Subj : Re: Pascal vs C++ (LONG!!) To : Simon Woodland From : Scott Adams Date : Tue Oct 22 2002 12:45 am -=> Quoting Simon Woodland to Scott Adams <=- SW>> There is hack on the internet that will let you turn Borland C++ SW>> into SW>> a Delphi complier. SA> Not heard of that hack..hmmm SW> As taken from the PCPlus Issue 184 page 277/8 SW> Delphi components with C++ Builder Actually it makes sense now that i'm not tired :) I forgot about the visual studio type setup and such so figured why not :) SW> This month Dave Jewell delves into the wealth of Delphi components SW> that are available for use within C++ Builder As promised last time, SW> this month's C++Workshop takes a somewhat different format to usual. SW> Rather than walking you through the development of a specific project, SW> we're going to provide some pointers to the best Delphi components SW> that are available for use with c++ Builder. If you're wondering why SW> we're mentioning Delphi in C++ Workshop, you're probably not aware of SW> the intimate relationship between these two development systems. Read SW> on, and all will be revealed... SW> As you're probably aware, Delphi and C++ Builder have a great deal in SW> common; they are both Borland RAD development tools, and they both use SW> the same VCL application framework. However, the relationship is a lot SW> tighter than that. Delphi is based around the Pascal programming SW> language and uses a lightning-fast compiler. Delphi appeared before C++ SW> Builder and almost the entire Delphi development is itself written SW> using Delphi. The only significant exceptions to this are the Pascal SW> compiler (written in plain vanilla C), the debugger and the guts of the SW> text editor - everything else is Delphi. SW> When Borland came to create C++ Builder, it just didn't make sense to SW> go to the huge effort of rewriting everything in C++. Instead, Borland SW> simply modified the IDE where appropriate, connected it up to a C++ SW> compiler and - hey presto - C++ Builder was born. OK, we're over- SW> simplifying this somewhat, but hopefully you get the message: every SW> time you fire up C++ Builder, you're actually running a Delphi SW> application. When C++ Builder was first released, Borland was rather SW> coy about this aspect of the product. Perhaps it figured that C++ SW> programmers wouldn't like to know that it was using a development tool SW> written in Pascal. SW> The truth is, no matter how ardent a C++ developer you are, the Pascal SW> under-the-hood nature of C++ Builder is great news. Why? Because it SW> means that C++ Builder is fully compatible with the huge number of SW> Delphi components that are available. We'll be looking at some of the SW> better ones in the remainder of this months C++ Workshop. SW> Incorporating Pascal code into a C++ project SW> Although we have focused on adding Delphi-authored components to a C++ SW> Builder project, there's nothing to stop you from incorporating any SW> Pascal code into your C++ code SW> To do this, simply click the Add File Project option on the IDE SW> toolbar and select the .PAS file that you wish to incorporate into your SW> project. SW> This works because C++ Builder incorporates not only a full C++ SW> compiler, but also a full Pascal compiler too - the same one used in SW> Delphi. If you go to the Project Options dialog and select the Compiler SW> tab, you'll be able to see a set of compiler options that are used to SW> control the operation of the built-in Pascal compiler. The fact that SW> C++ Builder includes a Pascal compiler makes it very easy to include SW> Pascal code in your project, and to transparently create Pascal classes SW> and invoke Pascal methods directory from a C++ program. SW> As we've already pointed out, this happens all the time because all SW> the out-of-the-box components on the C++ Builder component palette are SW> Delphi- authored controls. Sadly this only works one way; whereas C++ SW> has a built-in Pascal compiler, there isn't a C++ compiler built into SW> the Delphi system. Oh well... we can't have everything. SW> Regards, SW> Simon Woodland SW> -!- APoint 1.25 SW> ! Origin: Simon's Little Corner of the world (2:250/501.5) .... You should be intelligent enough to let others tell you what to do. --- Fringe BBS * Origin: EWOG II - The Fringe - 904-733-1721 (1:112/91) .