🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <timm.715023052@void> timm@void.ncsa.uiuc.edu (Tim McClarren)  
writes:
> pfkeb@kaon.SLAC.Stanford.EDU (Paul Kunz) writes:
> >   It is easy to conceive of an application that has a C++ computation
> >kernal with an Objective-C GUI.  All you need is the ultimate
> >language: Objective-C++.  What is Objective-C++?  Well if Objective-C
> >is a layer on top of C, the Objective-C++ is a layer on top of C++.
> >And it is available today from your GNU sources or any NeXT machine.
> 
> Uh, not quite.  I wouldn't term what the GNU compile supplied with
> the NeXT does as Objective-C++.  The two don't mix as freely as you're
> implying.

Well, it is true that you cannot send Objective-C messages to C++ classes.  But  
Paul's statement is true as it stands.  Objective-<blatz> means adding a couple  
new data types and messaging syntax to an existing language.  Thus, Objective-C  
add those things to C, Objective-FORTRAN (yes, it exists on the NeXT) adds  
those constructs to FORTRAN, and Objective-C++ adds those constructs to C++.  

Paul's point was that the 'Objective-' layer could sit directly on top of  
another language without any problem.  They are distinct, but cooperative and  
complementary.  Using them in that manner is very easy and natural, and I've  
done several software projects that way, and hope to do more in the future.   
True, it is a "layering", not a "mixing", but I don't consider that a  
disadvantage.

Perhaps you want to use the term Objective-C++ to for a language where you have  
a single concept of Class which can be messaged using either C++ or  
"Objective-" syntax.  I think such a thing would be difficult to define,  
painful to implement, confusing to use, and probably not very useful.   
Therefore, I claim Paul's use of the term Objective-C++ is the 'correct' one  
(in the sense of being well-defined and  useful).

- Ernie P.
Disclaimer:  Paul is a friend of mine, and us computational physicists need to  
stick together. :-)
--
Ernest N. Prabhakar                  Caltech High Energy Physics
Member, League for Programming Freedom (league@prep.ai.mit.edu)
CaJUN President        NeXTMail:ernest@pundit.cithep.caltech.edu
"...and ourselves, your servants for Jesus sake." - II Cor 4:5b
#import <std/disclaimer.h>