Scott Herman, in reply to Jim Wowchuk, wrote: > Don't underestimate the GNU products. They are not shareware. They are, for > the most part, extremely successful collaborative efforts, the product of > more accumulated expertise than HP, ATT, IBM, or even MicroSloth afford to > assemble. > > As for support, the GNU products are supported by a group whose commitment > to quality efficiency, and usability is unsurpassed. They are supported by > their users as well as their authors, collaborating and cooperating in much > the same way we do here, by the same means. When GNU C++ is ported to MPE/ix > it will be supported by us, you and me, and anyone else who uses it. We will > not lose support because someone lost or changed our 'handle', or because > the institution we work for didn't pay it's bill on time. We will not pay > for support, and Jim, I can guarantee that if you call me, I will not > threaten to bill you on a 'time and materials basis'. My preference, support wise, would be for the HP product. Our situation is such that if a compiler does not work, we must have the bug addresses and in very short order. My experience with GNU tools is slight, but I believe I would receive a fix sooner from HP than from a ill defined colaborative cluster of unknown programmers. Ya gets what ya pay for. -- ======================================================================= Guy Smith Voice: 804-527-4000 ext 6664 Circuit City Stores, Inc. FAX: 804-527-4008 9950 Mayland Drive E-Mail: [log in to unmask] Richmond, VA 23233-1464 Private E-Mail: [log in to unmask] The thoughts expressed herein are mine and do not reflect those of my employer, or anyone with common sense.