ParcPlace Systems has expanded beyond the world of Smalltalk with the introduction of Objectworks for C++, the first software development system, company president Adele Goldberg claims, that supports AT&T's C++ 2.0 specification. Objectworks provides incremental compiling and linking, interactive source-level debugging, and source-code/class browsing. Included with Objectworks is the AT&T C++ 2.0.
The ParcPlace C++ offering lets you import existing C++ source code or export it to other systems. The built-in editor allows you to cross-reference dynamically, although the system lets you use an editor of your choice.
Initially, Objectworks C++ (which, incidentally, was written in Smalltalk-80) will be available only on the Sun-3 system. However, ParcPlace spokesperson Doug Pollack did say that other platforms, including DOS and OS/2, would be supported in the future. Pollack said that they would be "tracking" the development of Microsoft's OS/2 for the 80386. Interestingly enough, one decision ParcPlace must make before introducing a DOS or OS/2 version of Objectworks C++ is which C compiler to support (Sun provides its own C compiler) because, as Pollack indicated, the company does not want to support every C compiler in the PC marketplace.
One area of opportunity for DDJ readers is in the realm of class libraries and other support tools. "A good object-oriented product is not the language alone," Goldberg told DDJ". It includes a class library and support tools." In short, ParcPlace is eager to talk to all third-party developers who want to built C++ support tools for Objectworks.
ParcPlace Systems 1550 Plymouth Street Mountain View, CA 94043 415-691-6700
AT&T has recently released its long-awaited C++ 2.0 specification, which includes all of the major features that Bjorne Stroustrup, the author of C++, has developed to date. AT&T's Mike DeFazio, director of Unix system software, called C++ 2.0 "an industrial strength release of C++" that has many new features as well as several refinements. The 2.0 specification was immediately lauded and supported by major vendors including Apple Computer, Glockenspiel, Hewlett Packard, HCR Corp., Onotologic, ParcPlace Systems, and Sun Microsystems.
Among the new features that C++ 2.0 now supports are multiple inheritance, whereby a child object can inherit the properties of more than one parent; typesafe linkage; default member-wise assignment and initialization of classes; and the ability of each class to define its own "new" and "delete" operators.
Refinements to the language include separation of specialized task and complex libraries, enhancement and reengineering of the task library, reimplementation of the stream I/O portion of libc.a, and reengineering of the C++ parsing mechanism.
The 2.0 spec consists of new documentation, release notes, a product reference manual, a library manual, and selected C++ readings. The 2.0 language system itself is available in source code format on magnetic tape. To order the 2.0 documentation, phone AT&T Customer Information Center at 1-800-432-6600 and ask for the C++ Product Reference Manual #307-146. Although the price wasn't available at this writing, an AT&T spokesman told DDJ that it should be about $20.
Licensing for the new 2.0 spec isn't that cheap, however. If you already have a license for the current 1.2 spec, the 2.0 spec will cost you $10,000. However, if you don't already have a license, the 2.0 spec will cost you $20,000. For licensing information, call 1-800-828-UNIX. Reader Service No. 20.
AT&T One Speedwell Ave. Morristown, NJ 07960 800-247-1212
Prentice Hall has announced several new titles, including C Programming Language, ANSI C Version, 2nd Edition, by Brian W. Kerninghan and Dennis M. Ritchie of AT&T. Prentice Hall is publishing the ANSI version for this best-seller to coincide with the final ANSI standardization on the C programming language. Look for the red ANSI stamp on the new cover. This reference provides the finalized ANSI C standard. The book covers functions and program structure, pointers and arrays, input and output, and application portability. ISBN 013-110362-8. $30.
Also released is Programming in C++, by Stephen Dewhurst of AT&T and Kathy Stark of Sun Microsystems, two of the designers on the C++ compiler design team at AT&T. The guide discusses data types and operations, procedural programming, classes, data abstractions inheritance, object-oriented programming, and storage management, and includes a section devoted to the design and use of libraries and an appendix of solved exercises. And it offers the first look at the 2.0 release of C++. Paper: ISBN 013-723156-3. $22.
The X/Window System: Programming and Applications with X, by Douglas A. Young (Hewlett-Packard), is a guide to the X/Window system for software engineers, applications programmers, and developers using X. It focuses on using the X toolkit to create software applications within the X/Window system, and discusses the use of widgets (prebuilt user interfaces like menus and command buttons) and intrinsics (pieces of code that enable a programmer to build new widgets out of existing ones) to create graphics user interfaces. The book uses a series of progressive examples to introduce key concepts of X, and presents 30 programs. Software in the book is available free on Arpanet. Paper: ISBN 013-972167-3. $25.95.
Prentice Hall College Sales and Marketing Prentice Hall Building Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 201-592-2000
The Delta Logic Division of Poqet Computer Corp. announces Entryway, an object-oriented application development product for the IBM PS/2 and PC environment. Entryway allows both information systems professionals and business managers to rapidly build stand-alone and coordinated business applications.
According to John Hiles, vice president of Delta Logic, "As more organizations integrate end-user computing with their information systems, data-processing professionals and end-user departments will become increasingly involved in personal computer software development. With Entryway, application development more closely resembles the writing of a letter or memo on a word processor. The application's background of text or diagrams, such as an office procedure flow chart, is entered just as if it were a letter. Then the active, computer-driven application components are created or specified in objects that are placed on the text background. This 'first draft' represents a working prototype that can be refined, expanded, and packaged for distribution in a series of interactive Entryway sessions."
Entryway's development features include an object-oriented, interactive development environment; a script language with more than 200 statements; debugging and regression test facilities and forms generation. Included are several user interface features -- a hyper-text facility, menu generation and forms management systems, and text entry fields -- compatible with Common User Access (CUA), IBM's developing standard for its Systems Application Architecture (SAA).
The package includes a WYSIWYG full-page report writer, full support for adding user-defined objects, script-language commands, and time-oriented facilities. Entryway runs on the installed base of DOS personal computers. Delta Logic Division can add user objects for the LAN or host connectivity option. The cost is $795 for the development version and $250 for the run-time package. Reader Service No. 25.
Delta Logic Division 550 Hartnell, Ste. B Monterey, CA 93940 408-373-8688
The C Users' Group Directory of User-Supported C Source Code, Vol. II, has been released by R&D Publications Inc. The Directory contains information about code in The C Users' Group Library, a repository of public domain and user-supported C source code. The C Users' Group focuses on source code useful to experienced programmers, rather than on end-user applications.
Vol. II, edited by Robert Ward and Kenji Hino, includes file by file descriptions for Library disk volumes 200 - 249, a comprehensive index, and articles that describe some significant disk volumes. It also catalogs a 68000 C compiler, portable utilities, a file maintenance package, MS-DOS implementations of several Unix utilities, Small C utilities, and several graphics packages. Volume I is also available, and both sell for $10. Reader service No. 21.
The C Users' Group 2120 W. 25th St., Ste. B Lawrence, KS 66047 913-841-1631
Copyright © 1989, Dr. Dobb's Journal