[DECtalk] dectalk sapi interface

[Tony Baechler]

Hi.  This is way off topic for this list, so I will keep my reply 
short.  If you want/need more information, write to me off list.

I would say that many compilers are accessible.  The trick is knowing the 
programming language.  Each BASIC dialect is different, for example, but 
Applesoft BASIC and GW-BASIC are relatively similar.  QBASIC or PowerBASIC 
are different but still share similarities with Applesoft.  Applesoft uses 
line numbers while modern BASICs don't, and of course modern languages are 
more powerful, but they still can be traced back to the roots of BASIC, 
such as Applesoft or even earlier.

One very accessible and very portable compiler is gcc.  This is for the C 
or C++ languages.  One advantage to using those is that they are 
portable.  For example, gcc runs fine under DOS, Windows, or Linux.  The 
DOS version is djgpp.  The Windows versions are a bit harder to download 
and set up.  Cygwin is very good and has many tools found under Linux.  gcc 
comes standard with most Linux distributions.

The point of all this is that which language or compiler you use doesn't 
really matter in most cases.  Of course there are exceptions.  The more 
important thing is to learn a programming language and then worry about a 
compiler.  I didn't even cover the Pascal compilers for example.  Again, 
write off list if you want more info on this.  Corrections from anyone are 
welcome.