August, as you're no doubt aware, his the month for DDJ's annual C programming issue. The C environment has changed dramatically in the last few years. It wasn't too long ago that DDJ was printing the source code for Ron Cain's Small C compiler, not only because it was interesting to tear into a compiler and see how it worked, but also because many of our readers couldn't afford to buy the C compilers available then.
Times have changed, and we change with them. Although it is even easier today to write your own C compiler, most of the incentive has gone. Inexpensive compilers like Turbo C have made it possible for many of us to move on to the next stage: developing tools and programs for the next phase of the revolution. This issue reflects some of the advances in the C world.
Last year's special C issue had articles on optimization technologies in C compilers and a report on the approaching ANSI standard. At press time this year, there's still no final word on the standard. Optimization in C compilers, on the other hand, seems to have taken off. The last year has seen a number of company executives making contradictory claims about which compiler really generates the fastest and tightest code. ln our lead article this month, DDJ technical editor Richard Relph examines five pretenders to the throne and reports on which really has the fastest code. We also have a couple of utilities for C programmers, to make the human part of the equation a little faster as well.
The times change, and we change with them. This issue marks the arrival of a new C columnist, Al Stevens. Al is the author of several programming books, including C Data Base Development and C Development Tools, and he has some interesting columns planned for the next few months.
This issue also marks the change in title for technical editor Kent Porter. By hook, crook, and vast karmic debt, we have managed to lure Kent into joining the DDJ staff full-time as our senior technical editor. Kent will still be writing "Structured Programming" and an occasional article, but he'll also be in the office helping us keep the technical level of the articles as high as possible.
The reading selection of the month is a bit different this time out. This month I'd like to suggest you check out Barbara Garson's new book, The Electric Sweatshop (Simon & Schuster). The subtitle of the book, "How computers are transforming the office of the future into the factory of the past," might mislead you into dismissing this book as something for sociologists or computer science academics, but that'd be ignoring the book's real worth. The issues raised in this book are worthy of consideration by anyone who sees personal computers as instruments for liberating the human mind and spirit. Highfalutin words perhaps, but I'd suggest that it was our interest in liberating the mind that got most of us into computers in the first place.
The world changes, and we're part of the change. This issue marks my final appearance as DDJ's editor. With Kent's arrival I feel confident of a continued high technical level for DDJ, even at the same time I'm excited about my return to freelancing. While my work at DDJ has been rewarding, it has also been consuming, and I look forward to completing some long-delayed programming projects. As my friend Bruce Webster likes to say, see you on the bitstream....
Tyler Sperry editor