garym@ulysses.UUCP (Gary Murphy) (11/09/89)
In article <1053@sumax.UUCP> woodman@sumax.UUCP (David Woodman) writes: >I am looking for a shareware program called "Complete C", >it seems to be a small-memory model only version of a >commercial oop pre-processor for a C compiler. > >Where can I find it (FTP archive) or can some kind soul >mail it to me? Thanks, DW >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > David Woodman UUCP: ...!uw-beaver!sumax!woodman > Seattle University USNail: P.O. Box 23202, Seattle WA 98102 >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) Complete-C is a product of the Complete Computer Corporation, 111 West 57th Street, New York, Ny 10019 voice: (212) 582-2635 BBS: (212) 956-4535 2) If you can figure out how to get Complete-C from the BBS, you're better at it than I am - after two calls I've only figured out how to read messages, and none seem to have the shareware version attached. 3) It's buggy. I say this in ignorance, but repeated messages left on their BBS have yet to resolve my problems or even to return my calls. They claim to be Turbo C compatible, but the generated files depend on 'signal' which is called 'ssignal' in tC 1.5 (a very minor point) The package claims to be able to support both MsC and tC, but the libraries for both versions have the same names and are expected in the same directories. There might be a way around this, but the rather skimpy shareware docs only describe the ideal, no-problems scenario. Floating point constants such as 1.0e-100 are consistently rendered "1.0E -100" which MsC coughs up. I also tried to use C modules to handle all constants, with functions such as 'double degreesRadians( double d )' to return floating point to CC code, but this just produces nonsense values in the executable. The 'make' is fairly useful, although you must tell the program to explicitly include all of the classes you need; if you forget one, the error message must be read very carefully, but with a bit of practice, you can figure out who's missing. Incorrect compiles often leave the application dictionary file as fodder for CHKDSK, and the compiler goes wild on my 286 if I have the Microsoft MOUSE.COM installed. 4) On paper, it's wonderfull! Complete-C allows you to insert SmallTalkish syntax into a C language program, add OOP to existing code and offers numerous innovations such as selective static or dynamic binding, a very slick message-passing mechnanism, factory & inline methods and utilities for removing unreferenced methods. the latter feature is not included in the Shareware package, which I downloaded from Synapse BBS in Gatineau. The Shareware package includes the preprocessor and a 'make' for Microsoft C and Turbo C _2.0_, with libraries for large model (production version) and small (with a wonderful imbedded debug/trace). As an example, the debug version of the sample FTREE program weighs in at just over 35k when compiled with the trace/debug library. Using the production library (small model) and the MsC -Ox switch, I can get this down to about 12k, and the sample included, which has been compiled with the distribution utilities, is a mere 8k. 5) The shareware library is very basic, with a few classes I'd rather code differently for personal re-use. Then again, after SmallTalk & Eiffel, I've been spoiled :-) Their distribution version is more complete, with more library classes (nothing in the shareware docs say what these might be) and the utilities for clipping out unused code. 6) I've tried three test programs and have abandoned all three as each has run into one or more of the problems outlined above. As I've never been able to get more than 5 or 6 classes working, I don't know what happens when you try a real program (i.e. approx 200+ classes). Quite often, I find that I must clear out all generated files and re-enter each of the classes, although I must admit that this happens less with the latest version. 7) Compared to C_Talk, the shareware version is 4/5ths the price and no where near the advertised features (Anyone used C_Talk for real programs?), and also compared to C_Talk, the distribution version had better be good if it's to justify a cost more than twice that of C_Talk. Clear as muddied water? If anyone is interested, I don't know about sending the whole package (about 720k ZIP'ed) but I'd be happy to send a copy of the shareware user manual by e-mail. -- Gary Murphy decvax!utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!garym (garym%cognos.uucp@uunet.uu.net) (613) 738-1338 x5537 Cognos Inc. P.O. Box 9707 Ottawa K1G 3N3 "There are many things which do not concern the process" - Joan of Arc