Mail Archives: djgpp/2000/02/16/12:17:14
Andrew Jones wrote:
>
> I'm not sure what the GPL definition of free is myself (my brain's a little
> foggy right now). Isn't it something like free for use, not free software?
"You should have received a copy of the GPL along with your software!"
Read it, and then argue.
> True! However, attempting to base the success of a compiler through one
> product is not a good method of promotion.
It's not so much a promotion as a proof of adequacy. Knowing that DJGPP
was used in one product where performance is critical gives me
confidence that DJGPP is for real.
> GCC was *written* for a popular OS. There's a subtle difference. And the
> reason that so many people use DJGPP for these projects is that they don't
> have/don't want to spend hundreds (or thousands) on a C compiler. DJGPP is
> free. Freedom is wonderful, but doesn't make a product great by default.
> Although I do agree that GCC, and hence DJGPP *are* great. :)
To use your logic, we can say, ... and the reason that some people use
<your favorite expansive compiler> for these projects is that they don't
have/don't want to spend hundreds (or thousands) of minutes on a C
compiler. <Your favorite compiler> is expensive. Expensiveness is
wonderful, but doesn't make a product great by default. ...
The point being, whether a compiler is great or not has nothing to do
with whether it's free, or open source, or is the most expensive on the
block. A compiler is great if it is great. End of argument. If it is
free, it's an added bonus (for me). If it is expensive, it's an added
bonus (for you?).
> LOL... true. But some people who want to start programming honestly don't even
> know what AUTOEXEC.BAT is!
Then they have a lot to learn. Hopefully they haven't be damaged by the
education system too much so as to be unable to learn. What
AUTOEXEC.BAT does is documented in the documentation that comes with the
operating system. It takes half a day to read it. It takes a few hours
to practice it. And then they DO know what AUTOEXEC.BAT is.
> Heh... I worked in a bookstore for minimum wage (about $7.00 an hour Canadian).
> It took me forever, but I -saved- my money. It was the biggest software
> purchase of my life, and I've never regretted it.
Good for you. Would you like to take a look at my version of DJGPP, on
a CD-ROM, it costs only $1200.00! :)
[That's another joke, volks!]
> I just wanted to point a few things out mostly because your derisiveness to
> Watcom bothers me somewhat. It would be like me saying that DJGPP sucks
> because it's free and thus can't have the level of support that a commercial
> compiler can (I know, that's not the case with DJGPP, but that's probably due
> to its popularity). Note that this is a mindset that quite a few people have.
They have to be educated then!
--
Weiqi Gao
weiqigao AT a DOT crl DOT com
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