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digitalmars.D.learn - How to port a C++ library?

reply "Joey Peters" <squirrel nidhogg.com> writes:
I know it's *somehow* possible to port a C++ library to D (like with 
wxWidgets). Now, I'm not a very good programmer, and I don't understand 
things such as how to port C++ to D. Porting the headers won't work I know, 
but what steps do I have to take? Do I first have to create some sort of 
wrapper around the library?
Mar 30 2005
next sibling parent reply clayasaurus <clayasaurus gmail.com> writes:
Joey Peters wrote:

 I know it's *somehow* possible to port a C++ library to D (like with 
 wxWidgets). Now, I'm not a very good programmer, and I don't understand 
 things such as how to port C++ to D. Porting the headers won't work I know, 
 but what steps do I have to take? Do I first have to create some sort of 
 wrapper around the library? 
 
 


This may help http://www.digitalmars.com/d/htomodule.html

Which C++ lib are you trying to port?

I think the first step is to get everything into the .h or .cc file and 
then follow the websites conversion guide.
Mar 30 2005
parent reply "Joey Peters" <squirrel nidhogg.com> writes:
"clayasaurus" <clayasaurus gmail.com> schreef in bericht 
news:d2eaj6$161b$1 digitaldaemon.com...

 Joey Peters wrote:

 I know it's *somehow* possible to port a C++ library to D (like with 
 wxWidgets). Now, I'm not a very good programmer, and I don't understand 
 things such as how to port C++ to D. Porting the headers won't work I 
 know, but what steps do I have to take? Do I first have to create some 
 sort of wrapper around the library?


 This may help http://www.digitalmars.com/d/htomodule.html


I already know about this. C to D is pretty easy, but C++ is a different 
story.


 Which C++ lib are you trying to port?

 I think the first step is to get everything into the .h or .cc file and 
 then follow the websites conversion guide.


I'm just curious how to do it. Maybe then I can look at some library and try 
to port it.
Mar 30 2005
parent clayasaurus <clayasaurus gmail.com> writes:
Joey Peters wrote:

 "clayasaurus" <clayasaurus gmail.com> schreef in bericht 
 news:d2eaj6$161b$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 

Joey Peters wrote:


I know it's *somehow* possible to port a C++ library to D (like with 
wxWidgets). Now, I'm not a very good programmer, and I don't understand 
things such as how to port C++ to D. Porting the headers won't work I 
know, but what steps do I have to take? Do I first have to create some 
sort of wrapper around the library?


This may help http://www.digitalmars.com/d/htomodule.html


 
 
 I already know about this. C to D is pretty easy, but C++ is a different 
 story.
 


How so? D has templates, classes, inheritence, mixins. D should be able 
to do anything C++ can.



 

Which C++ lib are you trying to port?

I think the first step is to get everything into the .h or .cc file and 
then follow the websites conversion guide.


 
 
 I'm just curious how to do it. Maybe then I can look at some library and try 
 to port it. 
 
 


Start simple. There is no methology to convert C++ --> D yet, otherwise 
we'd have a program that does it all for us :) which would be nice.
Mar 30 2005
prev sibling next sibling parent "Carlos Santander B." <csantander619 gmail.com> writes:
Joey Peters wrote:

 I know it's *somehow* possible to port a C++ library to D (like with 
 wxWidgets). Now, I'm not a very good programmer, and I don't understand 
 things such as how to port C++ to D. Porting the headers won't work I know, 
 but what steps do I have to take? Do I first have to create some sort of 
 wrapper around the library? 
 
 


Yes: you have to create a C wrapper.

_______________________
Carlos Santander Bernal
Mar 30 2005
prev sibling parent reply J C Calvarese <jcc7 cox.net> writes:
Joey Peters wrote:

 I know it's *somehow* possible to port a C++ library to D (like with 
 wxWidgets). Now, I'm not a very good programmer, and I don't understand 


Well, the wxD project (http://wxd.sourceforge.net/) is already working 
on wrapping wxWidgets, so you might want to look at what that group has 
done. I'll warn you: wxWidgets is gigantic!


 things such as how to port C++ to D. Porting the headers won't work I know, 
 but what steps do I have to take? Do I first have to create some sort of 
 wrapper around the library?   


It really depends on how the particular project is implemented in C++. 
If it's a small project, it might be easiest to just "convert" all of 
the code to D. If the C++ compiles to a .DLL or a .lib with some handy 
free functions, you might be able to pretend it's regular C and get away 
with just a simple header (I think that might be how recls works in D, 
http://www.prowiki.org/wiki4d/wiki.cgi?DocComments/Phobos/StdRecls).

Otherwise, if the C++ is implemented as one or more classes and no 
C-style wrapper is provided, you'll have to be somewhat more creative. 
Hopefully, you could just manage to write your own wrappers to expose 
the functionality as functions. I suspect that's what wxD does, but I 
haven't really looked at any of that code (though I did manage to 
compile it myself -- woo-hoo!)

-- 
jcc7
http://jcc_7.tripod.com/d/
Mar 30 2005
parent reply "Joey Peters" <squirrel nidhogg.com> writes:
 It really depends on how the particular project is implemented in C++. If 
 it's a small project, it might be easiest to just "convert" all of the 
 code to D. If the C++ compiles to a .DLL or a .lib with some handy free 
 functions, you might be able to pretend it's regular C and get away with 
 just a simple header (I think that might be how recls works in D, 
 http://www.prowiki.org/wiki4d/wiki.cgi?DocComments/Phobos/StdRecls).

 Otherwise, if the C++ is implemented as one or more classes and no C-style 
 wrapper is provided, you'll have to be somewhat more creative. Hopefully, 
 you could just manage to write your own wrappers to expose the 
 functionality as functions. I suspect that's what wxD does, but I haven't 
 really looked at any of that code (though I did manage to compile it 
 myself -- woo-hoo!)

 -- 
 jcc7
 http://jcc_7.tripod.com/d/


Yeah, I thought of something like that. But that's a lot of work man. Thanks 
for the help.
Mar 31 2005
parent "Lynn Allan" <l_d_allan adelphia.net> writes:
 Yeah, I thought of something like that. But that's a lot of work


man. Thanks

 for the help.


As they say, "if this stuff was easy, would it pay so well?" <g>
Apr 01 2005