Re: tlug: 1run C++,Fortran,Ratfor makes

["Manuel M. T. Chakravarty" <chak@example.com>]

Sean Bennett <sean@example.com> wrote,

> Thanks for the reply Stephen.
> 
> "Stephen J. Turnbull" wrote:
> 
> >     Sean> I'm looking for a 'make' program for TL3.0 that can take
> >     Sean> multiple sources files (such as C++, Fortran, and/or Ratfor)...
> 
> > Um, could you be more specific?
> 
> (...details, details... always my undoing...)  ah, sorry but actually I can't
> be more specific right now :-(
> 
> We have a client currently using SunOS systems, interested in moving to PC's
> running TL3.0.  As described to me after the fact,  besides his hesitation
> regarding using gcc, he was looking for something that could handle multiple
> source files at the same time with a single 'make' command.
> 
> Forgive my ignorance  - I'm not a programer, just getting familiar with the
> innards of Linux, and oblivious to the workings of SunOS;  from my understand
> though it appears he's looking for something to match a functionality he
> currently enjoys under SunOS...

How is the client solving the problem in SunOS?  The chances 
that the same solution would work under Linux are high.
Sun's compiler are quite nice, but gcc is also a very high
quality compiler.  As long as the client does not depend on
some special features of the Sun compiler (maybe in
conjunction with the OS), such as, SunOS kernel threads; a
migration to gcc shouldn't be difficult.  Furthermore, as
gcc is available on a very wide range of platforms, this
move will make your clients software in general more
portable (ie, it may be worthwhile even if some work is
involved). 

The question about the single `make' command puzzles me as
it does Steve.  Given you have the appropriate makefile (and
you need this on SunOS as you need it on Linux - and you can
actually use the same file), make can translates for you with
a single invocation hundreds of files in as many languages
as you have compilers.  So, if your client is looking for a
`make' program (and I mean the name `make' literally here)
with similar functionality as the `make' of SunOS, he will
get it on Linux (and any other Un*x for that matter).

There might be one problem though, what kind of Fortran does
you client need (F77, F90)?  `g77' is GNU's F77 compiler,
but I don't know how good it is compared to commercial
compilers.  I am not sure whether there is a F90 on Linux.
Furthermore, Fortran people often depend on some of the many
libraries that are available for Fortran.  You should check
out if your client needs any, and if so, if they are
available on Linux.  This is much more the direction where I 
see problems...

Manuel
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