From:	"John M. Aldrich" <fighteer AT cs DOT com>
Newsgroups:	comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject:	Re: Please help: cannot find header file error in C++ with RHIDE
Date:	Tue, 23 Jun 1998 22:48:26 -0400
Organization:	Two pounds of chaos and a pinch of salt.
Lines:	67
Message-ID:	<359068FA.1370881@cs.com>
References:	<000001bd9ea2$45ea1060$3952cd86 AT krozy DOT comm DOT hq DOT af DOT mil>
NNTP-Posting-Host:	ppp122.cs.net
Mime-Version:	1.0
To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway:	from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Lucas Moten (Krozy) wrote:
> 
> Good luck.  You can try about a hundred different things.
> Theres a few things in the FAQ for it, and sooner or later it will
> work for you.
> 
> I would seriously suggest deleting djgpp from your system and installing
> something more user friendly like borland c++ builder.  It works, theres
> no hassle, and you wont get stupid compiling errors in the header files
> like djgpp likes to give.

I don't really want to get into a factual argument over what is
obviously a troll, but I can't resist.  I'll try to keep this below the
level of an actual flame, with one exception:

<flame>
If you really want to bad-mouth DJGPP, please do it in a more
appropriate newsgroup like comp.borland.fanatic.  Thanks.
</flame>

- It's true that DJGPP installation is somewhat more complex than the
average Borland installation, at least at first.  However, the vast
majority of users seem to be able to read the documentation and get it
right the first time.  When they miss something, they come here to ask
for support and usually get their problem answered and solved within a
day, and for free.  I defy you to prove the same about Borland.

- By its nature, DJGPP is a work-in-progress, and new package releases
sometimes cause unforseen compatibility problems with older packages. 
This is an inevitable fact of software development; the workarounds are
added to the available documentation and eventually the older packages
catch up.  I'd bet you just about anything you care to name that the
same goes on inside the development of so-called commercial compilers,
except that you get the "finished" product instead of the WIP.

- The only possible cause for compilation errors _inside_ header files
is a broken installation.  Not being able to find headers is a separate
issue entirely, and one that is completely covered by the two most
indispensable DJGPP documentation files:  'readme.1st' and chapter 8 of
the FAQ.  Both are prominently referred to by every other available
piece of documentation.

- One of the major problems, as I see it, with "out-of-the-box"
compilers is that they encourage users to simply ignore documentation
and head straight into trying to write code.  IMHO it's pretty silly not
to read the little file named README when you install any piece of new
software.  Not doing so _invariably_ causes you to run into trouble. 
It's the same basic common sense rule as finding and reading the
Frequently Asked Questions list of a newsgroup before posting to it. 
(not that many people do that either)

- There is simply no better source of compiler technical support for the
average user on the Internet or in the "real" world than this discussion
group.  If that isn't worth the price of admission, I couldn't say what
else is.

- DJGPP is free for anybody to download and use, anywhere in the world.

Any more questions?

-- 
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|      John M. Aldrich       | "Sin lies only in hurting other      |
|       aka Fighteer I       | people unnecessarily.  All other     |
|   mailto:fighteer AT cs DOT com   | 'sins' are invented nonsense."       |
| http://www.cs.com/fighteer |                 - Lazarus Long       |
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