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In the 80s, a good compiler would cost several hundred dollars. Relentless competition pushed the prices down to zero.
by WalterBright 7mo ago
In the 80s, a good compiler would cost several hundred dollars. Relentless competition pushed the prices down to zero.
- bombcar 7mo agoThere are those who started playing with computers when compilers were often more expensive than the computer they ran on, and those who came after you could download an entire "Unix" system and toolchain for free. Entire industries and massive companies existed for tools and tooling that is now considered free and table-stakes. Heck, an operating system used to cost money and didn't come with much at all!
- WalterBright 7mo agoPC-DOS started out at $40. Since the IBM PC cost about $3000, the $40 was more or less free.
- jimbokun 7mo agoAlong with distribution costs for information going to near zero.