mgr@pixar.UUCP (Michael Griffin Russell) (02/26/88)
Well, Megamax's laser C came in the mail day before yesterday and I spent a late night last night takeing her out for a spin. So far, I'm delighted with what I've found, although I haven't dug in very deep yet. Laser C is a development environment, modelled more on the editor than on the original Megamax shell. The editor functions are basically the same as before but are lightning fast - giving an even tighter feel to the mouse interface. The big gain in speed, though comes from not having to exit the editor to do a compile. Compiler and other printed output is displayed in a GEM window. There's no need to re-open the file and find the spot you're working on after each compile, link, debug, cycle - your file is open and the cursor is right where you left it. There are several new features I won't mention - lest I sound even more like an advertisement. Suffice it to say Laser C is well worth the $20 upgrade. Caveats - I haven't used this new package for actual development yet, and don't know whether my great mound of graphics and midi library routines will carry over, so stay posted. Another problem: documentation is very minimal, particularly for make, and this will hamper non-Unix types. Re Mark Williams C - also an excellent product. I have version 2.0 and use it where I'm concerned about Unix compatibility. My style of programming meshes better with Megamax's quick compile times. In general I have been recommending MWC for people who are interested in Unix familiarity, and MM for performance oriented programmers who don't mind a few lumps in their cream of wheat. MM and MWC have both improved recently, and I think my recommendation will remain about the same. If asking will help, I request that we not have a dose of compiler wars over this - I once watched a potentially valuable developer's conference go largely down the tubes due to bickering over MM versus MWC. Let's keep it light and informative, please. -- Mike Russell ucbvax!pixar!mgr Trust in Allah, but tie your camel first.