch.  It now
accepts all our validation images, doesn't crash, and runs fast enough
to live with.  (Anyone got any really fast Huffman algorithms, though?)
It's probably worth your while to just learn the format and start
writing your own.

>    1.  Is there a straightforward path for porting from MPW to Lightspeed?

Porting in the other direction is easier, because there are fewer
int size problems in arguments when going from a "short = int"
compiler like LSC to a "long = int" compiler like MPW C.  But it
shouldn't be especially hard, since the Lightspeed C source code
debugger should let you find any translation errors pretty quickly.
You ought to make prototypes for all your routines to avoid possible
type mismatches in function calls.

>        Why is it that they are so different?  In 100 words or less, is
>        there a good reason for me to use MPW?

It's a complex issue.  There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages
to either one.  Here's a probably very incomplete summary.

MPW Pros:
	Faster, smaller output code.
	Access to MPW tools during writing or compilation.
	More freedom in source directory & resource arrangement.
MPW Cons:
	Slower compilation and linking.
	Old-style user interface requiring memorization and manuals.
	Costs a lot more.

>    2.  Does anyone have a Lightspeed TIFF library?  Is the Aldus TIFF
>        library Lightspeed or MPW?

We have a hacked Bear River TIFF library, but believe me, you don't
want it (and we don't want it out there with our name on it).  I'll see
if anything can be done about getting the new one out, but don't hold
your breath.  I hadn't heard about the Aldus TIFF Library; more
information, please?
-- 
Tim Maroney, Mac Software Consultant, sun!hoptoad!tim, tim@toad.com
Postal: 424 Tehama, SF CA 94103; Phone: (415) 495-2934

"Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion."
    - Blake, "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell"