Re: Delphi and SGI's GNAT Ada access of C++ class libraries

[quiggle@lovelace.wpd.sgi.com (Tom Quiggle)]

In article <199411200820.IAA02428@stout.entertain.com>, Colin James III <cjames@STOUT.ENTERTAIN.COM> writes:

> Regarding SGI using GNAT to access SGI's C++ class libraries, so what.
> Eiffel has *always* been able to access C libraries directly;  and Eiffel
> 3 (with concurrent processes matching Ada-83 tasks) has absolutely all
> the functionality (and more) than Ada-9x.  What SGI is claiming is in
> fact no big deal;  it's been done before.  

I should know better than to respond to such obvious flame-bait, but what the
heck, I have nothing better to do...   :-)   :-)   :-)

Interfacing to C is not the issue.  Virtually every language ever
ported to to a Unix platform has this capability.  Interfacing to C was
trivial in Ada83.  Of interest is the ability to MEANINGFULLY interface
to a C++ class library -- complete with class extension and specialization.

I was previously unaware of any Eiffel implementation capable of deriving
off of C++ classes, extending such classes, overriding virtual functions
in Eiffel, etc.  If such an implementation exists, I congratulate its author
for providing this useful capability, and would be very interested in how
one goes about using a 200+ class C++ library in Eiffel (I would hate to
reinvent the wheel).  I am well aware of what C programmers and Ada83
programmers have to go through to use existing C++ class libraries, and
I pitty the poor programmer who has to write such code.  

If Ada9X is the second language to provide a truely interoperable
solution to interfacing to C++, so be it.  Ada9x will also be the second
standardized OO language (behind Object Cobol) as well.  Maybe we need
a new catch phrase for Ada9x ... 

    "Ada9x, the first language to do it right for the second time"

>                                             Also Eiffel is infinitely more
> portable because there are more ANSI C/C++ compilers than hardware
> platforms supported by Ada-83/9x.

I find this assertion VERY hard to accept.  There are Ada 83 compilers
available for virtually every software development platform; including
PC's, all popular workstations, IBM mainframes, Cray supercomputers, etc. 
GNAT is available (or can easily be made available) for any platform that
currently supports GCC.  There are Ada cross compilers for 16-bit micros,
the full line of Motorola and Intel 32-bit processors, DSPs, and most
popular RISC chips.  I just don't see anywhere near the same level of
support for Eiffel.

I'm not trying to blast Eiffel.  The last time I looked at the language
(admitedly several years ago) I felt it was probably the best OO language
available at the time.

> [deletia]
> cjames@cec-services.com
> cjames@entertain.com
> cjames@nyx.cs.du.edu

------
Tom Quiggle                                                quiggle@sgi.com
Silicon Graphics					   (415) 390 - 2884