*nix on "classic" systems

[Ensor]

Hi,

  > FBOFW, modern "free" *nix ports tend to use gcc, and gcc is
  >such a resource hog for anything smaller than a VAX. Even on
  >a VAX it's colossaly slow.

Augh....any idea how it fares on, say, Sun or SGI machines?


  > Not on a VAX, but small and spritely, is Minix....

I remember it well, it was the first *nix I had any "long-term" exposure to 
back around '88 (I'd dabbled with Ultrix at university).

I see they're up to "Minix 3" now!

  >....The Amsterdam Compiler Kit wasn't free, though! The thought of
  >a Unix without a compiler....

LOL, I knew there was a reason I didn't do very with it at the time....

  >....even though I despise C compared to high level languages like
  >SNOBOL and FOCAL.

You'll get no argument from me there, I learnt "C" in 1983 and hate it with 
a passion even to this day; I'm an assembly language programmer by trade 
(hence I'm currently out of a job) but I learnt quite a number of high level 
languages at school/university/because I wanted to and "C" was the only one 
I disliked....the way I look at it, it's little more than a "high level 
macro assembler" and really isn't suited to the majority of uses it's put to 
nowadays (writing embedded apps and device drivers in "C", sheer madness!).


  TTFN - Pete.