Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!digsys.engineering.cambridge.ac.UK!tpm
From: tpm@digsys.engineering.cambridge.ac.UK (tim marsland)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer
Subject: Re: Transputer "C" compilers...
Message-ID: <3684.8807060040@dsl.eng.cam.ac.uk>
Date: 6 Jul 88 00:40:06 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 44

A satisfied Logical Systems customer writes.. (anyone out there
prepared to submit a review of C compilers yet?):

> Logical Systems sells a standalone "C" development system ..

We currently have the 88.2 release, and are looking forward to 88.3

> ..  All tools are provided in "C" source code form ..

This has been an enormous advantage to us, both in terms of porting the
code to SunOs 3.5/Ultrix 2.2 and in producing our own utilities, but also
as a means of understanding more about the way the transputer works.  The
fact that it is a cross-compiler is another advantage because it means
that we don't have to tie up our transputer resources just to run the
compiler or linker, or pass #include or library files up and down a
transputer link.  Compilation rates are no problem on either a 750 or a
Sun 3 (generally faster than cc(1)).

> Two additional libraries are
> provided to support concurrency on the Transputer using an OCCAM like package
> based on the "Jeff Mock" standard and a "fork"/"join" version ..

These libraries give us the flexibility that occam, despite its
mathematical elegance, distressingly lacks.  One *can* construct C
programs in ``the occam way,'' but one doesn't have to.  We think this is
a positive advantage, particularly in an educational/research environment.

> .. C++ has been ported to a pre-release of it by one of our customers...

We are quietly hoping that this will soon become part of the transputer
toolset, as we see considerable attraction in the view of processes as
concurrent objects.. any chance Kirk?


Tim Marsland
Richard Prager

Cambridge University Engineering Dept.,
Trumpington Street,
Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK

PS:     The opinions expressed herein are our own, not necessarily those of
	Cambridge University Engineering Dept.
PPS:    but-occam-is-wonderful or similar flames to /dev/null please