It's amazing (was: Re: [geeks] Re: linux is not unix)

[Greg A. Woods]

[ On Wednesday, September 5, 2001 at 22:16:49 (-0500), Reagen B . Ward wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: It's amazing (was: Re: [geeks] Re: linux is not unix)
>
> I couldn't stand the tiny memory model.  I recently met the guy who
> wrote the C compiler (Michael Spertus).  Interesting fellow.

I still have both copies of my MWC-86 C compiler manuals on my shelf!  ;-)
Version 2.1.9 and 3.0.7, from about 1986 or so!

Back when I first started programming professionally I ended up doing
lots of work on early MS-DOS systems, and MWC was the only compiler that
was even half-way reliable on 8086 at the time (Lattice C, which M$
re-badged right up until they released their own MS-C 3.0, was an
ultimate DOG!)

I only ever played with coherent a few times, but their compiler was so
damn good I bought both of those copies myself out of my own pocket,
even though I never owned a PC or a  copy of MS-DOS at the time!  ;-)

What a joy that compiler was!  Whenever I was forced to use Lattice-C
for a job I'd always keep it handy just to prove the bugs I was
experiencing were not in my code but rather in the stupid lattice
compiler!  Their source debugger (csd) was also about 5 years ahead of
anyone else in the M$-DOG compiler marget, and it was immensely
valuable to me at the time!  (M$'s visual C debugger was, eventually,
much better, esp. if you were forced to use M$-C for the job....)

However I probably got more actual mileage out of MicroEMACS, which came
with MWC.  That was the only editor I'd use on M$-DOG until I finally
got a copy of Jove to compile and work....

They had a real clone of 'ed' too, and it really worked well and exactly
like unix ed!

-- 
							Greg A. Woods

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