#SAS 5.10 Review
4 messages in this thread
I did get my 5.10 upgrade… and I'll probably never use the new Workbench
Interface stuff. One thing I noticed right outta the gate was that some
of my Make files broke when it was time to link…. I expand a reasonably
long list of objects (maybe 15) on my BLINK line, and it crashed on the
long line! When doing the BLINK from the command line, I got an error, but
no crash. I now have to write a "WITH" file, an extra step I detest.
Another caveat is that the pure bit isn't set in BLINK… as someone who
likes to make these things resident, that was discouraging: a definite step
backwards. On the other hand, I tried making it resident and haven't had
any problems.
Some of the include files are mis-named. wb_proto.h is referenced from
another include file as "workbench_proto.h" (or something like that…
there are a few wb -> workbench conversions that need to be done). Doesn't
look particularly professional.
Normally, if I ran into problems like these, I'd be on the line to tech
support, an set them straight…. but not on MY nickle at $2.00 a minute.
They'll have to find out that at least some small subset of tech-support
calls are not for our health, but for theirs!
I don't mean to be negative. The code generated works… which is an
improvement significance over some Lattice releases (where major crashes
were associated with, say, the transcendental functions, or casting a float
to a double on a return!). BLINK seems faster, and it's real nice having
the 2.0 includes and lib.
Now how about SAS really doing the right thing, and updating that
antiquated C++ preprocessor?
I thought the 900 number wouldn't be in effect 'til September. If you
hurry, maybe you can still call fer free!
-Mike
Miles –
Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for those header
problems – you'd think they'd try this stuff out before they ship it! Those
kind of problems are real easy to find and fix. I haven't worked on
anything major yet that requires a make, but I'll keep an eye out for that
problem, too.
My thinking has been, if I find a problem in what they ship (something
they should've caught in their development) I'm gonna call their regular
line. If they say call the Tech line, I'll just tell them what I think of
spending so much of _my_ money to tell them about _their_ problems. If they
get a few calls like that, maybe they'll change their minds. Doubt it,
though.
How is the documentation on the 2.0 features? Is it complete enough to
be able to use the features w/o having the official developer's docs (which
aren't available to the general public yet)? Thanks …
Harry
Call them NOW – don't wait for the need to arise. SAS has apparently
gotten quite a few complaints, and are (from what I've been told)
reevaluating their policies. This doesn't mean that they will change them,
but they are considering things NOW. Add your voice to the fire – it can't
hurt our cause and may help.