Difference between revisions of "VisualAge C++"

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[[Image:VA.GIF|right]]
 
[[Image:VA.GIF|right]]
IBM VisualAge C++ also commonly known in the OS/2 user community as '''VAC''' and as '''VAC++''' in the [[AIX]] community, is a multi-platform C and C++ development package that replaced the [[C Set++]] package with a more modern visually oriented development system written in [[Smalltalk]] like the rest of the [[VisualAge]] products. It came with a WPS integrated [[IBM_VAC_3.0_Workframe|"Workframe"]] that replaced the mostly text based [[WorkFrame/2]] and was a integrated product unlike the latter tool, an [[IBM_VAC_3.0_Visual_Builder|"Visual Builder"]] for visual programming of visual and non-visual parts, [[VAC_3.0_Compiler_and_Linker|compiler/linker]], a [[VAC_3.0_Debugger|Debugger]] and sundry build and [[NMAKE|Make]] tools and other utilities.
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'''IBM VisualAge C++''' (''VA C++'') is a family of C and C++ development packages available for different platforms and operating systems.
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==History==
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The OS/2 version that replaced the [[IBM C Set++ for OS/2]] product with a more modern visually oriented development system written in [[Smalltalk]] like the rest of the VisualAge products. It came with a WPS integrated [[IBM VisualAge C++ 3.0 Workframe|"Workframe"]] that replaced the mostly text based [[WorkFrame/2]] and was a integrated product unlike the latter tool, an [[IBM VisualAge C++ 3.0 Visual Builder|"Visual Builder"]] for visual programming of visual and non-visual parts, [[IBM VisualAge C++ 3.0 Compiler and Linker|compiler/linker]], a [[VAC_3.0_Debugger|Debugger]] and sundry build and [[NMAKE|Make]] tools and other utilities.
  
 
If certain rules were followed code written under the VisualAge C++ system was portable between OS/2, MS Windows and AIX without any changes, and the package offered a number of tools and libraries to ease porting between the supported operating systems.
 
If certain rules were followed code written under the VisualAge C++ system was portable between OS/2, MS Windows and AIX without any changes, and the package offered a number of tools and libraries to ease porting between the supported operating systems.
  
==Versions==
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==Program Products==
* Version 5 was delivered in 2000 and version 6 in 2003, both were only made available for [[AIX]] and both had and additional separate command line only compiler equivalent to the "IBM C and C+ Compilers" that is known as simply "C for AIX".
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;Intel
====Version 4====
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* [[IBM VisualAge C++ 3.0]] (1995) - 5622-679
A radical update to VAC that merges the IDE and compiler into one program that brings with it a host of benefits that are not really or not easily possible with a traditional C compiler such as incremental compilation. Originally released on 1998-12-18
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* [[IBM VisualAge C++ 3.5]] (Windows 95/NT only) - 5622-880
* ANSI/ISO 1998 C++ compatible, also supports and comes with ANSI/ISO STL, and [[Open Class]] 4.0.
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* ''C and C++ Compilers for OS/2, AIX and Windows NT Version 3.6'' - 5648-A81, PN 04L3535
* Available in Simplified Chinese and Japanese in addition to English.
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* [[IBM VisualAge C++ Professional 4.0]] (Dec 1998) for OS/2 Warp and Windows NT
* Last known Windows version is 4.0.3
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[[Image:Ibm c 3.6 about.png|thumb|'''IBM copyright notice''']]
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;OS/400
[[Image:Ibm_c_3.6_desktop_folder.png|thumb|'''Desktop folder after 3.6.5 installation''']]
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AS/400 Host Server
====IBM C and C++ Compilers Version 3.6.5====
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* IBM VisualAge C++ for AS/400 V3R6 (1996) - 5716-CX4
As VisualAge 4.0 was a radical step forward it meant that as it stood the tool-chain was not compatible with earlier C projects that were developed in VAC version 3.x or C/Set, this was in particular problematic for driver development that all relied on code that needed quite a bit of massaging to work with 4. This could become something of a cost issue for IBM since re-writing their entire driver codebase could get expensive and it was decided that releasing an updated version of the 3.x tool that only received limited updates was cheaper than wasting time on updating older code for no other reason. So a command line compiler with a version number 3.6.5 is shipped with VAC4 in versions available for OS/2, AIX and MS Windows. IBM called it the "IBM C & C++ Compiler" rather than VisualAge since it did not feature any visual tools, but actually it is an update of the compiler included in VAC 3.x and has better compatibility with projects created with VAC 3.5 for MS Windows.
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* IBM VisualAge C++ for AS/400 V3R7 (1998) - 5716-CX5
* VAC 3.x is command line only and therefore does not support any visual tools built into the VAC4 IDE, including Visual Builder, Configuration Optimizer, Data Access Builder, IDE debugging. The kit however comes with a separate graphical debugger and text mode debugging using classic IBM or third party tools is supported as well. You could also use visual tools from the 3.0.x branch with 3.6.5, some caveats though.
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* IBM VisualAge C++ for AS/400 V4R4 (2000) - 5769-CX5
* Other v4 IDE bound features such as incremental compilation are not supported.
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* However the improved memory management routines that were introduced with v4 are supplied with 3.6.5, as are seperate resource tools for creating and compiling resources and converting resources between platforms.
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* Also includes the full-text online help search engine introduced in v4.
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* Like the rest of the 3.x branch,  3.6 is ANSI C++ 1992 compliant rather than ANSI 1998 as VAC4 is and it does not support ANSI/ISO STL, however unlike the older 3.x versions it ''does support'' [[Open Class]] 4.0.
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* Available in Simplified Chinese and Japanese in addition to English.
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* Last known OS/2 version is 3.6.5-FP2
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====Version 3.5.x====
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;PowerPC
Because of the large amount of changes needed to support Windows 95 and NT a version of 3.0.x for MS Windows was never released, however a version 3.5 was introduced that is mostly compatible with the OS/2 v3.0.x variant.
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* IBM VisualAge C++ Professional for AIX (Jul 1998) - 5765-D52
* Available in German and Japanese in addition to English.
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* IBM VisualAge C++ Professional for AIX, V5.0 (Mar 2000) - 5765-E26 - introduced ISO C++ 1998
* Last known version is 3.5.9-PF1 for the English version, 3.5.9 for the Japanese version and 3.5.2 for the German version.
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* IBM VisualAge C++ Professional for AIX, V6.0 (Jul 2002) - 5765-F56, PN 45P8290
====Version 3.0.x====
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Available for [[AIX]] and later Linux PowerPC with an additional separate command line only compiler equivalent to the "IBM C and C++ Compilers" that is known as simply "C for AIX".
Initial release of the VisualAge C++ toolkit, it gets version number 3 since it is a follow on to the [[IBM C Set]] package, this was an OS/2 only product with Windows and AIX versions not showing up until v3.5 and 4.
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* ANSI 1992 C++ compliant, supports templates but not namespaces that were introduced in a later ANSI STL standard.
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* Available in German and Japanese in addition to English.
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* IBM kept issuing fixes up until 2001 for the compiler which meant that it was in many ways the most stable C toolkit available for OS/2 both in regards to code and app stability, it is for many the most preferred version of the tool especially for driver programming although most application developers that do not need the visual tools that come with 3.0.x prefer using the later 3.6.5.
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* Last known OS/2 version is 3.0.8-TFP2 for the English version, 3.06 for the German and Japanese versions
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== Links ==
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;Linux on pSeries
====VisualAge C++ 3.x updates====
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* IBM VisualAge C++ V6.0 for Linux (Apr 2003)
Study the readme text files that comes with the fixpack files, the fixpack files need to be installed in a specific order.
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* IBM VisualAge C++ V6.0 for Linux refresh (Jan 2004)
* VAC 3.0.8 [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/fixes/v30os2/english-us/fixpak8/ English Fixpack 8] - Note you will also need the Post fix pack 1 and 2 located in the "tempfix" directory to update it to 3.0.8-TFP2 and the [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/fixes/v30os2/english-us/tempfix/eurofix/ Eurofix file] that post dates TFP2
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* VAC 3.0.6 [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/fixes/v30os2/german/ Fixpack 6 for the German version] and [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/fixes/v30os2/japanese/ Fixpack 6 for the Japanese version].
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* Version 3.5 for MS Windows has [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/fixes/v35win/english-us/fixpak9/ English Fixpack 9] available for it, but you should also install the fixes included in [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/fixes/v35win/english-us/WTC359-POST-1/ PostFix 1]. The German version has [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/fixes/v35win/german/ Fixpack 2] available and the Japanese version has [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/fixes/v35win/japanese/fixpak9/ Fixpack 9] but none of the Postfixes introduced for the English version.
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====VAC Extensions====
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==Publications==
* [http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/h-viewer.php?dir=/pub/os2/dev/32-bit&file=drgdrp.zip LPEX macro extension] for VisualAge C++ by [[Lars Erdmann]]
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*Nilsson, Jakab: ''VisualAge for C++ Visual Programmer's Handbook'' - Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-614322-9
  
 
== License ==
 
== License ==
* Commercial software - Discontinued.
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* IBM commercial software
  
==Author==
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== Links ==
* [[IBM]]
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* There is a number of optional tools and utilities to be found on the [ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/visualagecpp/tools/ IBM FTP site], these are mostly for the 3.x branch.
 
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* Updates for the AIX versions of VisualAge C++ can be [ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/aix/products/ccpp/ptfs found here].
==Publications==
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*Carrel-Billiard, Jakab, Mauny, Vetter: Object-Oriented Application Development with IBM VisualAge for C++ for OS/2. ISBN 0-13-242447-9
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*Nilsson, Jakab: VisualAge for C++ Visual Programmer's Handbook. ISBN 0-13-614322-9
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====Local articles====
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* [[A Review of VisualAge C++ Version 4.0]] by [[Gordon Zeglinski]] (May 1999)
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* [[C++ Compiler Review - Part 1]] by [[Gordon Zeglinski]] (August 1995)
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* [[VisualAge C++ Tips]] by [[Dave Briccetti]]  (August 2000)
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[[Category:Tools]][[Category:C]][[Category:C++]][[Category:Software written in Smalltalk]][[Category:MS Windows Tools]][[Category:AIX Tools]]
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[[Category:IBM Product Family]]

Revision as of 15:04, 4 December 2019

VA.GIF

IBM VisualAge C++ (VA C++) is a family of C and C++ development packages available for different platforms and operating systems.

History

The OS/2 version that replaced the IBM C Set++ for OS/2 product with a more modern visually oriented development system written in Smalltalk like the rest of the VisualAge products. It came with a WPS integrated "Workframe" that replaced the mostly text based WorkFrame/2 and was a integrated product unlike the latter tool, an "Visual Builder" for visual programming of visual and non-visual parts, compiler/linker, a Debugger and sundry build and Make tools and other utilities.

If certain rules were followed code written under the VisualAge C++ system was portable between OS/2, MS Windows and AIX without any changes, and the package offered a number of tools and libraries to ease porting between the supported operating systems.

Program Products

Intel
OS/400

AS/400 Host Server

  • IBM VisualAge C++ for AS/400 V3R6 (1996) - 5716-CX4
  • IBM VisualAge C++ for AS/400 V3R7 (1998) - 5716-CX5
  • IBM VisualAge C++ for AS/400 V4R4 (2000) - 5769-CX5
PowerPC
  • IBM VisualAge C++ Professional for AIX (Jul 1998) - 5765-D52
  • IBM VisualAge C++ Professional for AIX, V5.0 (Mar 2000) - 5765-E26 - introduced ISO C++ 1998
  • IBM VisualAge C++ Professional for AIX, V6.0 (Jul 2002) - 5765-F56, PN 45P8290

Available for AIX and later Linux PowerPC with an additional separate command line only compiler equivalent to the "IBM C and C++ Compilers" that is known as simply "C for AIX".

Linux on pSeries
  • IBM VisualAge C++ V6.0 for Linux (Apr 2003)
  • IBM VisualAge C++ V6.0 for Linux refresh (Jan 2004)

Publications

  • Nilsson, Jakab: VisualAge for C++ Visual Programmer's Handbook - Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-614322-9

License

  • IBM commercial software

Links

  • There is a number of optional tools and utilities to be found on the IBM FTP site, these are mostly for the 3.x branch.
  • Updates for the AIX versions of VisualAge C++ can be found here.