Is it true that first versions of C compilers ran for dozens of minutes and required swapping floppy disks between stages?

Posted by sharptooth on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by sharptooth
Published on 2011-02-24T08:09:55Z Indexed on 2011/02/25 7:32 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 377

Filed under:

history

|

compilers

Inspired by this question.

I heard that some very very early versions of C compilers for personal computers (I guess it's around 1980) resided on two or three floppy disks and so in order to compile a program one had to first insert the disk with "first pass", run the "first pass", then change to the disk with "second pass", run that, then do the same for the "third pass". Each pass ran for dozens of minutes so the developer lost lots of time in case of even a typo.

How realistic is that claim? What were actual figures and details?

© Programmers or respective owner

Related posts about history

Retrieving Chrome History and History Archives for Mac

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I've read some articles here that suggest that we are able to retrieve Chrome's history as SQLite databases: Export history from chome browser How can I view "archived" Google Chrome history — i.e. history older than three months? I can't seem to find the folder where these are supposed… >>> More
Jquery history, inspect the history stack

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Im using this history jquery plugin http://www.mikage.to/jquery/jquery_history.html and im trying to inspect the back stack. I can call this $.historyCurrentHash to return the current hash, but im trying to figure out how to look one step back in the stack. if i try calling this $.historyBackStack… >>> More
Visual History for Chrome Maps Out Your Browser History in an Interactive Graph

as seen on How to geek - Search for 'How to geek'
Curious how your adventures on the web interweave? Visual History for Chrome maps out related web sites in your browsing history into an interactive chart–visualize your browsing over the last hours, days, or months. One of the interesting elements of Visual History is that it doesn’t… >>> More
Smithsonian Showcases Video Game History with The Art of Video Games [Video]

as seen on How to geek - Search for 'How to geek'
The Art of Video Games is the Smithsonian’s look at the history of video games; check out this video trailer to see what the exhibition is all about and hear from some notable folks. From the Smithsonian listing for the exhibition: The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to… >>> More
This Week in Geek History: Birth of Linux Creator, FM Radio Appears, and Q*Bert Released

as seen on How to geek - Search for 'How to geek'
Every week we bring you interesting trivia from the annuals of geekdom. This week in Geek History witnessed the birth of Linux creator Linus Torvalds, the patent for FM radio, and the release of wildly popular 80s arcade game Q*Bert. Read on to learn more about each event. Latest Features How-To… >>> More

Related posts about compilers

Advantages of compilers for functional languages over compilers for imperative languages

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
As a follow up to this question What are the advantages of built-in immutability of F# over C#?--am I correct in assuming that the F# compiler can make certain optimizations knowing that it's dealing with largely immutable code? I mean even if a developer writes "Functional C#" the compiler wouldn't… >>> More
What are modern and old compilers written in?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
As a compiler, other than an interpreter, only needs to translate the input and not run it the performance of itself should be not that problematic as with an interpreter. Therefore, you wouldn't write an interpreter in, let's say Ruby or PHP because it would be far too slow. However, what about… >>> More
Is reading a book on compilers necessary to be a good programmer

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I understand the basics of compilers, virtual machines and interpreters from reading overviews in other books. But I don't know the specifics. Do you think it is important to know the specifics and read an in depth book about compilers? If so, why and please suggest a book? >>> More
JIT compiler for C, C++, and the likes

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
Is there any just-in-time compiler out there for compiled languages, such as C and C++? (The first names that come to mind are Clang and LLVM! But I don't think they currently support it.) Explanation: I think the software could benefit from runtime profiling feedback and aggressively optimized… >>> More
Is Python Interpreted or Compiled?

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
This is just a wondering I had while reading about interpreted and compiled languages. Ruby is no doubt an interpreted language, since source code is compiled by an interpreter at the point of execution. On the contrary C is a compiled language, as one have to compile the source code first according… >>> More