[Sunhelp] Sparc Compiler

[Wes Hofmann]

James Lockwood wrote:
> 
> On Sun, 20 Jun 1999, Wes Hofmann wrote:
> 
> > Currently I am using the GNU compiler on Solaris 2.6 sparc edition.
> > I've read and been told that SUN's (SparcWorks?) Compiler makes much
> > better code for the solaris platform than does the GNU Compiler.  If
> > that is true, is the increased performance enough to warrant buying
> > SUN's compiler when I already have a free one that does what I need?
> > Thanks for any info. :)
> 
> First of all, is your code highly CPU-intensive and does it need to run as
> fast as possible?  Given the high cost of the SPARCompilers it often may
> make sense to put more money into hardware instead if you are running an
> application you have developed.
> 
> You will see the largest difference in performance when you're running
> code on an Ultra, especially FP-intensive code.  I have seen performance
> improvements of up to 100% in specialized routines with an average across
> the board improvement of 25% for "typical" programs.  Whether or not this
> is worth a few kilobucks is up to you.
> 
> If you need to compile code under the Solaris 64-bit environment, then the
> Sun compilers are the only game in town at this point.  egcs has most of
> what is needed to do this, but it's a real stretch to call it production
> quality.
> 
> As always, the best benchmark is the code that you care about.  If you're
> undecided, download the free Try and Buy compilers from Sun and do some
> profiling.
> 
> -James

thanks for the info.  I'll look into the free trial versions. 

Wes Hofmann