🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <By2MH8.JFB@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> hrubin@mentor.cc.purdue.edu  
(Herman Rubin) writes:
> Working in a university environment does produce some problems, which
> those with reasonable manpower support do not seem to realize.  I can
> get gcc on some machines, but we do not yet have it on the one I am
> supposed to use for production.  Also, it cannot be used for program
> design for more than one machine, which is something I am supposed to
> be involved in.  This is a major reason for asking for a good macro
> translator, to isolate the dependent problems from the independent
> ones and still be able to communicate.  I cannot reasonably communicate
> SPARCstation program to someone using an RS/6000 or a CRAY Y-MP, but I
> can communicate the algorithm to a mathematician using any one of those
> machines in such a way that a language hacker could come up with good
> code in consultation.
> 
...
> 
> As far as I can tell, TXL is a very new product.  I will not be able to
> access it until our systems people decide it is safe enough to use.
> 
> --
> Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette  
IN47907-1399

Uh, last I checked gcc didn't need any privileged operations to install  
it.  (Does we don't have it for our production machine mean (a) we haven't  
gotten around to installing it, or (b) there's no port yet ?)  I rather  
doubt TXL needs any privileged operations to install, although I've never  
seen it.  (A macro processor that had to be installed set{u,g}id would be  
really scary.)  Thus, "our systems people haven't installed these tools,  
so I can't use them" is not a good reason not to use the tools.

WRT gcc, why can't the code be #ifdef'd for different architecture, with a  
slow but portable (and readable, so the intelligent user can write a fast  
version) version be the default ?

Last time I checked, the systems people were supposed to install what the  
users needed (at least for users doing some sort of "real work").  It  
certainly works that way here (tell me about it; I get to do the  
installing :-)).
--
Drew Dean
ddean@risc.uni-linz.ac.at
Not speaking for RISC, of course.