Date   : Mon, 04 Aug 1986 10:08:57-EDT
From   : prindle@nadc.ARPA
Subject: Mix C+ 

There is a review of Mix C in the June 86 issue of BYTE magazine.  May I add
that I own a copy for CP/M-80 and have found that it works in general, though
a bit slower than Aztec C; the generated code is somewhat more bulky and runs
more slowly too.  It also has some strange characteristics for the unwary -
for example, string substitutions (from #defines) eat up the whitespace 
following the token to be replaced, and if the replacement string does not
include a trailing comment, no whitespace is replaced. E.G.:

#define EXTERN extern
EXTERN int noodle;

expands to:

externint noodle;

Which, of course, generates a compiler error.  The solution is to add a comment
to the end of the #define with intervening whitespace:

#define EXTERN extern /**/

Also, it's treatment of comments is somewhat nonstandard - I believe something
like this blows off:

       /*commented out         inode++; /*increment node pointer*/

All in all, such things wouldn't bother you once you know about them, but they
are a pain if trying to port a program written for another compiler.  So for
$40.00, you probably get more than you pay for, though not everything you
always
wanted, and there is a huge book included (not the best C tutorial I've
ever seen, but acceptable).  Suggest you read the Byte article for more
details on the cans and cannots.

Sincerely,
Frank Prindle
Prindle@NADC.arpa