The contents of the body of this page are 100% Copyright (C) 1991 by PC Week magazine, now known as eWeek. It is my hope that they will view the few selected articles that I have posted on my site as a tribute. As far as I know, these back issues are not available anywhere on-line.
C++ Beta No. 2 Gains Optimizations, Closes in on Competition
PC Week - 1991-09-30 - Page 11 - by Karen Moser
The first major upgrade to Borland International Inc.’s C+ + Windows development environment has entered a second beta with a new Windows interface tool kit and added optimizations to help developers write more efficient code.
While the compiler in the Borland C+ + 3.0 beta releases is basically the same as in Borland C++ 2.O, the betas have added a total of 15 optimizations, including size, speed, loop unrolling and global optimizations, beta testers reported last week.
If the condition of the latest beta is any indication, Borland C + + 3.0 could be on the verge of release — possibly in two to three months — according to several testers, who said that the beta appears to be bug-free (see photo, Page 1).
The new beta shows that Borland is working to narrow the competitive gap between its compilers and Microsoft Corp.’s by addressing developers’ needs for code optimizations, which Microsoft has already incorporated into its C compiler.
As the first Windows-specific C+ + development environment, Borland C + + 3 .0 will give Borland a head start with object- oriented enthusiasts who are waiting for an easier and less time-consuming way to develop and test Windows code.
“If they do come out with a Windows interface, the turnaround time for us would be greatly decreased,” said Tom Merriewether, a programmer analyst for LAN development at Lincoln National Insurance Corp., an insurance company in Fort Wayne, Ind.
“Right now, the general cycle is, you develop in DOS and then switch over, which is a painful way to try and develop under Windows,” he said.
Borland compilers have always been viewed as an easy and fast way to develop code, but most high-end developers used Microsoft for the final compile due to its optimization capabilities, said beta testers.
“High-end developers are very concerned about getting maximum efficiency out of their code, and, in the past, a number of developers wouldn’t use the Borland compiler because it didn’t have optimizations”, said one beta tester.
“To squeeze that extra percent out of your code is very difficult, especially now, with developers moving to Windows, where there is no limit to your code size,” the tester said.
Borland will also ship its C+ + environment with its own home- grown resource tool kit, called the Resource Workshop, for building Windows interface elements such as dialog boxes and radio buttons.
Currently, developers writing Windows code in a DOS-based environment must switch from DOS to Windows every time they need to test application code, a task that can be tedious and time-consuming.
“The things I noticed were that the error checking and writing are a lot better,” said one beta tester. “The fact that you can edit, run and debug in the Windows environment can speed program development by 40 or 50 percent.”
Officials of Borland, in Scotts Valley, Calif., said the company does not comment on unannounced products.
While the compiler in the Borland C+ + 3.0 beta releases is basically the same as in Borland C++ 2.O, the betas have added a total of 15 optimizations, including size, speed, loop unrolling and global optimizations, beta testers reported last week.
If the condition of the latest beta is any indication, Borland C + + 3.0 could be on the verge of release — possibly in two to three months — according to several testers, who said that the beta appears to be bug-free (see photo, Page 1).
The new beta shows that Borland is working to narrow the competitive gap between its compilers and Microsoft Corp.’s by addressing developers’ needs for code optimizations, which Microsoft has already incorporated into its C compiler.
As the first Windows-specific C+ + development environment, Borland C + + 3 .0 will give Borland a head start with object- oriented enthusiasts who are waiting for an easier and less time-consuming way to develop and test Windows code.
“If they do come out with a Windows interface, the turnaround time for us would be greatly decreased,” said Tom Merriewether, a programmer analyst for LAN development at Lincoln National Insurance Corp., an insurance company in Fort Wayne, Ind.
“Right now, the general cycle is, you develop in DOS and then switch over, which is a painful way to try and develop under Windows,” he said.
Borland compilers have always been viewed as an easy and fast way to develop code, but most high-end developers used Microsoft for the final compile due to its optimization capabilities, said beta testers.
“High-end developers are very concerned about getting maximum efficiency out of their code, and, in the past, a number of developers wouldn’t use the Borland compiler because it didn’t have optimizations”, said one beta tester.
“To squeeze that extra percent out of your code is very difficult, especially now, with developers moving to Windows, where there is no limit to your code size,” the tester said.
Borland will also ship its C+ + environment with its own home- grown resource tool kit, called the Resource Workshop, for building Windows interface elements such as dialog boxes and radio buttons.
Currently, developers writing Windows code in a DOS-based environment must switch from DOS to Windows every time they need to test application code, a task that can be tedious and time-consuming.
“The things I noticed were that the error checking and writing are a lot better,” said one beta tester. “The fact that you can edit, run and debug in the Windows environment can speed program development by 40 or 50 percent.”
Officials of Borland, in Scotts Valley, Calif., said the company does not comment on unannounced products.
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