shite@unf7.UUCP (Stephen Hite) (01/10/91)
I called Zortech and got a little info on ZTC++ for the Mac. It will be
an MPW tool and support MacApp. That's it. He couldn't tell me more because
it's really slated for a mid to late Spring release. I guess that the ad
in Dr. Dobbs is just that, a teaser of something in work but not "there"
yet. The tech rep said to call back in about 2 weeks and he will be able
to provide more information.
I have no inside knowledge of what Zortech C++ is going to provide but
I can guess from my DOS encounter :-):
1. The compiler itself is solid. As long as they didn't bug up the
back-end code generator you'll probably never want to go back to
Cfront because it is FAST. ZTC++ doesn't produce assembly code,
it's straight object code. However, they'll most likely provide
info if you want to use the MPW Assembler for some routines to link in.
2. Their bug-fix policy is good. You call up, they have a new minor
release fix disk, you get it...free. They are very good about fixing
bugs promptly.
3. For now, you're probably not going to see a load/dump facility as
MPW C++ has now. The Win 3.0 programmers are complaining about
recompiling many standard headers over and over (familiar to many
MacApp programmers) so I would guess it's on their todo list.
4. I could see MPW ZTC++ getting away from being a tool in the future
as well as having their own debugger (ala Symantec). Zortech is into
the "Developer's Edition" concept where they want to provide all the
important tools you need to produce professional, standalone
applications (i.e. Compiler, Debugger, Library Source Code, etc).
Their pricing, when it hits this stage, will be closer to MPW than
Symantec. They'll let Symantec have the low-end user...Zortech is
more after the corporate accounts where $450 for a complete package
is no big deal. However, they are good at providing pricing variations
in case you don't want the debugger or library source code included.
End of ramble.
----------------------
Steve Hite
shite@sinkhole.unf.edu