power c

[Dion Hollenbeck]

In article <6266 at hub.ucsb.edu> 6500chng at ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (B. N. Cheng) writes:
> 
> Anyone heard of powerC by MIX software ?
> I 'd like to know if there's any known bugs or deficiencies. 

Yes, this topic has been discussed SEVERAL times already.  Yes, there
are some bugs, what software does not have them?  They are minor
and not worth mentioning (in a year of use, I never encountered
them).  

Yes, there is a known deficiency.  The compiler produces .mix files,
not .obj files.  These .mix files are P-code files which are concatenated
onto a P-code interpreter to create the final .exe file which gets
run.  This is not to say that you cannot use assembly because MIX has
thoughtfully provided a .obj to .mix converter fro just this purpose,
just that debugging assembly is a real bitch and should be avoided
if possible.  The other deficiency is the lack of memory models,
but again, this is not a problem if you are just trying to learn C,
it will only hamper you if you need sophistication later on.

If you merely want to learn C and not grab the hardware by the balls,
then POWER C is THE BEST value on the market today.  The documentation
is unsurpassed, the debugger shames Codeview and TD and the price
is outrageously low.  The documentation is so good that I would 
recommend a beginner buying the compiler just for the documentation.
EVERY function call has a snatch of code on how to use it.

I have no connection with MIX other than a satisfied user of several
of their products.  I currently use Turbo C because I must combine
assembly with C and use more diverse memory models for my applicatons.




--
	Dion Hollenbeck             (619) 455-5590 x2814
	Megatek Corporation, 9645 Scranton Road, San Diego, CA  92121

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