Re: GNATCOM & Microsoft VB

["David Botton" <David@Botton.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Miller" <chrismil@my-deja.com>


> However one that is interesting is to write the front end GUI part
> using MS Visual Basic (or Visual Studio, which is VB + Visual
> everything else), generate a COM interface to the GUI components and
> then use GNATCOM to generate Ada 95 bindings to the COM object.

It has certainly been done and does work. You may also consider turning your
Ada application in to a COM object and the controling it from the VB GUI,
this often (although not always) is easier to implement.

> Result - Microsoft front end, existing Ada 95 back end. Looks like a PC
> application, runs on a PC. If it needs to be distributed we move to
> COM+ with minimal (?) change.

GNATCOM fully supports COM+ and the ability to distribute your application
with no change to your code. If you choose to do the front end in VB with
the Ada program as a COM object you just run the executable created by
*-remote.adb on the client machines and your VB front end will instantly
have access to your COM object (you may need to configure permissions using
dcomcnfg on the server machine first).

> I note GNATCOM already has AdatoVB and VBtoAda samples.

Yup.

> Is it a good idea ?.

It certainly works well. BTW, GNATCOM is fully supported by ACT, Inc. if you
should choose to go forward with the project.

David Botton