Compaq announces Beta test for Linux Alpha C compiler
Posted by
ryuzaki0
on from the compaq-invest-in-linux---nice.. dept.
Compaq has announced a public beta test for Linux Alpha C compiler (along with fortran). Press release (thanks to Linux PR) is available here, and here is the link for the software. It's good to see Compaq developing compilers and other applications for Linux. Keep up the good work, compaq!
I used to work for Digital, and I met some of the compiler team once. They are very smart people, and their compilers are very efficient and standards compliant to a point.
We have to think about why Compaq bought digital. One reason has to be for Digital's services section, which is one of the best in the world.
Another one has to be for the sheer bulk of tech genius that Digital has. Digital's problem has never been lack of innovation, it was an inability to market these innovations. ( Anyone heard any news of the Itsy? ).
Beleive me, I worked on a product 3 years ago, that still hasn't hit the shelves.
Anyway, Compaq now has a lot of specialist expertise, and it's obviously putting it to good use. We have to respect this. They can't simply buy a multi-billion tech company and start to give away the technologies for free.
Remember that the primary reason that slashdotters cclaim that companies should opensource their technologies is to help them innovate and stabalise. If this is unnecessary, then we don't really have another argument.
I think it's a step in the right direction. We have the people who built the alpha releasing compilers for Linux/Alpha. Sorted.
This is going to allow alot of alpha developers to move from Digital Unix to Linux:)
I hope that the GCC/EGCS folks download this compiler, compile a bunch of test cases with both it and GCC/EGCS, and then find all the good bits in the final assembler and put those sort of optimizations into GCC/EGCS.
I don't hope for anything of that sort. I believe that such an action would constitute reverse engineering of the Compaq compiler, and would therefore be against the explicit language of the license agreement.
Compaq wrote it and they are entitled to whatever licensing terms they want. While I believe that Compaq should contribute their optimiations to the community, I don't believe they should be forced to and in the absence of Compaq's willingness I guess the GNU folks are just going to have to rely on their own formidable genius and cunning to come up with a better optimized compiler.
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I used to work for Digital, and I met some of
:)
the compiler team once. They are very smart people, and their compilers are very efficient and standards compliant to a point.
We have to think about why Compaq bought digital. One reason has to be for Digital's services section, which is one of the best in the world.
Another one has to be for the sheer bulk of tech genius that Digital has. Digital's problem has never been lack of innovation, it was an inability to market these innovations. ( Anyone heard any news of the Itsy? ).
Beleive me, I worked on a product 3 years ago, that still hasn't hit the shelves.
Anyway, Compaq now has a lot of specialist expertise, and it's obviously putting it to good use. We have to respect this. They can't simply buy a multi-billion tech company and start to give away the technologies for free.
Remember that the primary reason that slashdotters cclaim that companies should opensource their technologies is to help them innovate and stabalise. If this is unnecessary, then we don't really have another argument.
I think it's a step in the right direction. We have the people who built the alpha releasing compilers for Linux/Alpha. Sorted.
This is going to allow alot of alpha developers to move from Digital Unix to Linux
-- hjw http://puzl.info/
I don't hope for anything of that sort. I believe that such an action would constitute reverse engineering of the Compaq compiler, and would therefore be against the explicit language of the license agreement.
Compaq wrote it and they are entitled to whatever licensing terms they want. While I believe that Compaq should contribute their optimiations to the community, I don't believe they should be forced to and in the absence of Compaq's willingness I guess the GNU folks are just going to have to rely on their own formidable genius and cunning to come up with a better optimized compiler.
-jwb