January 21, 2015—Interfacing D To Legacy C++ Code—Walter Bright

Time and Location

January 21st, 2015 at 7:00 PM
Steptoe Room, Cafeteria 40,
Microsoft Campus,
156th Ave NE,
Redmond, WA 98052.

Abstract

C++ programmers have developed a vast investment of existing code. Use of this code from other languages is normally impractical. Walter shows how this code can be accessible from the D programming language.

C is the lingua franca of the programming language industry. By presenting a C interface, most languages can connect with one another, and connect to a vast treasure house of C code. But C++ code is very hard to provide an interface to, and almost no languages even attempt it. I’d long ago decided that in order to provide a direct interface from D to C++ would require essentially adding the full semantics of a C++ compiler to D, and that would be impractical. But the idea persistently recurs, as there is a lot of interest in interfacing D to legacy C++ code.

It turns out that we actually can, with minor adjustments to D, directly interface to quite a bit of C++, especially if one is willing to be a bit flexible on both the C++ and D sides. This presentation goes through the principles on how this works, what works and what doesn’t work, and how one can retain an investment in C++ code while migrating to D.

Bio

Walter Bright is the creator and first implementer of the D programming language and has implemented compilers for several other languages. He’s an expert in all areas of compiler technology, including front ends, optimizers, code generation, interpreter engines and runtime libraries. Walter regularly writes articles about compilers and programming, is known for engaging and informative presentations, and provides training in compiler development techniques. Many are surprised to discover that Walter is also the creator of the wargame Empire, which is still popular today over 30 years after its debut.

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