C++ lacks a formal interface concept...). However, this is not
"Larry Smith" <no_spam@_nospam.com> wrote in message
news:%23B5UxUnIIHA.4592@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
In practice header files are a notorious source of problems.
I think quite generally C/C++ are a notorious source of problems.
People keep telling me they are "hard", when they really mean thay must be
"used with a certain amount of discipline and care". This isn't just
header files, but also your responsibility not to lose pointers to
allocated memory or leave invalid pointers to unallocated memory lying
around, and a whole host of other things.
My first C program, on an early Apricot PC, by means of a wrongly
conceived pointer, made all the letters on the (hercules green-on-black)
monitor go fuzzy round the edges. :-) What other language gives you
that sort of power? :-)
But seriously, C/C++ were designed to give you maximum flexibility. But
as with all powerful weapons, you can point them at your foot and pull the
trigger if you really want to.
On the original topic of this thread: my understanding was that the
construction of more modern languages allows one to use inheritance at the
object-code level without the source code, which may be one reason for not
wanting header files. Again, as I understand it, C++ cannot do this as
it is incompatible with multiple inheritance. Someone correct me if I'm
wrong!
Dave
--
David Webber
Author of 'Mozart the Music Processor'
http://www.mozart.co.uk
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