Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!hplabs!otter!grg
From: grg@otter.hpl.hp.com (Gerd Groos)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: DOS C++: Advantage/Glockenspiel/Zortech ?
Message-ID: <2620006@otter.hpl.hp.com>
Date: 4 Jul 89 07:08:24 GMT
References: <7898@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK.
Lines: 59

>From: mveh2@cbnews.ATT.COM (edward.holdgate.iv)
>Subject: DOS C++: Advantage/Glockenspiel/Zortech ?
>
>QUESTION:  Does anyone have advice about changing to either Zortech C++
>or Guidelines C++?  Are there any other DOS based C++ pre-proc/trans/compilers?


I have been using Zortech C++ (1.07) to get into the language and I enjoyed using it.

Zortech is easy to install and run. All Documentation is contained in one manual. It
offers a programming environment similar to Turbo Pascal (compile from within the
editor etc.), but here you can edit 5 files a time which I think is very helpfull.
Zortech compiles C++ directly to object - that's really fast. They sell their 
library source code. Their optional C++ Tools package offers container classes 
(queues etc.), text windows etc. - and you get all its source code. The tools manual
explains how to use them - and also discusses and explains the implementation. This 
was especially interesting for me as a C++ beginner.
	
Zortech's main disadvantage might be its low price compared with C++ preprocessors 
for PC's (if it ain't expensive it ain't good?). I heard plenty of rumours about the
bad quality of Zortech - does this relate to previous versions?.

I am currently using Glockenspiel, though. It's because of CommonView (an interface to
MS Windows) ans despite their compiler. 

I think C++ preprocessors work too slow as long as you don't have a fast PC. It uses 
about every byte of my PC's memory (640K). They main reason for preprocessors is 
portability - but PC's aren't that different? Glockenspiel takes about every byte of RAM -
I can't even use Glockenspiel's compile/link utility ccxx, as there isn't enough memory left 
for compiling... Instead I had to create batch files for compiling and linking.

However, I am impressed by its CommonView library - it makes MS Window programming
much easier.


>>The package [CommonView] also includes a C++ class library for user interface development 
>>(the library works with either MS Windows or Presentation Manager, hence the name).

They are working on CommonView for OSF/Motif, so porting CommonView applications
to X11 (for example) should be possible as well in the future. 

>> ... if you plan to use the MS Windows product, you might consider CommonView -- it 
>> should save you a lot of work.

I agree. Just compare CommonView's "Hello" programm (it opens a window and writes
a line of text into it) with hello.c in Microsoft's Window Development Kit.

>>While I have heard negative comments about Zortech's product, I have also 
>>heard them claim that later releases cure the cited ills.  

I would be interested to hear about specific problems with Zortech C++.



			Gerd

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"Is there anything like a bug free C++ compiler?"