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From: schiebel@cs.wvu.wvnet.edu (Darrell Schiebel)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Generics in C++
Keywords: generic
Message-ID: <1410@h.cs.wvu.wvnet.edu>
Date: 9 Apr 91 16:11:08 GMT
Organization: WVU Statistics and Computer Science
Lines: 23


We are designing a reuseable software library based on C++ components.
Currently we are exploring the various (twisted) ways of implementing
a "generics" layer on C++. The alternatives seem to be:

	1) Pointer Based Objects on top of C++ (Smalltalkish)
	2) Pre-processor based macro generics with type substitution and
		using the "generic header file."
	3) A yacc/sed/awk preprocessor for implimenting the generics
		((C++)++) 

Does anyone out there have any experience with these mechanisms? or better
yet Does anyone have a better solution? 

These soulutions are poor, but C++ doesn't seem to have the flexibility
to allow for a seemless integration of these sorts of constructs into the 
language. The type structure doesn't seem to be rich enough.

						Many Thanks,
						Darrell Schiebel

						(schiebel@a.cs.wvu.wvnet.edu)
						(drs@baks.bell-atl.com)