Compiler Installation Questions

When you install a C compiler on your computer for the first time, it may ask you some mysterious questions. (Again, these questions tend to assume that you're already enough of an expert that you ought to know what they mean; they are not always self-explanatory.) Most of the time, the default answers should be adequate. Just in case, here are a few common varieties of installation questions, along with suggestions for answering them. (Don't worry a bit if your compiler's installation procedure does not ask you all of these questions. I've included some obscure ones which I or my students have seen in the past, but if your compiler's installation procedure is smart enough not to require so much coddling, consolation, and confirmation, so much the better.)

• ``Use floating-point emulation?''
  
  We won't be doing much floating-point work, but it doesn't hurt to say ``yes''. (The worst that can happen is that if your machine already has a floating-point coprocessor, the programs that you build will be slightly bigger--by a few K--if they include a software floating-point emulation library which you don't really need. But it certainly won't hurt.)
• ``Which memory models?''
  
  Under MS-DOS, for arcane reasons which I'll avoid the temptation to editorialize about, you have your choice among programming in at least four different ``memory models'': ``small,'' ``compact,'' ``medium,'' and ``large'' (and perhaps also ``tiny'' and ``huge''). For our purposes, the programs we'll be writing are so small and simple that it absolutely won't make a difference which model we use. If disk space is not a problem and there's a chance you'll be working on larger programs later, pick both ``small'' and ``large'' models, and ignore the rest. If all you'll be writing in the foreseeable future is the small programs for this class, just pick ``small'' model and be done with it. (You can always go back and re-install the support for the other memory models later, if for some reason you ever need them.)
• ``Include xxx library?''
  
  (``xxx'' might be ``graphics,'' ``OWL'' ``networking,'' or some other keyword which you do or don't recognize.) It's probably safe to say ``no'' to any of these special libraries; I'm not aware of any special libraries which would be needed by any compilers to deal with the simple programs we'll be writing.
• ``Delete component libraries after build?''
  
  It's safe to say ``yes,'' or just use the default. (Saying ``yes'' conserves some disk space; you're not going to need the ``component libraries'' later if the installation procedure has built you some ``combined libraries.'')

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