CompuServe Thread

#SAS 5.10 Review

4 messages in this thread
#117777From: Miles KurlandAug 24, 1990 10:36 PM
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?
#117848From: Mike Spille/ManxAug 25, 1990 3:53 PM
I thought the 900 number wouldn't be in effect 'til September. If you hurry, maybe you can still call fer free! -Mike
#117910From: Harry CallesisAug 26, 1990 12:14 AM
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
#117989From: Bob RakoskyAug 26, 1990 7:36 PM
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.