Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!convex!ssimmons
From: ssimmons@convex.com (Steve Simmons)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Namespace collision between X and NIH
Message-ID: <103894@convex.convex.com>
Date: 13 Jul 90 13:40:06 GMT
Sender: usenet@convex.com
Distribution: comp
Lines: 31


	We have run into the following name space collision with the 
	following two packages, X11 and NIH.  Both use the identifier
	Object. X11 uses it as a typedef to a pointer to the ObjectRec
	and NIH uses it as a base class.

	Has anyone else run into this problem?  How did you solve it?

	We have come up with the following solutions. Other ideas will 
	be appreciated. 

	- Change X header files.  It is truly a bug in X since they've
	tried protecting the namespace by prefixing everything with X
	or Xm. The problem is in integrating with future releases 
	of X. 

	- Change the NIH.  They've never tried protecting the namespace
	and maybe they should. I've been leaning towards this solution
	by prefixing everything in the NIH library with "NIH". Upward 
	integration is not as a necessary. NIH is stable.  Also, there
	are minor nits within the NIH library that can be changed. 

	- Isolate X and NIH code. Possible, however, it requires more 
	dancing and does not solve the long term problem of the NIH's
	name space. 

	Other possibilities...

	Thank you. 

					Steve Simmons