Limitation of MS-DOS C compiler? (was Re: Should I convert FORTRAN code to C?)

[Daniel R. Levy]

In article <8807121629.AA07169 at explorer.dgp.toronto.edu>, flaps at dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal) writes:
> [a certain MS-DOS C compiler can't compile an array larger than a segment]

> MS-DOS C compilers seem only to accept a subset
> of the C language because it allows them to compile certain benchmarks
> into faster code.

Accepting a "subset of the C language," as you put it, might make it EASIER
to write a PC compiler in order to compiler "certain benchmarks" faster, etc.,
but it's not NECESSARY.  In the example you cited, there's nothing that would
theoretically keep the compiler from having the smarts to generate fast code to
do well by the small arrays in benchmarks and slower but working code for
larger, multi-segment arrays.  Now the COMPILER might then be slower, but
that's another story.
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