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- Path: Starbase.NeoSoft.COM!barrym
- From: barrym@starbase.neosoft.com (barrym)
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
- Subject: Re: shareware compiler?
- Date: 10 Apr 1996 21:02:57 GMT
- Organization: NeoSoft Internet Services +1 713 968 5800
- Message-ID: <4kh7m1$pk9@uuneo.neosoft.com>
- References: <4jteii$lda@nuacht.iol.ie>
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-
- Kevin Walsh (kevwalsh@iol.ie) wrote:
- : Hello!
-
- : I'm just starting out learning C but can't afford a
- : commercial compiler - would anybody know of a shareware
- : compiler that wouldn't be too expensive?
-
-
- Micro C is available on the net. It's a very good little
- K&R standard C compiler. But you'll need an assembler and
- linker. Masm and Tasm both will work. I've seen a post
- on another newsgroup that says they've made it freeware
- for non-commercial use.
-
- PCC is also availble on the net. It used to be Desmet C,
- a commercial compiler that produced very fast and small
- executables, but I think modern compilers can do better
- now. It's also a K&R standard compiler, and, unlike
- Micro C it includes all the stuff you expect, like floats,
- unions, bit fields, etc.
-
- If you want to spend some money, Tom Mix Power C is $19.95.
- Add another $19.95 for the debugger. You'll want that.
- it's a fully ANSI C compiler with lots of everything. It
- also produces very fast, but not small executables.
-
- Power C is probably your best choice if you can afford it.
- If not, I'd look at one of the others. If all you want to
- do is learn C, any of these will be good tools.
-
- Micro C and PCC are K&R standard compilers, not ANSI. K&R
- stands for Kernigan and Ritchie, who developed C. Its the
- standard that was used for years until the ANSI people
- made the new standard. If you start with K&R you'll have
- to learn a few additional things when you move to ANSI, but
- not very much. And all of your old code will work just fine
- because the ANSI standard includes the K&R standard for
- backward compatiblity.
-
- You'll be better off with ANSI, but not much better. The
- main thing is get one and get going with it.
-
- Barry
-