The Technical Systems Division of Root Computers Ltd will be pushing a new family of compilers in preference to its existing range. The compilers have been developed by a Massachusetts-based software house, Language Processors Inc, and were designed to run on Unix-based systems built around the Motorola 68000 processor. Versions for the 80386 are currently under development and are expected to be available in February, while versions for the AT&T WE32100 are already available. The East London company say that these compilers will be its main thrust because of its wide range and its compatibility with different hardware. The range includes Cobol, C, Pascal, RPG II, Basic, PL/I and Fortran. Each language allows interprocess communication between it and any other language in the range, and programmers can write sub-programs in any of the languages and link them together. Root is hoping that the inclusion of RPG II and PL/I will attract traditional IBM programmers now forced to write under Unix. Root is also casting its net as wide as possible by including a Cobol compiler that conforms to X/Open standards and is compatible with both Ryan McFarland and Micro Focus Cobol. Root Technical Systems will be the sole distributor for the compilers to Uniplus II Plus users and will act as Language Processors’ representative in Europe. The OEM price for the compilers is about $1,000 per licence depending on number of licences bought and which language.
