CompuServe Messages

Check that again, Don… (or am I missing something `:-\ ABI (I forget what that stands for) is a binary standard. That means that a program conforming to the standard will be an executable that can run on any similar hardware. In other words, if some vendor has an executable for (say) a Sun-3, it should work on an A3000 (maybe all Amigas) with *no* recompile. In fact, even if you had the Sun-3 source code, the ABI doesn't guarantee that it will compile on an ABI compliant machine. The key with the ABI is that the machine hardware (CPUs, I think) are the same (so ABI compliant 386/486 executable is not expected to work on a 68K). The other technique that OSF is backing is ANDF. In this case, vendors compile their code into an intermediate (and unintelligible) form by an ANDF compatible compiler and that is then distributed that to the users. The users then run this intermediate form through a final compiler that is specific to their machine and (voila) they have their executable. The theory is that vendors need only develop their code once and can instantly distribute to all ANDF compliant machines. The question mark in both cases is how well the result will be able to take advantage of any special features of the end-system (which is the bread and butter of the Amiga). David – via Whap!