Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-pcd!hplsla!jima
From: jima@hplsla.HP.COM (Jim Adcock)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: Zortech distribution methods (was: Versions of Zortech Compiler)
Message-ID: <6590084@hplsla.HP.COM>
Date: 11 Jan 89 17:30:42 GMT
References: <6578@pogo.GPID.TEK.COM>
Organization: HP Lake Stevens, WA
Lines: 27

> Excuse me,
> But what is the difference between "c" and "c++"???
> Why would it be more difficult to write a compiler for C++?
> 
> Sorry if someone asked this question before and I missed it.

I think a lot of people have been saying that a c++ compiler
is a lot more difficult beast than a c compiler, but I'm not
sure that's true.

For example, Tiemann is building g++ on gcc, and I believe the
vast majority of the code is still in common, though Tiemann &|
Stallman would be the right people to answer that.

Things that a c++ compiler has to worry about that might be 
in addition to what you'd find in a c compiler includes
inheritence, multiple inheritence, inlining, parameterized
classes, how to map c++ naming conventions onto traditional
linkers, how to unmap those names in order to allow debuggers
to use c++ naming conventions....

Also optimization is probably a bigger deal in c++ compilers,
but one would hope even c programmers are working with good
optimizing compilers nowadays.

Still, I bet you'd find that going from say gcc to g++ represents
only modifying/adding 10-20% more code.