🚀 go-pugleaf

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	On February 24 I send out a query for advice on (non-Fortran)
RT11 compilers.  I've summarized the 14 responces, tabulating below.


Positive Responces

			  --- votes --- 	--- reasons --- 
	Pascal 2		7
						Excellent code, few bugs,
						good support.
	Whitesmith's C		5
						Reasonable code, debugged.
	DECUS C			5
						Good code, cheap, good 
						system interface.
==================

Negative Responces

	Pascal 2		0
						
	Whitesmith's		4
						Idiosyncratic.
	DECUS			1
						Buggy.

==================

Comments

	For those with any experience, Pascal 2 was easily the compiler
of choice.  Many of us, however, can't currently afford it ($3200).

	The 2 C compilers seem to be about equal.  The code production
seems quite close.  The DECUS compiler has a better RT11 interface,
but Whitesmith's system is far more portable.  (There seem to be several
versions of the DECUS compiler floating around.  Early versions were
very buggy, the newest one sounds quite solid.)

	Also rumored were Algol, Ratfor, and Forth, but no first-hand
experience was offered.

==================
End of summary
==================



	One idea which came up in a few of the responces was:  why use
RT11 in the first place?  Several people mentioned giving up on RT11-based
projects and moving over to UNIX.  Others mentioned a large RT11 userbase.
Perhaps the relative merits of various operating systems on smaller PDP-11
systems requires further discussion.


	steve
	decvax!tektronix!reed!swany

P.S. Thanks to the respondants:
	Andrew			wlcrjs
	Rand Dow		sequent
	Alan			mit-vax
	J Bradford Parker	gcc-bill
	Marty Sasaki		harvard
	Ed Darken		duke
	Dorothy			decwrl
	Dave Wright		fluke
	Kevin Ramer		uab_cs
	J. A. Movshon		hipl
	Dave Mason		utcsri
	John			watcgl
	John Cornelius		sdcsvax
	Jeff Richardson		dciem