C++Talk.NET C++ language newsgroups   Archives   FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next          C++Talk.NET Forum Index -> C++ Language (Moderated) View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message isaac Guest Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2004 10:55 am    Post subject: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, rather than developing on Solaris exclusively. The two versions do not need to share input / output files, btw. What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types I'm new to porting code, so any resources / books to read would be very valuable. Thanks, Isaac [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Attila Feher Guest Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2004 6:47 pm    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris isaac wrote: Quote: We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, [SNIP] Did you actually try to switch it off? With 6.0 I have tried and even a standard Hello World program did not compile. -- Attila aka WW [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Jeff Schwab Guest Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:38 am    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris isaac wrote: Quote: We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, rather than developing on Solaris exclusively. The two versions do not need to share input / output files, btw. What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types I'm new to porting code, so any resources / books to read would be very valuable. Is there a reason to develop on Windows? If it's the expense of the boxes, you could just run Solaris x86. Even Linux or FreeBSD would be much more Solaris-like than Windows. If you need Windows for some unrelated purpose, could you use dual-boot machines? [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Thomas Richter Guest Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:59 am    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris Hi, Quote: What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types I'm new to porting code, so any resources / books to read would be very valuable. Depends pretty much on what you're going to develop. A couple of additional standard issues include: - endianness. Don't assume any bit-order. - whether char is signed or unsigned. Specify if it makes a difference. - avoid win typical includes (i.e. windows.h) - win does not provide some of the unixoid functions, e.g. those under unistd.h (windows: a subclass is available in io.h) - ensure that, if you're opening files, you specify whether this happens in text or in binary mode. This makes no difference for solaris. (E.g. "rb" vs. "r" in fopen). - add a general warning about floating points. Results might differ due to different rounding modes (the usual problem). - The VS compiler handles variable declarations as in for(int i = 0;...) differently. - Feel prepared to run into troubles with templates if you're using the VS 6.0 compiler. The 7.1 should be fine, though. - VS 6.0 might not handle "operator new" in a standard-conformant way, i.e. does not throw on "out of memory". Tests for null-ness are required. Again, 7.1 is fine. So long, Thomas [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Jeff Greif Guest Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 10:16 am    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris "isaac" <isaacjunk (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, rather than developing on Solaris exclusively. The two versions do not need to share input / output files, btw. What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types Yes to all of these. Depending upon what you're doing, there may also be issues of byte order (where does the least significant byte of a 16-bit integer go). You can for the most part hide these system dependencies by using a library that abstracts them away (presenting the same interface on all platforms supported). One such is ACE (Adaptive Communications Environment). See http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/ACE.html. Jeff [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Eugene Alterman Guest Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 1:34 pm    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris "Attila Feher" <attila.feher (AT) lmf (DOT) ericsson.se> wrote Quote: isaac wrote: We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, [SNIP] Did you actually try to switch it off? With 6.0 I have tried and even a standard Hello World program did not compile. This is definitely not true! Just try the "Hello world" project that is conveniently provided by the MS Visual Studio 6.0 project creation wizard. In fact it is <windows.h> header that fails to compile with C++ extensions turned off which makes it an issue of WIN32 specific code. With proper design only those files in portability layer implementation will use platform specific API and need to include <windows.h>. The layers above may be compiled with the extensions turned off. If I recall correctly, this approach is used in IBM's International Components for Unicode. [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Eugene Alterman Guest Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 1:37 pm    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris "isaac" <isaacjunk (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, rather than developing on Solaris exclusively. The two versions do not need to share input / output files, btw. What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? Any code that directly accesses native operating system services or uses platform specific libraries. Quote: What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? Placing all the platform dependent code into a relatively thin portability (platform adaptation) layer. This layer should be implemented separately for each platform. Quote: Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types Unfortunately both networking and multithreading are not covered by the standard C++, so you will need additional resources to be able to use them portably. I recommend you to consider the Adaptive Communication Environment framework (ACE) ( http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/ACE.html) I don't see any issues with different sizes of data types if you use portable code. [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Sergei Emantayev Guest Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 1:47 pm    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris [email]isaacjunk (AT) hotmail (DOT) com[/email] (isaac) wrote in message news:<8c3264f8.0401261452.28576232 (AT) posting (DOT) google.com>... Quote: What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types WIN32 platform has a slightly different sockets implementation (called WinSock) and totally different thread library. I would suggest you to use a cross-platform library such as ACE to avoid writing system specific code. Quote: I'm new to porting code, so any resources / books to read would be very valuable. [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top kanze@gabi-soft.fr Guest Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 8:15 pm    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris [email]isaacjunk (AT) hotmail (DOT) com[/email] (isaac) wrote in message news:<8c3264f8.0401261452.28576232 (AT) posting (DOT) google.com>... Quote: We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, rather than developing on Solaris exclusively. The two versions do not need to share input / output files, btw. Curious. For large projects (involving teams of people, instead of just one or two people), I find the Solaris environment significantly better. Quote: What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? Just about everything that isn't defined in the standard. The most obvious differences involve the GUI API, Sockets, threading and processes, interprocess communication, anything other than the most trival IO (directory walking, for example, file access rights, synchronization...), signal handling, error reporting... Quote: What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? First, take advantage of third party libraries. I've heard good things about wxWindows, for example, for the GUI. Corba is excellent for interprocess communication. Boost has a threading library and a class for file system functions, etc. Much of what you need may be already available. Then, use the compilation firewall idiom. Put the actual implementation of the class in different directories, according to the system. Something along the lines of: Socket.hh: class Socket { class Impl ; public: // portable interface... private: Impl* myImpl ; } ; Socket.cc: #include "Socket.hh" #include "Socket.mcc" Windows/Socket.mcc: Windows implementation... Solaris/Socket.mcc: Solaris implementation... When compiling, add a -ISolaris or a /IWindows, according to the platform. Quote: Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types If you compile in 32 bit mode under Solaris, the size of most data types will be the same. So will the representation, modulo byte order. So don't write code which depends on byte order. In close to 20 years of C and C++, I think the only byte order dependant code I've written was to extract the sign, exponent and mantissa from a double. And that was only in an implementation of the C library (functions frexp, ldexp and modf), not in application code. Globally, this should not cause any problems, even if you compile in 64 bit mode under Solaris. Provided you are using third party software (a Corba implementation, for example) for marshalling/demarshalling. For the rest, define what system services you need, try and find a third party library which encapsulates them, and if you can't find one define an abstraction for them, and implement as above. Also be aware that to some degree, it will depend on what compiler versions you have. VC++ 6.0 had very poor template support, for example, and so some of the functionality of the STL wasn't available. Sun CC also has some weaknesses, particularly in its library. -- James Kanze GABI Software mailto:kanze (AT) gabi-soft (DOT) fr Conseils en informatique orientée objet/ http://www.gabi-soft.fr Beratung in objektorientierter Datenverarbeitung 11 rue de Rambouillet, 78460 Chevreuse, France, +33 (0)1 30 23 45 16 [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Anthony Williams Guest Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2004 8:25 pm    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris [email]isaacjunk (AT) hotmail (DOT) com[/email] (isaac) writes: Quote: What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types If you use a library like pthread-win32 ([url]http://sources.redhat.com/pthreads-win32/)[/url], then you can write multi-threaded code that works the same on Windows and Solaris. Networking is similar, but different --- Windows Sockets is very similar to BSD sockets, but there are key differences. If you compile for 32-bit Solaris, the data types are identical in size, but opposite in Endian (IIRC), but 64-bit Solaris is different (as you might expect) Anthony -- Anthony Williams Senior Software Engineer, Beran Instruments Ltd. Remove NOSPAM when replying, for timely response. [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Eugene Alterman Guest Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:03 am    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris "Thomas Richter" <thor (AT) cleopatra (DOT) math.tu-berlin.de> wrote Quote: - The VS compiler handles variable declarations as in for(int i = 0;...) differently. Not if compiled with 'Disable Language Extensions' compiler option. [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Balog Pal Guest Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:03 am    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris "isaac" <isaacjunk (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, rather than developing on Solaris exclusively. The two versions do not need to share input / output files, btw. Shouldn't be a big problem. If you don't need GUI, just sit down and write a few wrappers, then it's just plain programming. Or look out for existing portable libs. Some 5 years ago I wrote a program that compiled fine on NT and Solaris, used threads, processed binary files (moving cross platforms), cryptography, read smartcard attached to a serial port... I actually ported most of the MFC (excluding afxwin) to see it it's possible. It is. If you need only a few packages it's considerably less work. Quote: What general categories of C++ code will be system dependent between Windows and Solaris? What is a good process for sectioning off system-dependent code? Let's assume only ANSI Standard C++ is used, as well as basic STL. I have down: - networking - multithreading - size of certain data types net: sockets are slightly different, but you find a solid rundown on differences in the MSDN. MT: I remember problems to implement WaitForMultipleObjects at the time. (but it's not impossible, also it can be avoided.) IIRC I had to use a mix of the pthread and solaris threading api for the implementation. Also I couldn't create an effective interlocked inc/dec for SPARC V8. The latter is no problem on V9, guess you'll not need to support old hardware. types were mostly the same except for the 64 bit ones. (and endianness, thet depends not on being solaris but the processor used...) But for portable work it's benefical to typedef your set of 8, 16, 32, 64 bits signed/unsigned types and use those instead of builtins. The actual type then can be picked differently on different platforms. Quote: I'm new to porting code, so any resources / books to read would be very valuable. You'll need a single guy with knowledge of both platforms. He will create the alternative implementation of the common classes abstracting the system-dealing functions. I don't predict him having a hard time, but you need someone with the knowledge. Having only newbies is IMHO dangerous. Also not economic. Learn from that guy, make him explan what he does and why. Books will help you after you grasped the picture. Paul [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Dylan Nicholson Guest Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2004 3:05 pm    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris [email]kanze (AT) gabi-soft (DOT) fr[/email] wrote in message news:<d6652001.0401280314.336e386e (AT) posting (DOT) google.com>... Quote: Then, use the compilation firewall idiom. Put the actual implementation of the class in different directories, according to the system. Something along the lines of: Socket.hh: class Socket { class Impl ; public: // portable interface... private: Impl* myImpl ; } ; Socket.cc: #include "Socket.hh" #include "Socket.mcc" Windows/Socket.mcc: Windows implementation... Solaris/Socket.mcc: Solaris implementation... Curious, what's the 'm' supposed to stand for? I've used a similar idiom, but simpler, where the header files are always the same but the source files are (potentially) different, which works fine most of the time but is a pain when for instance, half of the code for the socket implementation is the same on 2 or 3 platforms, but different on one other. Still, I agree it's a lot better than #define's everywhere (the only #define I use is for instantiating wide-character versions of templates, as the syntax is the same for all platforms, but some simply don't work). Dylan [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top Attila Feher Guest Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2004 9:39 am    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris Eugene Alterman wrote: Quote: "Attila Feher" <attila.feher (AT) lmf (DOT) ericsson.se> wrote in message news:bv5kqb$or3$1 (AT) newstree (DOT) wise.edt.ericsson.se... isaac wrote: We are building a code base that must run on Solaris. We are thinking > > of developing on Windows Visual C++ ( but turning off Microsoft > > extensions ) for the nice IDE and running our big projects on Solaris, > [SNIP] Did you actually try to switch it off? With 6.0 I have tried and even a > standard Hello World program did not compile. This is definitely not true! It definitely is. Quote: Just try the "Hello world" project that is conveniently provided by the MS Visual Studio 6.0 project creation wizard. Be careful of "conveniently provided" things... The C++ Hello World does *not* compile in 6.0 with MS extensions off. This is a well known fact. Try to compile anything using the standard C++ library and all MS extensions turned off. As for the facts: the C++ (we are in a C++ newsgroup) hello world program compiled with the extensions off, using VC++ 6.0 quits after 102 error messages. The C-style Hello World compiles, but that won't help you when you need to work in C++. -- Attila aka WW [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. First time posters: Do this! ] Back to top kanze@gabi-soft.fr Guest Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2004 1:11 am    Post subject: Re: cross-platform development: Windows -> Solaris [email]dpnich (AT) optushome (DOT) com.au[/email] (Dylan Nicholson) wrote in message news:<735eea53.0401282211.23a00cc1 (AT) posting (DOT) google.com>... Quote: kanze (AT) gabi-soft (DOT) fr wrote in message news:<d6652001.0401280314.336e386e (AT) posting (DOT) google.com>... Then, use the compilation firewall idiom. Put the actual implementation of the class in different directories, according to the system. Something along the lines of: Socket.hh: class Socket { class Impl ; public: // portable interface... private: Impl* myImpl ; } ; Socket.cc: #include "Socket.hh" #include "Socket.mcc" Windows/Socket.mcc: Windows implementation... Solaris/Socket.mcc: Solaris implementation... Curious, what's the 'm' supposed to stand for? Machine. Quote: I've used a similar idiom, but simpler, where the header files are always the same but the source files are (potentially) different, which works fine most of the time but is a pain when for instance, half of the code for the socket implementation is the same on 2 or 3 platforms, but different on one other. Well, that particular case works well with my system. I put the common code in the .cc, and the dependant code in the .mcc. I'll also use a ..mhh (a dependant header) when necessary -- in a case like the above, my ..cc might look something like: #include "Socket.hh" #include "Socket.mhh" struct Socket::Impl { // common data... SystemDependantSocketData myData ; } ; #include "Socket.mcc" void Socket::someFunction() { // Do some independant stuff... myData.someFunction() ; // Dependant stuff... // More independant stuff... } But generally, in such cases, I'd rather factor all of the dependant stuff out into a separate class. When there is a distinct probability that the dependant stuff will be small and simple (e.g. a single int), and performance might be an issue, I will also include the .mhh directly in the .hh, and forego the compilation firewall. But to be honest, the real reason I initially decided on a .cc which included the .mcc (rather than just put all of the .cc in the dependant directory) was that it happened to fit in better with the makefile structure I was using at the time if all of the .cc were in the same directory. I've since had to add enough extra features to my makefiles that putting the .cc directly in the dependant directory would not cause any problems now, but since what I have works (at least for me), I've not attempted to fix it. Quote: Still, I agree it's a lot better than #define's everywhere (the only #define I use is for instantiating wide-character versions of templates, as the syntax is the same for all platforms, but some simply don't work). The #define's aren't the problem, as long as the number is limited, and they obey a strict naming convention. The problem I try to avoid is #ifdef. -- James Kanze GABI Software mailto:kanze (AT) gabi-soft (DOT) fr Conseils en informatique orientée objet/ http://www.gabi-soft.fr Beratung in objektorientierter Datenverarbeitung 11 rue de Rambouillet, 78460 Chevreuse, France, +33 (0)1 30 23 45 16 [ See http://www.gotw.ca/resources/clcm.htm for info about ] [ comp.lang.c++.moderated. 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