Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer
From: phw@ukc.ac.uk (P.H.Welch)
Subject: Host Platforms for INMOS Toolsets
Organization: University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 12:04:59 GMT
Message-ID: <683@larch.ukc.ac.uk>


Dear All,

This is a repeat posting about host platforms for Inmos Toolset
products.  The response from my previous posting was embarassingly
low.  At the Panel Session during the WoTUG-17 conference in Bristol
last week, this issue was raised ... not by me!  It generated much heat
both from the audience and the panel.  All of the audience claimed not
to have seen the posting about development platforms to this newsgroup
although most said they read it regularly?!!  I said I would re-post it
this week and everyone promised to respond (:-),

so ... here goes:


            PLATFORMS FOR TRANSPUTER DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS
            --------------------------------------------

Inmos has announced that it only intends to support transputer code
development on PC and Sun platforms.  In particular, future Inmos
`Toolsets' will only cross-compile from these hosts ... transputers
themselves will not be able to be used to carry any of this load.

There has been some comment on this previously to this newsgroup.

WoTUG is concerned that this policy may leave a large number of users
facing unnecessary re-equipment costs in order to use the latest
compilers.  This may be especially true in institutions with heavy
requirements for interactive compilation (such as Universities with
large teaching committments or companies with active research and
development programmes) where the load is currently `farmed-out' to
transputer networks hosted by relatively weak or over-burdoned or
non-PC/non-Sun/non-Unix front-end processors.  Institutions that have
invested (or are about to invest) in hosts other than PCs or Suns may
also be worried.

There may be a chance to change this policy if it can be shown that
there is an economic demand for support for other platforms
(transputers themselves or VAX, HP, SGI, Alpha, RS/6000...).

WoTUG would therefore be grateful if any who were concerned would
kindly complete the form attached below and email it to:

  wotug-info@ukc.ac.uk

with the email-subject heading "platform".  Assuming a large enough
response, WoTUG will collate the results of this survey and publish
them in its WoTUG News supplement to the Transputer Communications
journal (published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.) and also to this
newsgroup.  These results will mention no individual users or
institutions.

Many thanks,

Peter Welch (Chair, WoTUG).

(cut here)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

World occam and Transputer User Group (WoTUG) - Survey on Development Platforms
===============================================================================

Today's date = ../../..

  (please use the form dd/mm/yy - i.e. the 1st. February, 1994 is 01/02/94)

Current INMOS Transputer Development Software = .............................

  (e.g. occam toolset, C toolset, Transputer Development System, ...)
  (Give INMOS product codes if you happen to know them!)
  (Multiple answers are possible)

Current Development Host = ......................

  (e.g. PC-compatible, Sun-whatever, DEC Alpha workstation, RS/6000, ...)
  (Multiple answers are possible)

Do you use transputers (T8/T4/T2) for compilation? ......

Do you wish to continue to use transputers (T8/T4/T2) for compilation? ......

Would you like to use T9000 transputers for compilation? ......

Number of separate development stations = ......

  (i.e. how many simultaenous on-line development sessions can your
        facilities sustain?)

Number of engineers/scientists/researchers using the above facilities = ......

Type of organisation you work for = ............................

  (e.g. industrial end-user, higher education, software industry,
        government research agency, private research agency,
        self-employed, ...)

Are you a WoTUG member? ......

  (note: those answering no will be emailed a WoTUG membership form!)

Name = ........................

  (note: above question does NOT have to be answered!)

If there are any observations you wish to make on these matters, please
add them after this line:

                               .
                               .
                               .


PLEASE COMPLETE AND EMAIL THIS FORM WITH THE SUBJECT "platform" TO:

  wotug-info@ukc.ac.uk

Many thanks,

Peter Welch (Chair, WoTUG).

