VisualAge C++

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 IBM C Set++ for OS/2 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 "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.

Versions

• 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".

• IBM VisualAge C++ Professional 4.0 (Dec 1998)

Version 3.5

See also: IBM VisualAge C++ 3.5

Version 3.0

See also: IBM VisualAge C++ 3.0

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.

C/C++ 3.6.5 updates

• The last fixpack for the English OS/2 version of 3.6.5 is Fixpack 2, and Fixpack 1 for the Chinese and Japanese versions of the tool.
• The Windows version of 3.6.5 also has English Fixpack 2 but there was also a Postfix issued that can be found in the e-fix051200 subfolder. The Japanese version also got a Fixpack 2 while the Simplified Chinese version stalled at Fixpack 1.

VisualAge C++ 4 updates

• Fixpack 1 for OS/2 can be found here for the English language tool, the Japanese version can be found here and the Simplified Chinese one here.
• Fixpack 3 for VAC4 for Windows can be found for the English version here and for the Japanese version here. The Simplified Chinese version only got Fixpack 1.

VAC Extensions and VAC++ specific libraries

• LPEX macro extension for VisualAge C++ by Lars Erdmann
• Simple SPL - DSP library - Freeware - Discontinued

Publications

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

IBM Redbooks

• SG24-5489 - Getting to Know VisualAge C++ Version 4.0

Local articles

• A Review of VisualAge C++ Version 4.0 by Gordon Zeglinski (May 1999)
• VisualAge C++ Tips by Dave Briccetti (Aug 2000)
• Douglas Clark: VisualAge C++ 4.0 Review (2001)

License

• Commercial software - Discontinued

Publisher

• IBM