Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!brunix!sdm
From: sdm@cs.brown.edu (Scott Meyers)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Tools for C++
Message-ID: <17974@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 15 Oct 89 04:35:41 GMT
Sender: news@brunix.UUCP
Reply-To: sdm@cs.brown.edu (Scott Meyers)
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
Lines: 47

Some time ago I asked people to send me information on C++ development
tools that they knew about.  The results were quite disappointing.  I got a
lot of information about libraries that are available, but virtually
nothing about any other kinds of tools.  Now libraries are certainly
important, but are they really the only kinds of tools that C++ developers
need?  

This time, I'd like to pose a slightly different question.  What are the
tools that should be part of an ideal C++ development environment?  I'm
concerned here with C++-specific tools -- I don't care about what kind of
workstation they run on, so you can feel free to posit the existence of any
kind of hardware you like.  For example, if you can think of a useful tool
that would require real-time interactive 3D color graphics with shading and
hidden-line removal, then just assume you're working on something that can
do that (e.g., something from SGI) and ignore the fact that it wouldn't
work on a PC.  

To get the creative juices flowing, here's part of the product annoucement
for Objectworks for C++:

	    Objectworks brings three essential object-oriented programming
    tools to the C++ system:  incremental compiling and linking,
    source-level debugging and source code browsing.  The incremental
    compiler/linker involves the C++ translator and host compiler and links
    the modified functions.  Use of the host compiler ensures identical
    behavior of programs during the development process and at the time of
    application delivery.  The source-level debugger allows programmers to
    interact with the execution state of a program and to inspect and
    change the values of variables.  The source code browser of Objectworks
    for C++ enables programmers to view the class hierarchy and file
    structure of application code in a graphical way.  Programmers can
    query the system, dynamically searching for a function's implementors
    and callers.  Additionally, the browser allows programmers to search
    for references to data types or to filter the search on the basis of
    C++ private, protected or public interfaces.  Additionally, Objectworks
    for C++ includes a file browser, providing a graphical interface to the
    Unix operating system and file system that simplifies the management of
    files and directories.  This interface is called the Unix Navigator[TM].

Please post responses to the net;  perhaps we can collaborate on a
description of the ideal pie-in-the-sky money-is-no-object C++ programming
environment.  Then maybe somebody will be inspired to start implementing
it.

Scott Meyers
Brown University
sdm@cs.brown.edu