dhall@paul.rutgers.edu (David Hall) (09/01/90)
I'm planning to buy C for my mac to do some software development. The resulting software won't necessarily be run on a mac, but may run on Sun, VAX etc. Any advice on whether I should get MPW C or Think C will be greatly appreciated, especially specific things you like or dislike about one or t'other. Thanks in advance. --David Hall dhall@cs.rutgers.edu
knighton@Oswego.EDU (Robert Knighton) (09/05/90)
In article <Aug.31.17.32.34.1990.16532@paul.rutgers.edu> dhall@paul.rutgers.edu (David Hall) writes: > >I'm planning to buy C for my mac to do some software development. The >resulting software won't necessarily be run on a mac, but may run on >Sun, VAX etc. Any advice on whether I should get MPW C or Think C >will be greatly appreciated, especially specific things you like or >dislike about one or t'other. >Thanks in advance. >--David Hall > dhall@cs.rutgers.edu Think C is by far the best environment for the money that I have found. I have been looking at Think, Aztec and MPW, and interviewing folks who have used all three. Think C has been voted the best by the several people who have talked to me. You can get Think C 4.0 for $159 - $165 from mail order houses. I am a cs major who lives 36 miles from school, and it is long distance to call school from my house. Therefore I needed to get the best package for the job. (I'm getting BOTH Aztec and Think C). Compiler is a bear!!! While I'm at it.... I am wondering if you can compile berkley's lex and yacc on the Mac using Think C or Aztec C, and what you would need to do to get it to work reasonably well. I'm told that there is more that 30 meg of program source, but that is no dificulty for me (Mac SE/30, 5 Meg, 105 Meg Quantum internal). My only other recourse is to buy MacYACC from Abraxas Software for $495 minus 25% educational discount. I really don't have the spare cash for that, but need the package for my compiler class so I can do the work at home. It'd be really nice if my kids knew that they have a father this year. Thanks for your help. robert. -- Robert Knighton | Disclaimer: <insert standard one here> knighton@oswego.oswego.edu | Beat Murphy at his own game: rutgers!sunybcs!oswego!knighton | Speculate!! Then use Occam's razor. | <Just don't let Murphy near the blade!> (:^)
bose@milton.u.washington.edu (Rob Olsen) (09/05/90)
Altough I've never used MPW, I would still recomend THINK C. It is really fast plus it is so easy to use. It does everything I want to do. MPW is really good if you want to have a multi-language program or program in fortran, COBOL or such. Other then that, if you just want to learn or program on the mac, go with THINK C. -From one of the Insanes.
rstark@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Randall Stark) (09/05/90)
Think C is a great environment, but it is not quite "industrial strength". If you are working on a one-person program, it is great. The problems come if you need to work on a multi-person project (with source control) or need to do things like automatic regression testing; Think C has no command line interface. If you *can* use Think C, you should; it is truely an amazing productivity environment! However, if you are producing a large software package, you will run into certain dead ends. Oh yea, and it uses a 16-bit inetger, while everyone else for the mac uses a 32-bit integer (thus pointers and integers are different sizes). Proper programming pracice should make this difference irrelevent, but people do sometimes bitch! -Randall Stark
minich@d.cs.okstate.edu (Robert Minich) (09/07/90)
by rstark@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Randall Stark): > Oh yea, and it uses a 16-bit inetger, while everyone else for the mac uses a > 32-bit integer (thus pointers and integers are different sizes). Proper > programming pracice should make this difference irrelevent, but people do > sometimes bitch! Well, one genuinely stupid thing that DOES deserve bitching is THINK C's sizeof() which returns and int instead of size_t, which everything to do with allocating memory uses. Geesh... -- |_ /| | Robert Minich | |\'o.O' | Oklahoma State University| There are no heroes -- |=(___)= | minich@a.cs.okstate.edu | We all wear gray hats. | U | - Ackphtth |