Some senseless babbling from Wayne Steele to David Noon
on 03 Dec 98  14:59:30 about OS/2 C++ Programming?...

 WS> Hi David,
 
 MR> The EMX package is a free port of the GNU C compiler.
 
 WS> C or C++? What's the difference... Also where is this available?
 
 DN> There is a major leap in technology from C to C++. Your approach
 DN> to programming in C++ is somewhat different from that of
 DN> programming in C; not all that much different, but enough to
 DN> intimidate many.

 WS> So is this EMS c or C++?

EMX supports both.  C is what's termed a procedural language, and C++ is 
what's termed an object-oriented language.  ++ is the increment operator 
(var=var+1) in C, and as the name indicates, C++ is based on C, so it's 
backwards compatible with it (with a few arcane exceptions).
 
 DN> The EMX package is available from the Hobbes and Leo servers.
 DN> However, it is no longer being developed, as Eberhard Mattes is
 DN> no longer at the University of Muenster.

 WS> I've downloaded all the files from the OS/2 Super Site on the
 WS> internet... Now all I have to do is work it all out:) But I would like
 WS> to get something like Watcomm as it would have manuals and all that
 WS> kinda stuff... 
 WS> If not does Watcom 10.x or 11.x series compile OS/2 executables?
 
 MR> Yes, but the product is no longer being updated.
 
 DN> Mike is wrong here. The 11.0b "patch" was released only a few
 DN> months ago. These patches appear about once a year.

 WS> Ah that's alright then... But I guess C++ is C++... I would imagine
 WS> you could get third party addons anyway...
 
 WS> I'll look around for something that is supported... I guess
 WS> I'll find someone somewhere willing to depart with something...

They'll probably fix bugs for a while, but the product itself is not 
receiving updates.  The new owner of the company, Sybase (who bought it 
from Powersoft, who had shortly before acquired Watcom), is not releasing 
an OS/2 version of their new Watcom-based compilers.
 
 DN> Another nice part about the Watcom compiler is that it can produce
 DN> 16-bit code on the odd occasion that you need it. The IBM compiler
 DM> can only produce 32-bit code, and "thunk" to 16-bit code compiled
 DM> elsewhere.

 WS> Ya well I guess this is what I will need to learn as time goes...
 WS> Starting from scratch is going to be interesting:)

 WS> Thanks for all your other points/tips It's muchly appreciated...

Unless you're planning on writing device drivers, you won't need to worry 
about 16-bit code.  Even then, there are ways to avoid using it.

Mike Ruskai
thanny{at}home.com


... I think I'm gonna throw up.  Better bring me a bucket.
--- Renegade v05-11 Exp