Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/3/84; site delftcc.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!linus!philabs!rdin!delftcc!sam
From: sam@delftcc.UUCP (Sam Kendall)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c,net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: Re: C Interpreters - Any Experiences??? (Smart/C, Bcc)
Message-ID: <131@delftcc.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 1-Jul-85 15:48:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: delftcc.131
Posted: Mon Jul  1 15:48:20 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 5-Jul-85 05:45:29 EDT
References: <1127@hou5e.UUCP> <668@whuxl.UUCP>
Organization: Delft Consulting Corp., New York
Lines: 41
Xref: watmath net.lang.c:5460 net.micro.pc:4453

> A C interpreter does exist that runs on UNIX* SV_R2 and Berkeley 4.2, together
> with Xenix. For VAX, 3B2/300, 68000 and as well as proprietary architectures.
> It will also run on the PC under MD-DOS.
> 
> The interpreter is called SMART/C. What follows is from the data I have
> about SMARTC/C:

...  And what follows is the entire text of a Smart/C brochure.  This
strikes me as a bit too commercial, even for what is ostensibly a third
party replying to a request for information.

I would like to relate my experience with Smart/C.  (I am the project
head for a competing product, The Bcc Compiler -- a checkout compiler,
not an interpreter.)  I saw a demo of Smart/C at the April UNIX Systems
Expo in San Franciso, and it was, in brief, a very slick toy.  The
syntax-directed editor either didn't handle preprocessor macros at all,
or didn't handle macros such as ``#define forever for(;;)'' that do not
expand to subexpressions.  (The salesman had been given a line to handle
complaints about this: he said, "you know, the preprocessor isn't part
of the language." Wrong.)  Printf and scanf were not handled.  Libraries
other than stdio were not handled.  A test program which accessed
storage beyond the end of an array crashed the interpreter.

In the product's favor, it has an impressive user interface.  But in the
state I saw it, it won't run the average 10-line C program.  Before it
can be a real product, it will have to run the average 10,000-line C
program.  And that is quite a gap.  *Most* of our product's development
cycle was spent between these two stages.  (And, yes, our product is
ready and available now.)

I am interested to hear, by mail or news, from anyone who has used a C
interpreter under UNIX that runs a program of reasonable size and
complexity.

------
Sam Kendall		UUCP:	{allegra,cmcl2,ihnp4}!delftcc!sam
Delft Consulting Corp.	ARPA:	delftcc!sam@NYU-CMCL2.ARPA
Phone: (212) 243-8700	USMail:	432 Park Av S, New York, NY 10016

UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories.  Smart/C is a trademark of
AGS Computers, Inc.  Bcc is a trademark of Delft Consulting Corp.