[alt.msdos.programmer] "best" 386 C compilers?

dkelly@npiatl.UUCP (Dwight Kelly) (02/06/90)

What is the "best" 386-extended-dos C compilers?  
Watcom 7.0/386, NDP, etc?  What extender is required (PharLap, OS/386,etc..)?

Dwight Kelly
Network Publications, Inc.

mark@intek01.UUCP (Mark McWiggins) (02/08/90)

dkelly@npiatl.UUCP (Dwight Kelly) writes:

>What is the "best" 386-extended-dos C compilers?  
>Watcom 7.0/386, NDP, etc?  What extender is required (PharLap, OS/386,etc..)?

We support both MetaWare and Watcom 386 in our latest C++ release (2.0), and 
both are "good", but what's "best" depends ...

MetaWare is a tank.   Not the fastest, but compiles things that choke other
compilers.  Also they ship a version that runs in protected mode itself, so
they can compile really BIG programs.  On the downside, their library has
been fairly limited and somewhat incompatible (a 'qsort' that's different
from the standard one, for some reason), although allegedly this has improved
in version 1.6, which I haven't seen.  They support the Weitek chip, too.
Works with Phar Lap and OS/386.

Watcom 386 is much more nearly standard; porting code from Microsoft C is
a cinch.  But (a) they don't ship a version that runs in protected mode
and (b) they don't support Weitek.  Works with Phar Lap; don't know about
OS/386.

I haven't tried NDP, although we've had a couple of requests; I'd like
to see comments here about it.

Our C++ is compiled thru MetaWare, for what it's worth.

By the way: Phar Lap has worked wonderfully for us.  I presume that OS/386
is also good, but I haven't tried it.  We use OS/286 in our 80286 C++, and
it's been a bit troublesome, but I fault the 286 chip more than I do A.I.
Architects (now "Eclipse", they've changed their name).

-- 
Mark McWiggins			Integration Technologies, Inc. (Intek)
+1 206 455 9935			DISCLAIMER:  I could be wrong ...
1400 112th Ave SE #202		Bellevue WA  98004
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