gnat ada DLL and VB

gnat ada DLL and VB

[isaac buchwald]

Does  anybody tryed to  build  a  simple  dll  in  gnat ada (v 3.13p)  that
was
able to reference it  in a  visual basic (v 6.0) project   -  and  it was
working?

If  there is  such  a  mighty  ada programmer , please  share  your   demo
code
with  the community.

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[Pascal Obry]

"isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx> writes:

> Does  anybody tryed to  build  a  simple  dll  in  gnat ada (v 3.13p)  that
> was
> able to reference it  in a  visual basic (v 6.0) project   -  and  it was
> working?
> 

It has been done, look at Adapower I think there is some demos there.

Pascal.

-- 

--|------------------------------------------------------
--| Pascal Obry                           Team-Ada Member
--| 45, rue Gabriel Peri - 78114 Magny Les Hameaux FRANCE
--|------------------------------------------------------
--|         http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pascal.obry
--|
--| "The best way to travel is by means of imagination"

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[Ted Dennison]

In article <uhevhtuuh.fsf@wanadoo.fr>, Pascal Obry says...
>It has been done, look at Adapower I think there is some demos there.

Rats. I thought you were going to step up as a "mighty Ada programmer". :-)

---
T.E.D.    homepage   - http://www.telepath.com/dennison/Ted/TED.html
          home email - mailto:dennison@telepath.com

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[Pascal Obry]

Ted Dennison<dennison@telepath.com> writes:

> Rats. I thought you were going to step up as a "mighty Ada programmer". :-)

Of course I could :) But I don't have a lot of time at the moment. At least
I gave a pointer :)

Pascal.

-- 

--|------------------------------------------------------
--| Pascal Obry                           Team-Ada Member
--| 45, rue Gabriel Peri - 78114 Magny Les Hameaux FRANCE
--|------------------------------------------------------
--|         http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pascal.obry
--|
--| "The best way to travel is by means of imagination"

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[isaac buchwald]

Thanks  to pascal  ,   i have  found  the    demo.
It is  COM  dll    and  it works  fine.
But  the   dll    doesn't  work  ,   the famous   error
 7   when  reference  the  dll  in vb.  It  seems  that
nobody  is  able  to  solve  it.

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[Tony Gair]

Does anyone think there was a moral to this story.
Out of interest Isaac why VB?




"isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx> wrote in message
news:ASKc7.1606$bl.80971@news.siol.net...
> Thanks  to pascal  ,   i have  found  the    demo.
> It is  COM  dll    and  it works  fine.
> But  the   dll    doesn't  work  ,   the famous   error
>  7   when  reference  the  dll  in vb.  It  seems  that
> nobody  is  able  to  solve  it.
>
>
>

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[isaac buchwald]

   It's elementary, dear Tony.
   I can't convience some people to use  ada ,  if  a  simple library
writen in it
   can't  be  used  in   visual basic program.

"Tony Gair" <tonygair@nospammy.blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ToYc7.12116$pv6.739796@news1.cableinet.net...
> Does anyone think there was a moral to this story.
> Out of interest Isaac why VB?
>

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[R. Srinivasan]

i have an example where i have :

- lex generated lexical analyzer for Ada source code (originally in aflex
but rewritten for flex)
- Ada package that performs some other added services

in a DLL that I use in a VB gui program.

If you have not found any useful examples, i will be happy to supply this.

please drop me an e-mail if you would like this.

regards

srini
"isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx> wrote in message
news:T9dd7.1659$bl.83327@news.siol.net...
>    It's elementary, dear Tony.
>    I can't convience some people to use  ada ,  if  a  simple library
> writen in it
>    can't  be  used  in   visual basic program.
>
> "Tony Gair" <tonygair@nospammy.blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:ToYc7.12116$pv6.739796@news1.cableinet.net...
> > Does anyone think there was a moral to this story.
> > Out of interest Isaac why VB?
> >
>
>
>

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[David Botton]

Why would any one write a DLL on windows to work with VB or for that matter
with any language? Particularly when there are excellent COM/DCOM tools that
make creating COM objects with Ada 95 easier then perhaps even VB itself :-)

Step 1 - Write IDL and compile with MIDL to a TypeLibrary (or use a GUI type
library creation tool)
Step 2 - Run CreateCOM on TLB file
Step 3 - Fill in the blanks :-)

DONE

DLL's these days are only being developed for use with inferior languages
like C/C++ where the average programmer is too lazy to write/use COM/DCOM
objects since their tools and/or skills are not as well developed on the
Windows platform.

http://www.adapower.com/gnatcom

David Botton



----- Original Message -----
From: "isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx>


> Does  anybody tryed to  build  a  simple  dll  in  gnat ada (v 3.13p)
that
> was
> able to reference it  in a  visual basic (v 6.0) project   -  and  it was
> working?
>
> If  there is  such  a  mighty  ada programmer , please  share  your   demo
> code
> with  the community.

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[isaac buchwald]

 It seems  that  VB is really a sophisticated lang  these day :-)
 and for the lazyness  i  prefer it on the programmer's side, not on the
runtime side.


"David Botton" <David@Botton.com> wrote in message
news:mailman.997714164.3020.comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org...
> Why would any one write a DLL on windows to work with VB or for that
matter
> with any language? Particularly when there are excellent COM/DCOM tools
that
> make creating COM objects with Ada 95 easier then perhaps even VB itself
:-)
>
> Step 1 - Write IDL and compile with MIDL to a TypeLibrary (or use a GUI
type
> library creation tool)
> Step 2 - Run CreateCOM on TLB file
> Step 3 - Fill in the blanks :-)
>
> DONE
>
> DLL's these days are only being developed for use with inferior languages
> like C/C++ where the average programmer is too lazy to write/use COM/DCOM
> objects since their tools and/or skills are not as well developed on the
> Windows platform.
>
> http://www.adapower.com/gnatcom
>
> David Botton
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx>
>
>
> > Does  anybody tryed to  build  a  simple  dll  in  gnat ada (v 3.13p)
> that
> > was
> > able to reference it  in a  visual basic (v 6.0) project   -  and  it
was
> > working?
> >
> > If  there is  such  a  mighty  ada programmer , please  share  your
demo
> > code
> > with  the community.
>
>

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[David Botton]

VB is certainly very sophisticated in every way (even from its first
version) although its sophistication has lead it to be more specialized to
the user world and not as general purpose as Ada or C/C++.

A good programmer know's that laziness on now will mean long term
maintenance problems. No execuse for it. One of the key personal reasons I
started using Ada, it forces me to write code that works the first time (if
it compiles chances are it works....) and I can read later :-)

As for the runtime side, C/C++ is very lazy on the runtime side, just think
about all that bounds checking C/C++ does :-)

David Botton

----- Original Message -----
From: "isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx>


> It seems  that  VB is really a sophisticated lang  these day :-)
>  and for the lazyness  i  prefer it on the programmer's side, not on the
> runtime side.

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[R. Srinivasan]

Many of us -- well speaking for myself, COM/DCOM/DCOM+ etc. etc. are not the
easiest to understand. These are comprehensive technologies that addresses a
broad range of issues. Even with supposedly "friendly" environments (to each
other I mean) like VC++ and VB, both the development, troubleshooting is
quite challenging to put it mildly -- particularly when it comes to
interoperation between VB/VC++.

Afterall one of the central theme of VS.NET namely the "much touted" CLR is
a testament to the issues involved.


"David Botton" <David@Botton.com> wrote in message
news:mailman.997714164.3020.comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org...
> Why would any one write a DLL on windows to work with VB or for that
matter
> with any language? Particularly when there are excellent COM/DCOM tools
that
> make creating COM objects with Ada 95 easier then perhaps even VB itself
:-)
>
> Step 1 - Write IDL and compile with MIDL to a TypeLibrary (or use a GUI
type
> library creation tool)
> Step 2 - Run CreateCOM on TLB file
> Step 3 - Fill in the blanks :-)
>
> DONE
>
> DLL's these days are only being developed for use with inferior languages
> like C/C++ where the average programmer is too lazy to write/use COM/DCOM
> objects since their tools and/or skills are not as well developed on the
> Windows platform.
>
> http://www.adapower.com/gnatcom
>
> David Botton
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx>
>
>
> > Does  anybody tryed to  build  a  simple  dll  in  gnat ada (v 3.13p)
> that
> > was
> > able to reference it  in a  visual basic (v 6.0) project   -  and  it
was
> > working?
> >
> > If  there is  such  a  mighty  ada programmer , please  share  your
demo
> > code
> > with  the community.
>
>

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[isaac buchwald]

  but there is  one more reason , why  not  to use it.

  If  i write  a  package in ada ,  i  would  like to  use   in a different
invironment
  without much ado , and without  a  separate layer  that  brings  in  a new
  peril  of   quer  functioning.


"R. Srinivasan" <rajasrinivasan@home.com> wrote in message
news:7i_d7.276991$qc.33250428@news1.rdc1.va.home.com...
> Many of us -- well speaking for myself, COM/DCOM/DCOM+ etc. etc. are not
the
> easiest to understand. These are comprehensive technologies that addresses
a
> broad range of issues. Even with supposedly "friendly" environments (to
each
> other I mean) like VC++ and VB, both the development, troubleshooting is
> quite challenging to put it mildly -- particularly when it comes to
> interoperation between VB/VC++.
>
> Afterall one of the central theme of VS.NET namely the "much touted" CLR
is
> a testament to the issues involved.
>
>
> "David Botton" <David@Botton.com> wrote in message
> news:mailman.997714164.3020.comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org...
> > Why would any one write a DLL on windows to work with VB or for that
> matter
> > with any language? Particularly when there are excellent COM/DCOM tools
> that
> > make creating COM objects with Ada 95 easier then perhaps even VB itself
> :-)
> >
> > Step 1 - Write IDL and compile with MIDL to a TypeLibrary (or use a GUI
> type
> > library creation tool)
> > Step 2 - Run CreateCOM on TLB file
> > Step 3 - Fill in the blanks :-)
> >
> > DONE
> >
> > DLL's these days are only being developed for use with inferior
languages
> > like C/C++ where the average programmer is too lazy to write/use
COM/DCOM
> > objects since their tools and/or skills are not as well developed on the
> > Windows platform.
> >
> > http://www.adapower.com/gnatcom
> >
> > David Botton
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx>
> >
> >
> > > Does  anybody tryed to  build  a  simple  dll  in  gnat ada (v 3.13p)
> > that
> > > was
> > > able to reference it  in a  visual basic (v 6.0) project   -  and  it
> was
> > > working?
> > >
> > > If  there is  such  a  mighty  ada programmer , please  share  your
> demo
> > > code
> > > with  the community.
> >
> >
>
>

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[David Botton]

Thanks to CreateCOM there is no need to understand COM. Just fill in the
blanks and your Ada code will be instantly usable to VB, Delphi, MSVC++  and
on the CLR easier then with a DLL.

For example in VB after creating your Ada COM object. Register the DLL by
typing:

regsvr32 /r NameOfYourCOMObject

then in VB choose the references Object menu option and pick your object.

Use the Ada code as you would any other VB object. If this was a DLL, you
would have to writing a binding to each method in VB as well.


In MSVC++, do:

#import "Path\NameOfYourCOMObject.dll"

the just start working

MyInterfacePtr ABC;

ABC.CreateInstance (__uuidof (MyObject));

etc.


On top of that, say you wanted to do a little remote computing :-) Don't try
this with your DLL.

Go to a remote machine, run the CreateCOM generate program
NameOfYourCOMObject-Remote.exe on a remote machine and then run the _exact
same_ client code on that machine an be accessing your object accross the
network.

David Botton


----- Original Message -----
From: "R. Srinivasan" <rajasrinivasan@home.com>


> Many of us -- well speaking for myself, COM/DCOM/DCOM+ etc. etc. are not
the
> easiest to understand. These are comprehensive technologies that addresses
a
> broad range of issues. Even with supposedly "friendly" environments (to
each
> other I mean) like VC++ and VB, both the development, troubleshooting is
> quite challenging to put it mildly -- particularly when it comes to
> interoperation between VB/VC++.
>
> Afterall one of the central theme of VS.NET namely the "much touted" CLR
is
> a testament to the issues involved.
>
>
> "David Botton" <David@Botton.com> wrote in message
> news:mailman.997714164.3020.comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org...
> > Why would any one write a DLL on windows to work with VB or for that
> matter
> > with any language? Particularly when there are excellent COM/DCOM tools
> that
> > make creating COM objects with Ada 95 easier then perhaps even VB itself
> :-)
> >
> > Step 1 - Write IDL and compile with MIDL to a TypeLibrary (or use a GUI
> type
> > library creation tool)
> > Step 2 - Run CreateCOM on TLB file
> > Step 3 - Fill in the blanks :-)
> >
> > DONE
> >
> > DLL's these days are only being developed for use with inferior
languages
> > like C/C++ where the average programmer is too lazy to write/use
COM/DCOM
> > objects since their tools and/or skills are not as well developed on the
> > Windows platform.
> >
> > http://www.adapower.com/gnatcom
> >
> > David Botton
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx>
> >
> >
> > > Does  anybody tryed to  build  a  simple  dll  in  gnat ada (v 3.13p)
> > that
> > > was
> > > able to reference it  in a  visual basic (v 6.0) project   -  and  it
> was
> > > working?
> > >
> > > If  there is  such  a  mighty  ada programmer , please  share  your
> demo
> > > code
> > > with  the community.
> >
> >
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> comp.lang.ada mailing list
> comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org
> http://ada.eu.org/mailman/listinfo/comp.lang.ada
>

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[David Botton]

The best way to create portable libraries in general is to abstract the OS
interface to the Ada code.

When you are writing a COM object you don't have to use ADO or any COM
objects with in your Ada code.

BTW, there is no seperate layer in COM itself when used inproc (DLL base COM
object).

As for layers in ADO (since you mentioned it), it depends on how you
connect.

ADO can do ADO/OLEDB -> ODBC -> Server  so you get an extra layer of ADO on
top of ODBC

or you can go direct using ADO/OLEDB drivers to the server skipping ODBC in
the middle.

In high volume datbase access on WinXX machines ODBC is a very poor option
and has problems with multi tasking with most ODBC drivers. ADO (when going
direct with OLEDB drivers) does not suffer this and has better performance
then ODBC in general.

I know that some may disagree with me, but not using native toolkits (when
they are the best tool for the job) on platforms is a sign of lazy
programming and poor design. On Windows 9X/NT/2K/XP/CE, the shared library
of choice is COM and the data access method is ADO/OLEDB. DLLs are second
class citizens on Windows today. Sort of like .com instead of .exe :-)

David Botton


----- Original Message -----
From: "isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx>


>   but there is  one more reason , why  not  to use it.
>
>   If  i write  a  package in ada ,  i  would  like to  use   in a
different
> invironment
>   without much ado , and without  a  separate layer  that  brings  in  a
new
>   peril  of   quer  functioning.

Re: gnat ada DLL and VB

[isaac buchwald]

 ado  - was used  as  fuss  (  old Will used to use the word  i presume).
 but to confess  ,  there was an allusion to ADO.

 But  the matter  of  DLL  ,  why  don't  you  simply  say :
  I can't  figure  it  out   how to do it,  and neither  anybody  i know.

   puningly yours,
                    isaac


"David Botton" <David@Botton.com> wrote in message
news:mailman.997883873.22464.comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org...
> The best way to create portable libraries in general is to abstract the OS
> interface to the Ada code.
>
> When you are writing a COM object you don't have to use ADO or any COM
> objects with in your Ada code.
>
> BTW, there is no seperate layer in COM itself when used inproc (DLL base
COM
> object).
>
> As for layers in ADO (since you mentioned it), it depends on how you
> connect.
>
> ADO can do ADO/OLEDB -> ODBC -> Server  so you get an extra layer of ADO
on
> top of ODBC
>
> or you can go direct using ADO/OLEDB drivers to the server skipping ODBC
in
> the middle.
>
> In high volume datbase access on WinXX machines ODBC is a very poor option
> and has problems with multi tasking with most ODBC drivers. ADO (when
going
> direct with OLEDB drivers) does not suffer this and has better performance
> then ODBC in general.
>
> I know that some may disagree with me, but not using native toolkits (when
> they are the best tool for the job) on platforms is a sign of lazy
> programming and poor design. On Windows 9X/NT/2K/XP/CE, the shared library
> of choice is COM and the data access method is ADO/OLEDB. DLLs are second
> class citizens on Windows today. Sort of like .com instead of .exe :-)
>
> David Botton
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "isaac buchwald" <isaac.buchwald@velenje.cx>
>
>
> >   but there is  one more reason , why  not  to use it.
> >
> >   If  i write  a  package in ada ,  i  would  like to  use   in a
> different
> > invironment
> >   without much ado , and without  a  separate layer  that  brings  in  a
> new
> >   peril  of   quer  functioning.
>
>