JdBP>>                           What is DirectToSOM C++ ?

 AK> Please note that DTS was dropped from the SOM 3.0 release 

Not possible, for the very simple reason that DTS C++ is a function of the
C++ compiler, not the SOM libraries.  The C++ compiler hasn't changed. 

Now if you are saying that the C++ _compiler_ fails when attempting to
compile a DTS C++ application, or that a previously compiled application 
fails at runtime, that's something different entirely.  I would be inclined
to disbelieve the latter, however, for the simple reason that it would
imply that the SOM 3.0 runtime doesn't support SOM 2.1 applications.  I
haven't heard screams and shouts about Workplace Shell refusing to run when
people install SOM 3.0, so I assume that that is _not_ the case.  (-:

Which leaves only the former case, where compiling a DTS C++ application
causes the C++ compiler to fail with an error or an exception.  Is this
what you are trying to say ?  If so, what's the error or exception ?

If it's something as simple as the DTS C++ headers in the new SOM libraries
being wrong, or unavailable, this is not news.  It's not new, either.  The
same thing happened with SOM 2.1, and that didn't imply that DirectToSOM
C++ was being dropped.

The truth is that the part of IBM that develops SOM is different to the
part of IBM that develops VisualAge C++, and neither will accommodate the
other.  I've played piggy in the middle before now, as I am sure many
others have, too.  I remember at one point that the SOM people were saying
that it was the responsibility of the VisualAge people to write a DTS C++
emitter for the SOM compiler.

 JdBP>>     DirectToSOM is the logical next step to take with SOM.  

 AK> But a big step away from Corba. 

In my world of _real_ programming projects Corba is pretty much irrelevant,
whereas DTS C++ has some uses.  (-:  I have encountered people who believe
in Corba, Business Objects, and other such things from time to time.  I
have yet to see with my own eyes anything other than
"whiteboard-ware", let alone a working real-world application. 
(-:

Whereas I _have_ seen working applications that use DTS C++.  I've even
written a couple.  (-:

Maybe I'm mixing with the wrong people.  

One thing that I do notice is that the people who will hand-wave about
Corba and Business Objects today are the same people who did the same thing
with Taligent Application Frameworks a while back, and who are just
starting to do the same thing with Java.

Which doesn't bode well for Java ... (-:

 AK>                            Corba comes a lot closer to the language
 AK> principles of C++ wrt. memory management of strings and sequences,
 AK> naming and exception handling.

Than DirectToSOM C++, or than the SOM C++ language bindings (_not_ the same
thing by a long stretch) ?  In my experience DTS C++ is very close to what
people want of a C++ Application Binary Interface, if only because whenever
I mention what it can do in a C++ language discussion in terms of binary
compatibility across C++ implementations and with other languages, I hear
sounds of admiration from people with non-OS/2 backgrounds.

The assumption of course is that the "language principles" are
all completely defined at this point anyway.  They aren't.  Exceptions are
_still_ unresolved in several areas.

Even were they completely defined as far as the syntax and semantics of the
C++ language were concerned, SOM, and hence DTS C++, is very much concerned
with parts of C++ that simply _aren't_ standardised and _never will be_,
such as the representation and manipulation of objects in memory.  So
coming closer to the "language principles of C++" is less than
half of the story.

 AK> I was startled because I used DTS myself, but perhaps IBM dropped the
 AK> current DTS now, to be able to switch to Corba 2.0 later, without
 AK> beeing hindered by DTS compatibility.

If IBM discards a working, useful, and utilitised technology in favour of
something so ephemeral and largely irrelevant to the needs of the real
world, then they'll have at least one very upset C++ programmer on their
hands.  (-:

 ¯ JdeBP ®

--- FleetStreet 1.16 NR