Re: [Plplot-devel] definition of PLINT

[Thomas J. D. <to...@fi...>]

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Hi Arjen, Alan,

> > >> But isn't <stdint.h> the way to go? I mean, it is already there even
> > >> if it not included in all currently used compilers.
> > >
> > >     You are probably right.  I only bring up Glib because I am familiar
> > > with it, although I don't really understand the cross-platform issues.
> > > My concern is more to move away from PLINT etc in general to something
> > > more standard.  The use of PLINT etc surprised me when I first started
> > > using PLplot.
> >
> > Actually, I like the use of PLINT and PLFLT in plplot.  That gives us a
> > large degree of centralized control over exactly how we are going to handle
> > integer and floating types.
> >
>
> I agree with Alan: I have been involved in several projects where
> cross-platform and cross-language portability is important and each
> defines its own set of special types to control the exact types. This is
> in fact canonicalised in the latest Fortran standard, Fortran 2003,
> where some emphasis is put on the interoperability between C and
> Fortran, leading to a module defined by the compiler with specific
> "kinds" to facilitate a smooth transfer.
>
> Though much of the time the problem is with floating-point numbers, the
> rise of 64-bits platforms is putting the burden on integers instead.

     Here is my problem: I am using both PLplot and Gnome types in the GCW
driver.  How do I translate between the two in a cross-platform way?  Do I
need to cast everything?  What about our users who are using multiple
libraries, each with their own defined types?  Let me know your
suggestions; I really don't know the answers.

     In general, standards are good because they reduce complexity, and
reduce the learning curve for new users.  My feeling is that we should
adhere to standards wherever possible.  Standard approaches are available
for cross-platform types, and I don't see why we shouldn't use them.  It's
not clear to me that the added control makes up for the complexity that is
introduced.

Cheers,
Tom

- --
Thomas J. Duck <to...@fi...>

  Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University,
    Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 3J5.
  Tel: (902)494-1456 | Fax: (902)494-5191 | Lab: (902)494-3813
  Web: http://aolab.phys.dal.ca/~tomduck/
  Public key: http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x17D965DB
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