#student user
18 messages in this thread
My son is going to take a class in C programming. What are some of the
more appropriate C compilers for him to use as a student? He has an Amiga
500 with 1 megohm.
Thanks!
An Amiga 500 with one megohm? Gee, he's sure to show a lot of resistance to
PC users, then. :^)
Seriously, have him get the SAS C compiler. It's the best there is for the
Amiga, IMHO.
By the way… it's "one megabyte". "megohms" are a measure of electrical
resistance. :^)
–Ben
Is SAS C really appropriate for a student working on a 500? For that he'd
have to pay $200, and so-so compile times. And real problems if it's a
floppy-only setup.
I'd personally recommend checking out the free version of DICE. It's fast,
and the price is right 😎 If that works out, then get the registered
version (around $50?) and you're set (don't know about running on a floppy
though).
Commercially, I know Aztec runs on floppy-only systems, and has decent
compile/link times even on an unaccelerated 500 (I do it all the time at
home!).
-Mike (note: I have a financial stake in Manx/Aztec C, so take this
with a
grain of salt!).
Oh, come on. SAS can run fine off a floppy. Board Master was originally
developed on a two floppy system, no problem, no disk swapping, everything
went just fine (considering floppy speeds).
SAS Compile times might be longer, that I couldn't say one way or the
other. I don't think it's as important as the code produced, the
flexibility of the compiler, the _support_ from the parent company (MANX
has been most obviously absent around here and other places they used to
frequent). SAS's features are excellent, and the price via mailorder isn't
$200, either… he can do better than that.
Picking Manx at this time would be a mistake, I beleive.
–Ben
Ben,
While I think I agree that picking up Manx now might be a mistake (because
of lack of support) I would heartedly recommend DICE for the as the first
compiler choice for someone who isn't sure that C is for them — the price
is right and the compiler is _very_ good.
-sja- via AP 0.04A
Yes, Matt's work has always been excellent.
–Ben
SAS/C V4.0 was actually quite tolerable on a floppy system – part of that
came from me only having an Amiga 500 in my office to develop and test on.
As the 3000's became more standard and C= pushed more for code optimization
verses compile performance, more effort went into that direction. I had to
drop back to working on a 1000 with 2 floppies and it took HOURS to do what
would have taken a couple of minutes on a 3000. The biggest problem was
setting up a development disk – and even then I had to give up CPR and a
few of the other toys that I was used to.
On the other hand, DICE in that environment was quite tolerable and spiffy.
Turning off GO helps a lot on a standard 68K system.
andy
I couldn't even fit GO on any of the disks, so turning it off wasn't really
an issue. I don't even want to think about running GO on a floppy based
1Meg or less system.
It's not pretty on any plain 68K machine, let me tell you. 🙂
andy
Compuserve support definitely fell through the floor when I left Manx.
Howver, the "other places they used to frequent" are still frequented quite
often. BIX, BBS, and phone-in support did not change or fall off at all.
-Mike
That's not what I've seen people saying over on BIX in the past few months,
Mike.
BBS and phone in, I couldn't say one way or the other.
I wish they'd get back on the ball – we all need someone nipping at our
heels, just to keep us "pushing".
–Ben
That's strange – support seems to have been _better_ on BIX in the past few
months then it was, say, 9 or 10 months ago. Version 5.2a was released
sometime around October (I'm not sure of the exact date), and generated a
fair amount of conversation in manx.aztec/amiga.
In any case, BIX support is at least as good as SAS's at this point in
time.
-Mike
Mike –
Support on BIX all but disappeared for quite a while, before it started
back up. It did finally return to a reasonable level of support. I
haven't checked recently to see if the manx conference is still active.
Jeff Schweiger
Well, I can't say much about Manx's BIX activity from October '90 to about
the summer of '91, since I wasn't on BIX then. But since the summer time,
Manx support on BIX has been pretty good (IMHO). In fact, the 5.2a release
was posted to the manx.update conference as soon as it was
completed.
-Mike
Mike,
DICE will compile on a floppy system, no problem (The more floppies, the
better). Compile times on an Amiga 500 aren't bad.
Darin
– via Whap!
One Meg might be pushing it for SAS/C. As a student compiler in that
environment, DICE might be a better size fit.
Gentlemen:
Thanks for all the info. I forgot to mention that my son has a hard disk,
but I expect lots of folks may be interested in what you had to say about
running on floppies.
I'm glad you couldn't see my face when I saw your comments about megohms.
My BSEE degree may get recalled. I guess I was operating in the milliwatt
range when I posted that message. You can bet I rechecked the spelling of
"hard disk" in this reply.
Thanks again. I'll forward the comments to my son today.