Xref: news2.mv.net comp.os.msdos.djgpp:4913
From: Stephen DOT Piner AT comp DOT vuw DOT ac DOT nz (Steve Piner)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Re: Why are they so fat?
Date: 12 Jun 1996 23:21:44 GMT
Organization: Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Lines: 45
Message-ID: <4pnje8$5oe@st-james.comp.vuw.ac.nz>
References: <29C186D7EED AT fs2 DOT mt DOT umist DOT ac DOT uk>
NNTP-Posting-Host: paramount.comp.vuw.ac.nz
To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

In article <29C186D7EED AT fs2 DOT mt DOT umist DOT ac DOT uk>,
A.Appleyard <A DOT APPLEYARD AT fs2 DOT mt DOT umist DOT ac DOT uk> wrote:
: On Mon, 10 Jun 1996, A.Appleyard wrote:
: > [Amount of overhead in DJGPP compiled programs]
: 
:   Eli Zaretskii <eliz AT is DOT elta DOT co DOT il> replied:-
: > If that hurts, you should compress your .EXE files. Get DJP (the
: > DJGPP-specific exe compressor) and run it on all your programs. ...
: 
: Having to uncompress each program as I need it would be a pain in the neck.

It sounds more like PKLITE - the decompression is invisible.  You just
run the executeable, it decompresses into memory, then runs.
(However, I haven't got DJP so I could be completely wrong)

: How much extra work
: would it involve to give djgpp an option to tell it to compile a program to
: run in real-mode? to save the user from having to clutter his computer with a
: second compiler for stray needs to compile small real-mode programs.

A lot.  GNU C assumes a flat memory model.  To handle the segmented
structure would probably require major adjustments to the compiler,
the assembler and the linker.  I think the .o file format would have
to be changed and after all that, real-mode would probably be slower.

There would also be new problems - for example, it would take longer
for newer versions of the compiler to become available through DJGPP
since much of the code generator would have to be completely rewritten
with every new version.

And add to all this, the fact that the libraries would have to be
duplicated twice - one for protected mode, the other for real mode.
My real mode C compiler takes up about 1.5Mb of disk space.  My
\djgpp\lib directory takes up about 1.6Mb.  Admittedly DJGPP has a lot
more in it than my other compiler, but I'm happy having the two in the
current compromise - besides, when I need lots of disk space fast, I
can nuke DJGPP (yes, I know, such heresy!) and still have a C compiler
on my system.

Steve
-- 
 ____ ____
/ __//___ \  Steve Piner - spiner AT comp DOT vuw DOT ac DOT nz
\__ \ |  _/-----------------------------------------------------
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