Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site qumix.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!ittvax!qumix!len From: len@qumix.UUCP (Leonard Labar) Newsgroups: net.micro.apple Subject: Macprogramming. Message-ID: <131@qumix.UUCP> Date: Sat, 6-Oct-84 22:19:35 EDT Article-I.D.: qumix.131 Posted: Sat Oct 6 22:19:35 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 7-Oct-84 21:56:42 EDT Distribution: net Organization: Qume Corp., San Jose, CA Lines: 44 Does anyone have any insights on what's the best program language software available or soon to be available for the Mac. What I've heard about so far is: 1. Modula II -a superset of pascal. I've heard the least expensive versions aren't that good. 2. Forth - 3 levels with rapidly escalated prices as you progress. A fast executing language, the dictionary is neat, the way the stack handles arithmentic is not so neat. 3. C -I hear it has bugs in the released version. For around $2k (gasp!) you can buy a cross-assembler version to run on your mainframe. Q.- Since we have Unix 4.2 and a C compilor at work anyway, why isn't there a cheaper, better way to go on this? It seems like a terminal emulator program with download and some primitive vax to Mac toolkit algorithums would be all you'd need. I guess they wouldn't make enough money that way. 4. Fortran 77 - This also runs on our vax but I see no vax support on that advertisement. 5. Pascal - Nice, clean structured language but less I/O capabilities than Modula II. Probably slower execution speed that Forth. 6. Mbasic - Now there's a language everybody understands. Unfortanately, it's slow and I unless you get something like waterloo basic, you get tired of using go to's and yearn for something more structured after awhile. Cbasic is fast but I don't think they have that for the Mac yet. 7. Let's see, what have I missed. I haven't seen 68000 assembly language available for the single 128k Mac yet. The only answer I got as to why was that nobody wants to write programs that are limited to 64k. My answer was "well, why don't you let us at least TRY." If that was the only reason, we should see it come out for the 512k version eventually. 8. What decides which is the "best" programmming language for the Mac? My thoughts- price, availability, no bugs, transportability, ease to learn it, execution speed, development time, ease of understanding to other programmers, program structure, I/O capability, and documentation either built into the SW or in the manuals.