Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!uflorida!haven!ncifcrf!nlm-mcs!adm!smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Abstract Data Types in C
Keywords: Abstract Data Types ADT modules
Message-ID: <8695@smoke.ARPA>
Date: 17 Oct 88 05:19:00 GMT
References: <116@capshaw.UUCP>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>)
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 15

In article <116@capshaw.UUCP> sdc@capshaw.UUCP (Dan Capshaw) writes:
>Is anyone out there using ADTs in C?

Certainly, although we call them "abstract data types".  ADT is a
trademark of a security firm (American District Telegraph).

You can implement abstract data types in almost any programming
language.  Ada has facilities for forcing you to use them, and
C++ has special support for them.

The usual access to an abstract data type in a C application is
via a header file that defines the data type(s) and declares the
functions used to implement it.  The functions are implemented in
a separate source file with everything except the header-documented
access hooks made file-static.