consp24@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (consp24) (10/03/90)
I have not used the Abacus C compiler for the 128, but I did
buy a copy of BASIC 128, and can vouch for that product.
It does everything it claims. It compiles basic into either
machine language or P-code, or both. It gains a 7 to 35-fold
increase in speed. It shortens long programs (although it lengthens
short ones!)
I did get a 1600 line program to compile (where, when loaded, the
program left about 50 BYTES free in memory.)
So, Abacus software (in some cases) stands up to "real" programming
needs. Just though Abacus shouldn't be completely slammed.
Gregg Riedel
consp24@bingsuns.pod.binghamton.educ0037544@cc.nu.oz.au (10/08/90)
I would just like to add my comments on the current topic of Abacus software. I bought Super Pascal 128 after a few months into the year, for the price of $86 Australian dollars (Yes, that's how much it costs here!). After having a look through the manual, I knew that I was going to be disappointed (I mean, line numbers?! Come on, Abacus!). Then after using it I discovered many other things that I did not like about their implementation. Not long ago, I decided to write to Abacus Software in America and complain about how poor I thought this product was. Then, last week I recieved a nice letter from Abacus addressing some of the points I had mentioned. They also sent me Super C 128, and another program as a gift. However, Super C, although implemented better than Super Pascal, has a number of irritating points also. And neither of them allow programs to be run independently of the package! I do not have the BASIC 128 compiler, but all I have read of it is good reviews. I also have seen some of the Abacus books, and they seem to be quite good. Their customer support is certainly very good. It is a shame that their language compilers don't come up to scratch! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | David Williams | University of Newcastle | | c0037544@cc.nu.oz.au | Department of Computer Science (Undergrad) | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | "The decision of Random Numbers is too important to be left to chance !" | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------