Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 8/21/84; site rlgvax.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!hplabs!hao!seismo!rlgvax!jack
From: jack@rlgvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Objective-C (TM)
Message-ID: <82@rlgvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Sep-84 10:00:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: rlgvax.82
Posted: Tue Sep  4 10:00:39 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Sep-84 07:01:55 EDT
References: <692@cbdkc1.UUCP>
Organization: CCI Office Systems Group, Reston, VA
Lines: 57

The article to which this is a reply appeared on net.lang.st80 and
net.lang.lisp.  It said in part:
> 
> Thanks to all of you who sent me the info on Object Oriented Programming
> Languages. The following is summary of the responses.
> 
> 	Language	description
. . .
> 	Objective-C	A preprocessor for the 'C' language that allows a 
> 			sort of object oriented style of programming. 
> 			No information on availability or functionality.
. . .

I have a brochure for Objective-C.  It comes from a company called
Productivity Products, Inc., 37 High Rock Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06482.
The phone number listed on the brochure is (203) 426-1875.  About prices,
it says "A single copy of Objective-C for use on a UNIX machine capable
of supporting 10 or more users costs $5000.  The price includes 10
sets of documentation".  At the show where I picked up the brochure,
I asked the representative how much it would cost a company like mine
to develop code in the Objective-C language for customers.
He said about $1000 per developer plus
$100 per end user machine with any of their code.  Possibly that last
charge could be gotten around by rewriting the runtime part.

On functionality, I quote from the brochure:

	Objective-C is a compiler which accepts the full C
	language plus PPI-developed message/object  exten-
	sions.

. . .

	Since  full  access to the C language is retained,
	the programmer is free to mix object-oreinted  and
	conventional concepts within the same program.

	Programmers  currently  developing  code  in the C
	language can gracefully evolve to Objective-C  and
	maintain complete compatibility with the past.

They give an example program.  In writing a method, or a regular C
procedure, evidently you can just code along in C, and when you want
to send a message, you put a Smalltalk-like statement in square
brackets.  The bracketed construct can appear as an expression.
Examples:

	return [self free];

	[customerPool display];


I am not connected with these people.

Objective-C is a trademark of Productivity Products, Inc.

UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories.