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From: pederch@daimi.UUCP (Peder Chr. N|rgaard)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Standard system header files for non-System V environments?
Message-ID: <736@daimi.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 19-May-87 08:17:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: daimi.736
Posted: Tue May 19 08:17:48 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 23-May-87 14:34:20 EDT
Reply-To: pederch@daimi.UUCP (Peder Chr. N|rgaard)
Distribution: world
Organization: DAIMI: Computer Science Department, Aarhus University, Denmark
Lines: 39


The C++ translator comes from AT&T with a set of system header files that
makes it quite easy to install on guarantees portability between
any System V-based UNIX version. This is as it should be, not because
C++ is an AT&T product, but because the System V UNIX is.

But this causes some minor problems for people who work in other environments
like BSD 4.n and, even worse, MS-DOS. One problem is that it is some work to 
build up a complete set of C++ header files from the C header files and
the descriptions of function parameters in the manuals. Another problem
is that is error-prone. The worst problem is that the result is not unique,
at least not when you come to some more complicated system interfaces,
like the SunView system from Sun Microsystems. So if you use your own
C++ header files you risk end up with a program which is not even source
level portable to another perfectly identical system.

All these problems would be solved if someone, preferably the manufacturer
of the systems (that is, the Berkeley people for BSD, Sun Microsystems
for SunView etc), would annouce a specific set of C++ header files and
say: this is THE C++ header files to use. They need not even be very
fancy; the most important thing is that they are complete and correct.

So my question is: do anyone know of any work of this kind from any manu-
facturer? Please answer by mail, and I will summarize the answers.

A secondary question, less general: has anyone produced for himself a
set of C++ header files for a SUN UNIX system (that's the system
I work on daily)? If no satisfactory answer is found to the first question,
I will be willing to compare sets of privately produced C++ header files
for SUN systems, and publicize the most correct and useful. I work with
C++ translator Release 1.1 and SUN UNIX 3.0, but expect to upgrade to
1.2 and 3.2, respectively, in near future.


Sincerely			Peder Chr. Norgaard
				Computer Science Department
				Aarhus University
				DENMARK
				(pederch@daimi.UUCP)