Re: Ada "library only" compiler ?

[sbelmont700@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, July 24, 2012 5:30:58 PM UTC-4, Pascal Obry wrote:
> There is no clearly specified data structures or whatever.
> A DLL is a container. To use it one need to interface to it, from Ada,
> from C, from Pascal, from Python... And for this you need to have a
> stable and clear API which has nothing to do with DLL.
> 
> The Microsoft Win32 code happen to be in DLLs, but the same code could
> be provided as static library. No more or less problem. The same API,
> the same way to use it, the same need for an interface to it in C, Ada,
> Pascal, Python...
> 

Win32 has actually three sets of APIs: the user-land API that the hoi-polloi like us use (CreateFile), which in turn call another 'native' API (NTCreateFile), which in turn traps into the protected mode parts of the OS (INT 2e, platform depending).  In theory, a program written in bare-bones ASM (or the output of a compiler) could target any of these.  However, the problem is that only the outermost Win32 API is gaurenteed not to change and remain backwards compatible; your program is likely to break between versions of Windows if you attempt cut out the middle man.

-sb