lowrie@caen.engin.umich.edu (Robert Byron Lowrie) (01/18/91)
I'm looking for a good fortran compiler for my IBM PS/2 50Z. I've heard the Lahey compilers are the best. Does anyone know any good or bad points about the Lahey Personal Compiler? Its advertised price is $99. I'm NOT looking for a full blown compiler with all the bells and whistles; just a something for small programs at home. Any large programs I can do at work. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appretiate them. Thanks, Rob.
gt4512c@prism.gatech.EDU (BRADBERRY,JOHN L) (01/18/91)
In article <1991Jan17.171224.19665@engin.umich.edu> lowrie@caen.engin.umich.edu (Robert Byron Lowrie) writes: >I'm looking for a good fortran compiler for my IBM PS/2 50Z. I've heard >the Lahey compilers are the best. Does anyone know any good or bad points >about the Lahey Personal Compiler? Its advertised price is $99. I'm NOT >looking for a full blown compiler with all the bells and whistles; just >a something for small programs at home. Any large programs I can do at >work. > Based on what you described as your expectations, it looks like almost ANY PC compatible compiler will do. However, if your application(s) include graphics or mixed language requirements, you may find Lahey quite limiting! Lahey is one of the least expensive at allowing you to use memory beyond the dreaded 640k boundary, but it seems to be geared more for people who are writing self contained program solutions that do not require a signifi- cant of amount of library development. By the way, beware that some versions of Lahey DO NOT initialize memory to zero's (in case of array operations). Of course you shouldn't depend on any compiler to do that anyway, but some people still expect their variables to be initialized by angels! -- John L. Bradberry |Georgia Tech Research Inst|001100110011001100110011 Scientific Concepts Inc. |Microwaves and Antenna Lab|Int : gt4512c@prism 2359 Windy Hill Rd. 201-J|404 528-5325 (GTRI) |GTRI:jbrad@msd.gatech. Marietta, Ga. 30067 |404 438-4181 (SCI) |'...is this thing on..?'
BVAUGHAN@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Barbara Vaughan) (01/19/91)
In article <19886@hydra.gatech.EDU>, gt4512c@prism.gatech.EDU (BRADBERRY,JOHN L) writes: >In article <1991Jan17.171224.19665@engin.umich.edu> lowrie@caen.engin.umich.edu (Robert Byron Lowrie) writes: >>...a good fortran compiler for my IBM PS/2 50Z... >> Does anyone know any good or bad points >>about the Lahey Personal Compiler? Its advertised price is $99. >Based on what you described as your expectations, it looks like almost >ANY PC compatible compiler will do. However, if your application(s) include >graphics or mixed language requirements, you may find Lahey quite limiting! I'm not sure this is true. The F77l version of Lahey Fortran has graphic library, screen manipulation library (includes functions to simplify making of menus) and functions to allow passing ofsome arguments to C. The libraries cost extra $$ but can be used with Personal Fortran as well as the full-sized full-cost Lahey F77L. >Lahey is one of the least expensive at allowing you to use memory beyond >the dreaded 640k boundary You've got to be kidding. The only Lahey version that allows you to break 640K is the F77L-EM/32, which is $895 ($995 as of April). It also requires the purchase of QEMM or something on top of that. The $99 Personal Fortran is strictly a 640K compiler. >By the way, beware that some versions of Lahey DO NOT initialize memory >to zero's (in case of array operations). Of course you shouldn't depend on >any compiler to do that anyway, but some people still expect their >variables to be initialized by angels! Do you seriously think this is a major consideration in buying a compiler or do you just have nothing else to add? Also why did you feel compelled to offer your help to this guy when you had no specific information to offer? >John L. Bradberry |Georgia Tech Research Inst|001100110011001100110011 Barbara Vaughan
quan@sol.surv.utas.oz (Stephen Quan) (01/21/91)
gt4512c@prism.gatech.EDU (BRADBERRY,JOHN L) writes: >In article <12277@pucc.Princeton.EDU> BVAUGHAN@pucc.Princeton.EDU writes: >>>Lahey is one of the least expensive at allowing you to use memory beyond >>>the dreaded 640k boundary >>You've got to be kidding. The only Lahey version that allows you to break >>640K is the F77L-EM/32, which is $895 ($995 as of April). It also >>requires the purchase of QEMM or something on top of that.. 1) Lahey Personal Fortran. (???) ($99) - Imposes a 64K limit. 2) Lahey Fortran. (F77L) ($800) - Raises the limit to 640K. 3) Extended Memory. (F77LEM) ($1600) - Uses memory overlays(?). The original poster wanted to know if there was a cheap personal Fortran compiler. It really depends on what he wanted to design with it. Well, whatever, I believe 1) or 2) would be the most appropriate. >Your pricing and configuration information is faulty! >If you had FULLY understood what you THOUGHT you read in this passage, I >was indicating that a LAHEY version (not the $99 version) did perfom >this task. I noticed YOU didn't offer any suggestions here... Mentioning 'least expensive' and the breaking of the 640K limit they way you had, did make it sound like the $99 version broke that limit. The F77LEM manages to break the 640K limit by using what they call 'Overlays'. Overlays swap/pages memory so that more than 640K can be addressed. >John L. Bradberry |Georgia Tech Research Inst|001100110011001100110011 >Scientific Concepts Inc. |Microwaves and Antenna Lab|Int : gt4512c@prism >2359 Windy Hill Rd. 201-J|404 528-5325 (GTRI) |GTRI:jbrad@msd.gatech. >Marietta, Ga. 30067 |404 438-4181 (SCI) |'...is this thing on..?' Stephen Quan, University of Tasmania. "..Who will be getting a Lahey Fortran compiler, ..someday."
16012_3045@uwovax.uwo.ca (Paul Gomme) (01/22/91)
In article <12277@pucc.Princeton.EDU>, BVAUGHAN@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Barbara Vaughan) writes: > In article <19886@hydra.gatech.EDU>, gt4512c@prism.gatech.EDU (BRADBERRY,JOHN L) writes: > >>Lahey is one of the least expensive at allowing you to use memory beyond >>the dreaded 640k boundary > > You've got to be kidding. The only Lahey version that allows you to break > 640K is the F77L-EM/32, which is $895 ($995 as of April). It also > requires the purchase of QEMM or something on top of that. The $99 > Personal Fortran is strictly a 640K compiler. While I won't contest the pricing information (since I don't know what the prices are), there are two factual errors here: (1) I've used the extended memory version of the Lahey compiler; it does _not_ require QEMM or any other expanded memory manager. In fact, I could not get either the compiler or compiled code to run when I had QEMM loaded. (2) the Personal Fortran from Lahey is restricted, as I recall, to 64K of user code, and 64K of data. You need the "full" F77L to use 640K. >>John L. Bradberry |Georgia Tech Research Inst|001100110011001100110011 > > Barbara Vaughan -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bitnet: gomme@uwovax.bitnet gomme@uwovax.uwo.ca Internet: gomme@uwo.ca
BVAUGHAN@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Barbara Vaughan) (01/23/91)
In article <1991Jan21.133951.8347@uwovax.uwo.ca>, 16012_3045@uwovax.uwo.ca (Paul Gomme) writes: >In article <12277@pucc.Princeton.EDU>, BVAUGHAN@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Barbara Vaughan) writes: >> You've got to be kidding. The only Lahey version that allows you to break >> 640K is the F77L-EM/32, which is $895 ($995 as of April). It also >> requires the purchase of QEMM or something on top of that. The $99 >> Personal Fortran is strictly a 640K compiler. >While I won't contest the pricing information (since I don't know what the >prices are), there are two factual errors here: >(1) I've used the extended memory version of the Lahey compiler; it does _not_ > require QEMM or any other expanded memory manager. I wasn't sure it was QEMM (that's why I said 'or something'. It DOES require either Lahey Ergo OS/386 ($395) or the Ergo Developer's Kit ($695). >(2) the Personal Fortran from Lahey is restricted, as I recall, to 64K of user > code, and 64K of data. You need the "full" F77L to use 640K. This is correct, at least as far as the code size. Sorry for my mistake. Obviously, by '64K of data' you don't mean the size of external data files, which your program couldn't care less about. Data read into arrays will increase the size of your compiled code, so in that sense the 64K is a limit. In addition there is a 64K limit on stack size and saved local variables in Lahey Personal Fortran. Barbara Vaughan