rrgill@shine8.uwaterloo.ca (CO350F Course - RR Gill) (11/28/90)
After 3 years as a Mac user, I want to begin writing my own Mac applications. The question is which compiler to buy. I have (or will have as soon as it arrives) a Mac IIsi with 5 Meg, an 80 Meg hard drive and the Apple 13 inch Hi-Res monitor. I am leaning toward Think Pascal since Pascal is the language in which the toolbox routines of Inside Macintosh are described. My other choice would be Think C (a more manly language as Im sure all Unix users would agree). The third option would be MPW but I think Ill stay away from that. My question is "do I tend to lose anything from choosing Pascal over C?" I prefer Pascal and think it would make it easier to become familiar with the Mac toolbox calls. I can always switch to C later when Im fluent with the toolbox. What about the efficiency of the compiled source? Any responses? Rich.
ldo@waikato.ac.nz (Lawrence D'Oliveiro, Waikato University) (11/28/90)
Use Modula-2. Some reasons: * true separate compilation, with scope control. * language close enough to Pascal, that you can still make sense of the Pascal code in Inside Mac and elsewhere. * portability to other systems. The Metrowerks compiler is available in about 3 different versions, including a "Professional Standalone Edition" for those who want to avoid MPW. It may not be as slick an environment as the THINK products, though. The only other serious Modula-2 compiler is the one from P1, but I think that's only available for MPW. Disclaimer: I'm an MPW addict from way back. Lawrence D'Oliveiro fone: +64-71-562-889 Computer Services Dept fax: +64-71-384-066 University of Waikato electric mail: ldo@waikato.ac.nz Hamilton, New Zealand 37^ 47' 26" S, 175^ 19' 7" E, GMT+13:00 To someone with a hammer and a screwdriver, every problem looks like a nail with threads.
darweesh@zephyrus.crd.ge.com (Michael Darweesh) (11/28/90)
If you know C and you know Pascal, then I recommend Think Pascal...at least to begin with. Learning the Toolbox calls in Pascal is relatively easy, but I find that I like Think Pascal more than Think C because of the nicer editor and debugger. Both are far superior in Think Pascal. Also, rumor has it that Think Pascal produces better optimized code... -Mike Darweesh weesh@crd.ge.com