Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!ukc!strath-cs!glasgow!orr
From: orr@cs.glasgow.ac.uk (Fraser Orr)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: C++ LIBRARY/TOOL SURVEY
Message-ID: <2491@crete.cs.glasgow.ac.uk>
Date: 28 Feb 89 17:34:45 GMT
References: <1989Feb27.090941.18193@LTH.Se>
Reply-To: orr@cs.glasgow.ac.uk (Fraser Orr)
Organization: Comp Sci, Glasgow Univ, Scotland
Lines: 35

In article <1989Feb27.090941.18193@LTH.Se> dag@Control.LTH.Se (Dag Bruck) writes:
>We all want good, reusable C++ class libraries, and other useful tools.
>I've expected to see a lot, but so far in vain. Now it's time to find out!
>
>If you have any code you think is useful, or have heard of some, try to
>answer the questions below.  I won't mind how ``trivial'' it may look --
>I want to see hundereds of linked list classes.  Include any other tools,
>class browsers, debuggers, you name it.  Even if your code is not
>generally available, please reply -- it would be interesting to know
>what's going on.

One thing that you should point out is that the code doesn't need to be
good.  I have discussed with various people why OOP class sharing hasn't
taken off in the way it was expected to, one of the main reasons I've
found is self conciousness, that is they don't want people to see the
disgusting hacks that most programmers produce.  When I'm reusing code I
don't really care if it is disgusting, all I want o do is use it!  It
would be good if you could emphasis this (unless you disagree of
course.) Another problem is that people are "just getting around to
documenting the code".  Code is pretty naff without documentation, but
it is still useful.  I find it easier to read code that write it, so I'm
prepared to do a bit of work to document the code myself.  i.e.  code
with no documetation is better than no code at all.  And if the writter
ever gets around to documenting the code, this could also be made
avaliable (in fact, someone else, who had done the work to understand
the code could even write the documentation and make it avaliable.)

One thing you don't make clear is how to get hold of the code and
documentation.  What might be good would be if someone became an editor,
and perhaps posted regular digests in comp.unix.sources (I supposed this
would have to be discussed with the moderator though).  Comments anyone?

==Fraser Orr ( Dept C.S., Univ. Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK)
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