Re: [gtk-list] Re: I want to understand

[Eric Kidd <eric kidd pobox com>]

On Wed, Apr 14, 1999 at 04:56:08PM +0900, Ionutz Borcoman wrote:
> Robert_Gasch/PeopleSoft@peoplesoft.com wrote:
> > 
> > 4) Using C++ as the base would make other language bindings more difficult
> > to write (??)
> C++ mangles names in the object code generated, while C not. I have
> understood that this is the reason why bindings to C code is simpler to
> made. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm currently working on Gtk+ bindings, so I've learned a bit about this
subject.

What is boils down to is this: C is a very tiny language, and C++ is a very
big language. C is easier to parse, easier for a program to understand, and
easier for another language to bind with. For example, two C compilers for
the same platform generally produce compatible object code. Two C++
compilers, however, will not.

If two C++ compilers can't talk to each other, it's a safe bet that other
compilers can't, either. C, on the other hand, is like a simpler version of
CORBA--almost anything can talk to C.

This is actually the major reason why I'm developing a particular
application for Linux instead of the BeOS--the BeOS has system headers
written in C++, which would have been too much work to wrap. Linux, on the
other hand, has mostly C headers.

Cheers,
Eric