[clean-list] Re: Matrix timings (Marco Kesseler)

[Siegfried Gonzi]

>
> From: "Marco Kesseler" <M.Kesseler@aia.nl>

>These issues indicate that it would be A Good Thing to open
>source the Clean compiler. Unfortunately it seems that the code
>generator (which is written in C, even in 2.0) will not be published.
>Exploiting processor parallellism would certainly require some
>changes in that part of the compiler.

The problem with this open source projects are: there then comes the time and
they will stagnate. It is not easy to foster a complicated software system,
and there then is more what the average programmer will detect what he is not
capable of handling. It is not enough to know a computer language, but this is
often well believed.

And another problem (as you see every day at Linux or Unix) is that then
people will change the source code and at this place then you download that
version and at another place you download that Clean version and on the moon
you download that source code changed version and so on...

Wihout any ulterior-motivation: but what will one do with the Clean source
code? Reading or what? I hardly ever will believe that the source code is as
readable as the Playboy magazine. And then? I really doubt that one is capable
of fixing a subtle bug (because bugs are seldom only at one place alone).

> > Here C will always win.
>
> Currently yes, because there are so many more developers
> involved in C/C++ than in Clean.

But I am quite contendet with the current situation. I think it is good that
Clean is multiplatform and it is better to serve well on different platforms
as at one alone (and exploit it to death).

I think it is not that bad (as often said) that Clean has not all this
sophisticated GUI stuff (as you get on Windows and Mac) on Unix/Linux. On Unix
there has been and is not much a need for GUIs. Linux is a little bit more
complicated and I can really understand that the Nijmengen boys are reluctant
to make more on Linux as required. Take an evening  and read some discussion
in the net about Linux. You will soon recognise that nobody knows what
actually Linux is, nor does anybody know what way Linux should go in the
future. And for real software projects (and I think Clean is a real software
projects) the Linux community is a kindergarten.

It is even so, that I contemplate to buy as my next computer a Windows XP
machine (I have to solidarize myself with all Windows users, because it is
unacceptable that Linux fanatics believe Windows users are
silly-klicki-idiots; as I did it in my former life as a dung-beetle (no insult
intendet: Biene Maja is great!) in behalf of all Macintosh users).


With MacOS X maybe Clean will get a new motivation for Unix.


*For all innocents: The Austrian secret service told me there is a bug-removed
new Clean Unix version out. The new version has fxed the unboxed array bug.*

S. Gonzi