The WDC C compiler?

[drogon]

Now that it's free, has anyone used the WDC C compiler or compared it to CC65?

http://www.westerndesigncenter.com/wdc/tools.cfm

I've not looked yet as I don't have any MS windows systems to run it under, but a quick look through the manual shows command-line operation (in addition to their IDE), so it might run under DOSBOX - if anyone knows I'd appreciate a heads-up before I give it a go.

Cheers,

-gordon

[Chromatix]

A quick look through the manual shows one big advantage over cc65 - it supports floating-point. Relative performance on other operations will have to be tested; it doesn't look like it does any great heroics to optimise the code it produces, though it does allow the programmer to put local variables in zero page using the 'register' keyword.

I get the impression that the tools are designed to be run from their TIDE environment, which is a Windows application. The tools themselves will probably be Windows console programs, not DOS, so should be run from cmd.exe (or MinGW or PowerShell). If you don't have Windows, try WINE.

[BillO]

FP is big though. I have had some success running my latest board up to over 19mHz, so ultimate optimization may not be a big problem. If ultimate in space or speed is required, just code the crucial routines in assembler and give 'em a call when you need them.

[BitWise]

There is allegedly a program size limit with the free version but it I think think its fairly generous and can be bypassed by compiling lots of small modules instead of fewer huge ones.

I tried to by a full copy a couple of years ago when the SXB boards came out but its now only available for big corporate users.

A shame really.