To: "Jonathan Kirwan" <jkirwan@easystreet.com>
Subject: RE: MASM references
From: "Terry Leeper" <tleeper@microsoft.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 15:28:17 -0800

Hi Jonathan,

MSDN subscribers already have access to C 1.52.  

You are correct.  There are many factors to such a proposal.  One thing
that we often face here is cost of support.  Even when we declare that
something is "not supported", we know internally that if we allow
something on our website or other means of distribution that we would
need to support it or risk a ton of wrath.  This often goes against the
grain of what we're trying to accomplish.

As far as the need for 1.52 goes, I guess I don't understand why you
would prefer this over the current compiler.  If it is cost, then I
would refer you to our Standard Edition, which runs for $99 (you also
get MASM with that and its documentation, BTW).  The only real caveat is
that the compiler does not optimize for retail builds, meaning it is not
meant for real production.  However, this does serve well for academic
and teaching purposes.  It also supports inline assembly.

-Terry