CompuServe Thread

#TDI vs Benchmark

4 messages in this thread
#132785From: Scott SchmitzJul 1, 1988 9:27 PM
l Which compiler is better, TDI or Benchmark? I am a commercial software developer looking for asolid compiler which produces tight fast code with all the hooks into the Amiga ROM. Scott Schmitz
#132796From: John DraperJul 1, 1988 10:04 PM
Scott, At this time, the TDI product is thorough in its ineptitude, and can be charitably described as a waste of money. benchmark is a solid product, and well worth the extra money if you are serious about development in M2. -larry
#132932From: Erv ThompsonJul 2, 1988 11:10 PM
Larry – I don't want to argue the merits of TDI and their Modula-2 system but is Benchmark just a "little extra money". If you get everything, you're dropping about $500 (if my memory serves me correctly). I must admit that from what I've seen of it Benchmark is an excellent system. The only flaw(s) I can really see are the extensive use of ADDRESS types as arguments. This "feature" tends to leave it a bit to wide open for errors, as far as I'm concerned. Getting back to TDI: If the improvements that Phil Camp mentions are really in the works and if TDI is planning on improving their customer relations than the product will indeed have some merits. The code, you must admit, is some of the tightest you'll find in a high level language for the Amiga. The problems, as Phil Camp mentioned in an earlier message, are generally in the supplied libraries. That's no excuse, of course, but fixing the libraries is considerably less involved than fixing a bad compiler/linker.
#132952From: John DraperJul 3, 1988 2:09 AM
Erv, You get what you pay for. For very little extra money, you get a very good package with Benchmark, at $199. granted, if you want the extras, you pay more, but they are indeed optional.I have spent an equivalent amount on TDI (original release plus one so-called upgrade), and still don't have a working product from them. As for the coming improvements, I will definitely take a 'wait and see' attitude.