[comp.windows.x] Why wasn't X implemented using C++?

mjl@lccma.bos.locus.com (Mike Leibensperger) (03/13/91)

Greetings, X-ists!

A colleague who has done some X work tells me that the Project Athena
people considered C++ as an implementation language, but decided
against it.

We're both curious---can anyone tell us the rationale for that decision?
Perhaps only C++ 1.2 was available, and there was some feature
requirement that didn't appear until 2.0 or 2.1?  What language
feature was needed, and to support which mechanisms in X?  Or is this
just a bogus rumor and C++ was not used because a sufficiently robust
version wasn't available in time?

I'd appreciate it if anyone with the bird's eye low-down on this caper
(whatever that means) could e-mail me about this.  (I don't regularly
read this group.)

	Thanks mucho!
	mjl
--
Michael J. Leibensperger <mjl@locus.com>       "None are so deeply enslaved
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--
Michael J. Leibensperger <mjl@locus.com>       "None are so deeply enslaved
Locus Computing Corp./Boston			as those who falsely believe
25 Burlington Mall Road				they are free."
Burlington MA 01803, (617)229-4980 x169			-- J. W. von Goethe

dsr@mir.mitre.org (Douglas S. Rand) (03/13/91)

How about C++ was hardly even thought of back when W was done and then X.  
Support for C++ (like source level debuggers) have only been around for
two years or so.  And C++ has no standard,  so how would they port X
around to different machines?  C is bad enough.

-- 
Douglas S. Rand 
Internet:   <dsrand@mitre.org>
Snail:	    MITRE, Burlington Road, Bedford, MA 
Disclaimer: MITRE might agree with me - then again...
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