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C language 50th anniversary
VK3DRB:
I like C. I am programming a micro-controller in C right now in fact. Been programming in C for just over 30 years.
Before that, Pascal. Before that, BASIC, and a few odd-ball languages at various times... C++, C#, Assembly Language, APL, Fortran, Clipper (dBaseIII. Remember Clipper from Nantucket?). And even direct machine code which isn't really a language.
Hmm BASIC... Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It has nothing to do with beginners. It is useless for embedded or any serious programming. But I have a soft spot for it. The old line-numbered BASIC was my first language. I programmed in BASIC on the Cyber-72 mainframe at RMIT as an engineering student from 1977 and loved it. That machine was way ahead of its time. BASIC and FORTRAN were part of KRONOS, the O/S for the Cyber-72. First year, we used punched cards on the IBM 029 card punches (don't drop the deck!). Then we used upgraded to VDUs... a revolutionary improvement. If you don't know what a VDU is, you are clearly a newbie ;D.
I found the manual here, in case others are as nostalgic or have an interest...
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/cdc/cyber/cyber_70/kronos/60407600B_KRONOS2.1ug_May74.pdf
BrianHG:
--- Quote from: Tomorokoshi on July 22, 2022, 09:59:44 pm ---
--- Quote from: BrianHG on July 22, 2022, 09:46:26 pm ---I tried C on my firs Amiga with a 68000 processor, 2.5mb ram and a super slow HD.
No way, too long to compile. (1989ish)
I tried again when I got my 25MHz 68030 Amiga 3000 with 10mb ram and a top performance 7200 RPM SCSI HD. (1993ish)
Ok, now I was hooked as compiling time was actually good.
Though a lot of code was copy & paste modified examples from existing source code with my algorithms in-between.
I didn't delve deeper into a modern C compiler until I had access to a C compiler for Microchip MCUs and had to do a DSPIC project for my exercise bike controller. Then it was more fun as compile times were only around 2 seconds.
--- End quote ---
Yes, I had have Lattice C on the Amiga 3000.
--- End quote ---
I currently have SAS/C version 6.3, still alive and kicking...
I think I had Lattice on my A1000, however, I no longer have that computer.
Hmmm, I just tried a compile and it took 15 seconds on my A3000.
Hmmm, I just tried the same compile on a JIT WinUAE emulated A3000.
Half a second to compile the same project.
Kjelt:
Congratulations C you deserved it.
End 90s when I was graduating I was only taught C++. Teachers stated C was "the past" and OO was the future.
Then the next 24 years working for 6 companies as embedded SWdev, from devices with 16kB OTPROM and 2kB RAM upto now machines with over 500MB program data and a GB of RAM except for two couple of months projects, I never ever did anything but C.
C all the way! And nowadays companies have problems finding good C developers, hiring persons from other continents where they still are taught C. Funny world.
nfmax:
C is L!
I started using EcoC on CP/M, before moving to Whitesmiths C cross compiler, running on Unix but targeting the Z80. I guess this would be about 1984 or so
People should remember that C/Unix was the very first time a whole operating system had been developed in anything other than assembler. Don’t knock K&R for not getting everything absolutely perfect!
DiTBho:
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on July 22, 2022, 11:14:19 pm ---Oh yeah, GCC was a dog.
Think C was pretty fast considering the kind of platforms it ran on.
--- End quote ---
NextStep/Objective-C - vs - HPUX/GNU Gcc v2.95: the crazy thing is that Objective-C ran twice as fast on the same hardware(1) with NextSTEP v3.3/HPPA1 :o :o :o
(1) HP712 workstation, cpu PA-7100LC@100 MHz with 1 KB on-chip L1 and 256 KB off-chip L1 cache, 192Mbyte of ram, 9GB narrow SCSI 10K rpm
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