Megamax C

Megamax C is a K&R C-based development system originally written for Macintosh and ported to the Atari ST and Apple IIGS computers. Sold by Megamax, Inc., based in Richardson, Texas,[1] the package includes a one-pass compiler, linker, text editor, resource construction kit, and documentation.[1] Megamax C was written by Michael Bunnell with Eric Parker providing the linker and most of the standard library. A circa-1988 version of the compiler was renamed Laser C, while the company remained Megamax.[2]

In the early days of the Atari ST, Megamax C was the primary competitor to the Alcyon C compiler from Digital Research which was included in the official developer kit from Atari Corporation, and the documentation covered Atari-specific features. The ST version also included the source code and assets for a polished Asteroids clone, Megaroids, written by Mike Bunnell with sound effects by Mitch Bunnell.[3]

Technical details

On both the Atari ST and Macintosh, the size of a compiled module is limited to 32K of code, and arrays have the same 32K restriction.[1] The limitation stems from a requirement on the Macintosh which was carried over to the Atari.[4] This is despite the Motorola 68000 CPU in both machines having a 24-bit address range.

Reception

According to a review of the Atari ST version in Antic by Mike Fleishman, Megamax C compiled a small benchmark program six times faster than Digital Research's compiler.[1] In a comparison of C compilers for the Atari ST, STart magazine wrote, "For a development compiler, Megamax C is, without question, the best available on the Atari. It will reduce your compile/test turn-around time by at least a factor of five."[4] They also pointed out that the $200 price may be steep for hobbyists and students.

The compiler was used for development by Batteries Included and FTL Games.[5]

gollark: I think Python is a good language to start learning things with.
gollark: Apparently whoever wrote the specifications for what people learn in "computer science" thought it was important that people know about this, and for consistency or something they designed their own assembly language (which does not actually run on anything).
gollark: (technically a family of them, but whatever)
gollark: Assembly is basically a very low-level language which directly compiles to machine code, which is what the CPU hardware runs.
gollark: The assembly language is actually reasonable and vaguely ARM-like.

References
  1. Fleishman, Mike (September 1986). "Megamax C Review". Antic. 5 (5).
  2. Darek, Mihocka (November 1988). "Review: Laser C (Megamax, Inc.)". ST-Log (25): 78.
  3. "Megaroids". Atari Crypt. February 2, 2016.
  4. Anders, Arick; Bendio, Michael (1986). "Which C for Me?". STart. 1 (2).
  5. "Megamax C print ad". Atari Mania.


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