Experiences with Higher Level Languages for Microprocessors
RA Frizzo, IC Meggs · 1979
In an effort to save development time of a microprocessor based plotter interface unit, its program was written in a high-level language. The programmer for the project had no previous experience with the high-level language, but still managed to generate code at the rate of approximately 10 lines per day. The practical problems encountered with the software generation are discussed. A conclusion drawn is that unless the high-level language is packed with features, and its compiler does extensive optimisation, working programs for control applications will generally be made up of a mixture of high-level code and assembly code. For a high-level language to be suitable for control applications, its definition must allow for primitive operations and the compiler must generate code that is not too inefficient. The main problem with using a high-level language is the availability of a suitable compiler.