Message-ID: <224@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-Nov-84 15:04:47 EST
Article-I.D.: ssc-vax.224
Posted: Mon Nov 26 15:04:47 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Nov-84 04:16:45 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Boeing Aerospace Co., Seattle, WA
Lines: 44




     I recently bought a compiler package for the  C64  that  I  thought
     others out there might be interested in.  The package is the PROMAL
     compiler from System Management Associates.

     From what I can tell so far (after only a week) it appears to be  a
     pretty  good piece of software.  It includes a compiler, an editor,
     and an executive (operating system).

     The language itself I would describe as  somewhere  between  Pascal
     and  C.   By  this I mean it has the feel and clarity of Pascal but
     allows you to get to the machine the way C does.  It is  structured
     very  similar  to Pascal, requiring all procedures and variables to
     be defined before use.  One interesting point is that in PROMAL in-
     dentation  is  significant.   The  extent of structures such as IF,
     WHILE, REPEAT, etc. is defined by the  indentation  as  opposed  to
     keywords  like  BEGIN/END.   The  language supports byte, word, in-
     teger, and real data types.  Strings are treated as arrays of  byte
     very  similar  to  the way they are in C.  Records, Structures, Un-
     ions, and Multiple dimensioned arrays are not supported.  The  only
     real  serious  of  these is the lack of multiple dimensioned arrays
     and since this is a version 1 release I wouldn't  be  surprised  to
     see  this  changed  in  the  future.   Pointers are also supported,
     though they are not the same as pointers in other langauges.   Pro-
     cedures  and  functions  work  pretty much the way they do in other
     languages and they allow recursion.

     The editor included is very simple and fast to learn  and  is  more
     than  adequate for developing programs.  A library is included that
     provides input/output and other useful functions.

     The documentation included with the compiler is  approximately  200
     pages  long  and  is  packaged  in a three ring binder.  It is very
     comprehensive and well written.

     I strongly recommend this package to anyone looking for a low  cost
     compiler for the C64.  The price is only $49.95 + shipping and han-
     dling.  Advertisements and order forms are in all the magazines.


                     Gary Albert
                     Boeing Aerospace, Seattle