Re: Trademarks, etc. Re: Micro-C, Initialize global arrays within declaration, how?

Re: Trademarks, etc. Re: Micro-C, Initialize global arrays within declaration, how?

[Ralph Silverman]

Dave Dunfield (dave@dunfield.com) wrote:
: tanmoy@qcd.lanl.gov (Tanmoy Bhattacharya) wrote:

: >In article <smryanDu3t1n.LrG@netcom.com>
: >smryan@netcom.com (@#$%!?!) writes:

: >: : In other words calling Micro-C a C compiler is utter falsehood in
: >: : advertisement. 
: >: 
: >: If you want to control the use of the name C (TM), then you should 
: >: remember to indicate it is indeed trademarked. You can do this by
: >: adding "(TM)". If you do not vigourously protect your trademarks,
: >: they can legally pass into common usage and out of your control. 

: >True. I am no legal expert, but I thought an advertisement has to
: >stick to terms as they are defined in common usage. Most places have
: >consumer protection laws, and I would be surprised if I buy a `C
: >compiler' and find that it does not compile `C'. In the presence of an
: >international standard, a common man's expectation surely is that the
: >unqualified term `C' refers to the language defined therein?

: I wish I could see this entire thread, however my host only gives me
: bits and peices of the news. This is the first I've seen of this
: complaint. I appears that I am being accused of falsely advertising
: my products. I offer the following defense:

: 1) I've heard (from my customers) about pretty well all of the other
:     small systems embedded compilers, and I don't believe any one
:     of them completely conforms to "international standards". As a
:     matter of point, I am aware of several larger systems compilers
:     which also do not completely conform.

: 2) I market mainly through demos, and the free PC version, which
:     allow potential users to completely investigate the pacakges
:     implementation of the language before laying down any money.

: 3) The following is a direct quotation from the "questions and answers"
:     section of my catalog:

: Q: Is MICRO-C a full ANSI compiler?

:     No, MICRO-C is a "near ANSI" subset compiler. It does however,
:     support more of the 'C' language than most other subset compilers,
:     including:
:       - All 'C' statements:
:         if/else     while   do/while    for     break   continue
:         return      goto    switch/case/default {}      ;       asm
:       - All 'C' operators:
:         +  -  *  /  %  &  |  ^  <<  >>  >  <  == ~ ++ -- ?: , . ->
:         += -= *= /= %= &= |= ^= <<= >>= >= <= != ! () [] sizeof
:       - The following data types:
:         int     char    unsigned    (including: unsigned char)
:         struct  union   extern  static  register   void
:         *(pointer to any type, incl. pointers and structs)
:         - Arrays of any type (incl. multi-dimension, pointers & structs)
:         - Function can return any type
:         - Typecast of values to other types
:       - Decimal, Octal and Hex constants. eg: 127, 0177, 0x7f
:       - Full support for strings and character constants: ('' "")
:         Including: \n \r \t \b \f \177(Octal) \x7F(Hex)
:         (16 bit character constants are supported. eg: 'ab')
:       - Inline assembly code (single or multi statement).
:       - Preprocessor commands:
:         #define     (fully parameterized & multi-line)
:         #undef
:         #forget     (multi undef -similar to FORTH forget)
:         #error
:         #include
:         #if/#ifdef/#ifndef/#else/#endif (fully nested)
:         #file       (sets filename displayed in error messages)
:       - It DOES NOT support:
:         Typedef, Long* / Double / Float / Enumerated data types, Bit
:         fields.
:       * 32 bit "long" number math functions are provided in the library.
:         These may be easily adjusted to manipulate even larger numbers.
:         (8051 Compiler also includes a floating point library)

: 4) I have a detailed "Quirks" section in the manual describing those
:     little differences that most other vendors just hope you won't
:     notice.

: 5) In the 9 years that I have sold this particular tool, I believe that 
:     I have had only one complaint where the customer truly expected
:     a high-end complete C package, and we refunded his money. (It is
:     also worth noting that a subsequent technical query from a different
:     individual in the same company indicated that the "returned"
:     package probably remained in use.)

: 6) I've got 10 of thousands of lines of C code that is completely
:     portable between Micro-C and other C compilers (even ANSI
:     ones!).

: 7) Finally, in all of my material, nowhere do I claim that Micro-C is
:    an "ANSI C" or "ISO C" compiler, which I'm sure are the standards
:    to which  you are  referring. Prior to these there were many dialects
:    of C, with many variations (some didn't have structs, some supported
:    unique member name tables whereas others didn't, some used =+, while
:    others used +=....) In short, there is no absolute universal standard
:    for the  language named 'C'.

: A demo of the Micro-C compilers for embedded systems can be obtained
: from my web page in the file: MC314EMB.ZIP, also, a FREE version for the
: PC is available in the files: MC314PC1.ZIP and MC314PC2.ZIP. I invite
: anyone with concerns about my presentation of these tools to download
: the files, and check it out. I can be reached via email at
: dave@dunfield.com for comments.
: -----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Dave Dunfield (dave@dunfield.com)     Embedded system development tools
: Dunfield Development Systems  Box 31044  Nepean Ontario Canada  K2B 8S8
: http://www.dunfield.com info@dunfield.com Fax:613-256-5821 BBS:256-6289


--
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	yes...
	the criticisms are outrageous!

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Ralph Silverman
z007400b@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us