Re: [avr-chat] Can't Install avr-gcc in FreeBSD

[David Brown]

Bob Paddock wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:24:11 -0400, David Brown <address@hidden> 
> wrote:
>
> > Chris "open source is only used by hobbyists and other irrelevant poor 
> > people" Hills
>
> I have the "latests and greatest", all paid for, version of IAR for
> the AVR right here.  I've yet to take it out of the envelope
> and load it up.  The last time I "upgraded", their install process
> ate all the files on my hard disk.    I use GCC because the support
> has been magnitudes better that paid support I've every received from IAR.
>
> The one real GCC bug that I found an reported was fixed within a couple
> of days.  It feels like it takes that long with IAR just to prove
> to them that I have a legitimate copy.  A real problem with IAR resulted
> in "we'll fix it in the next release" several months away.
>
> I was also contacted by IAR 'support' three times saying "I thought
> you where going to order the upgrade?", long after the upgrade
> I ordered had arrived.

You don't need to convince me - I've seen plenty of horror stories of 
this type, both myself and with my customers (although not with IAR - I 
have never bought a compiler from them).  But if you're feeling 
argumentative, wander down to comp.arch.embedded sometime!

> > or Wilco "gcc is ten years behind commercial compiler technology"
>
> Actually GCC, and the commercial compilers also, *are* years behind
> what is happening at the very high end of software development.
> Places like Fly-by-Wire, and Nuclear Power Plant design, for example.

The accusations of being old-fashioned are more in terms of the code 
generation and optimisation, rather than the style of programming - C 
programming is by it's nature old-fashioned.  Some c.a.e. regulars seem 
to believe that commercial compilers regularly produce smaller and 
tighter code than gcc because they are x years ahead in terms of 
optimisations.  In a few cases there is some justification for this - 
the example used is often ByteCraft's compilers for small 8-bit micros, 
which can do some pretty neat stuff (imagine combining -fprogram-at-once 
compilation, -fcode-sections, -fdata-sections, and the up-and-coming 
optimisations for making file-scope data look like a struct for faster 
access through a pointer, and you get fairly close).  But most of it is, 
in my experience, highly exaggerated.

mvh.,

David


> This is one of the better examples:
>
> http://www.esterel-technologies.com/
>
> 'Draw' your specifications and out pops your code, and
> the approval paperwork as well.  Prices start around $30k.
>
> There is older version of the Version 5 Esterel Compiler that is
> freeware, and there is the Open Source version done by Professor
> Edwards at Columbia. These are the older text based versions.
> Google for 'esterl.org'.
>
>
>
>
>
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