| Developer(s) | Steve Krueger et al. |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1982 |
| Written in | C, Assembler |
| Operating system | DOS, OS/2, MVS, VMS, UNIX, AmigaDOS |
| Type | Compiler |
| License | Closed source |
| Website | http://www.sas.com/products/sasc/ |
Lattice C (according to its author, Lattice, Incorporated) was the first C compiler for MS-DOS on the IBM PC, in 1982. It was ported to many other platforms, such as mainframes (MVS), minicomputers (VMS), workstations (UNIX), OS/2, the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and the Sinclair QL.
The compiler was subsequently repackaged by Microsoft under a distribution agreement as Microsoft C. Lattice was purchased by SAS Institute in 1987. After this, support for other platforms dwindled until compiler development ceased for all platforms except IBM mainframes. The product is still available in versions that run on other platforms, but these are cross compilers that only produce mainframe code.
Some of the early 1982 commercial software for the IBM PC was ported from CP/M (where it was written for the BDS C subset of the C language) to MS-DOS using Lattice C including Perfect Writer, PerfectCalc, PerfectSpeller and PerfectFiler. This suite was bundled with the Seequa Chameleon and Columbia Data Products.