THINK C
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Other names | LightSpeed C |
---|---|
Software development tool | |
License | Proprietary |
Think C (stylized as THINK C), originally known as LightSpeed C, is an extension of the C programming language for the classic Mac OS developed by THINK Technologies, released first in mid-1986. THINK was founded by Andrew Singer, Frank Sinton and Mel Conway.[1][2] LightSpeed C was widely lauded when it was released, as it used the Macintosh user interface throughout and was extremely fast. It quickly became the de facto C environment on the Mac, and the related Think Pascal quickly did the same for Object Pascal development.
THINK Technologies was later bought by
Think's almost complete ownership of the Mac programming market was broken with the introduction of the PowerPC-based Macs in the early 1990s. Although Symantic released updates that ran on these platforms, these were not released until the machines had been on the market for almost a year.[6] In the meantime, Metrowerks' product, CodeWarrior, took control of the market, being both faster and easier to use than Think's.
Starting with version 4.0, Think included the
Despite the decline in popularity of their IDE, Symantec was eventually chosen by Apple to provide next-generation C/C++
THINK Reference
THINK Reference was a proprietary documentation database and browser developed by
THINK Reference was discontinued in 1994.
Reception
THINK C 5.0 obtained in 4 (out 5) rating in July 1992 issue of Macworld, praising a fast compilation and an outstanding development environment, despite an insufficient documentation.[11]
Symantec C++ 8.0 obtained a 3 (out 5) rating in July 1995 issue of Macworld, comparing favourably the speed of its PowerPC compiled code with that of CodeWarrior at the time, but noting how delayed the product has been and its heavy requirement on resources.[5]
References
- ^ Denny, Bob (July 1986). "How the Chooser Works with AppleTalk". MacTech. Vol. 2, no. 7. Retrieved 2023-08-31., mentions Lightspeed C introduction, brief critique.
- ^ Gordon, Bob (August 1986). "Menus and Windows in LightSpeed C". MacTech. Vol. 2, no. 8. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
- ^ Jones, Stephen (19 October 1987). "Microsoft Intermail buy starts work group push". Computerworld. Vol. XXI, no. 42. p. 2.
- ^ Dallas, Alastair (October 1989). "A First Look At Think C 4.0". MacTech. Vol. 5, no. 10. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
- ^ a b Seiter, Charles (July 1995). "Symantec C++ 8.0". Macworld. Vol. 12, no. 7. p. 62.
- ^ a b Seiter, Charles (July 1995). "A crucial compiler ships". Macworld. Vol. 12, no. 7. p. 41.
- ^ "MacTech | The journal of Apple technology". preserve.mactech.com. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "MacTech | The journal of Apple technology". preserve.mactech.com. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ Webster, Bruce F. (September 1986). "Two Fine Products". BYTE. Vol. 11, no. 9. p. 335.
- ^ "The Byte Awards". BYTE. Vol. 14, no. 1. January 1989. p. 327.
- ^ Mann, Steve (July 1992). "Think C 5.0". Macworld. Vol. 9, no. 7. p. 210.