Re: SDL Bindings?

[Oliver Kleinke <oliver.kleinke@c-01a.de>]

Am Thu, 2 Jan 2014 10:29:26 -0800 (PST)
schrieb Marius Amado-Alves <amado.alves@gmail.com>:

> Trying RtAudio.
> First step is build a C++ test program on the command line.
> After many hours joggling the respective black arts, succeeded on
> Windows with a g++ command and many options. Now theoretically this
> can be transposed to gnatmake... My plan is to make a C wrapper
> (around the C++ RtAudio code) that we can bind from Ada using
> Interfaces.C and company (Ada does not talk to C++, or does she?)
> 
> /*
> This is not programming:-(
> The code, the libraries are there.
> Why is it so difficult to integrate these things?
> Indeed we still have not met the principal challenge of computer
> science viz. "How not to make a mess of it" (Dijkstra) */

It is indeed possible to bind to C++. Here is a "gem" - [1] - from ACT
that covers the subject. The main issue that makes binding to C++ so
ugly is the name-mangling. Also the difference in the OOP design
(tagged types / packages vs. classes) can make it un-intuitive at times.
Plus, you'll probably need a compiler that supports it. I've only
worked with GNAT, I don't know which other compilers can do it.

If binding is a such a major problem, then honestly, why not just
write your audio-related code in C/C++ and bind to a small set of
functions that you then call from Ada.

--
[1] -
http://www.adacore.com/adaanswers/gems/gem-60-generating-ada-bindings-for-c-headers/