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- Path: news1.h1.usa.pipeline.com!usenet
- From: grantp@usa.pipeline.com(Pete)
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
- Subject: Re: C++ with Zapp vs. Delphi
- Date: 10 Jan 1996 12:09:50 GMT
- Organization: Pipeline USA
- Message-ID: <4d0aae$s9v@news1.usa.pipeline.com>
- References: <DBk8wg2yqjbB083yn@iaccess.za>
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-
- On Jan 10, 1996 07:01:55 in article <Re: C++ with Zapp vs. Delphi>,
- 'vincer@iaccess.za (Vince Risi)' wrote:
-
-
- Pete:
- >> If the intent is to compare language, then the proper pairing is
- >> Pascal (or Object > Pascal) vs. C++.
- >
- >> If discussing development systems, Delphi vs. MSVC++ might be more
- >> appropriate.
- >
- Vince:
- >Not a fair comparison, perhaps Visual Basic or Powerbuilder vs Delphi
- >as visual languages.
- >
- Agreed, but in the context of the subject line, MSVC++ & Delphi is
- a more appropriate comparison.
-
- Pete:
- >> In the first case; Pascal vs. C++; C++ wins hands down.
- >
- Vince:
- >Purely subjective and definitely spurious. As languages go they
- >both have strength and weaknesses.
- >
- Very true. I just believe that in producing complex systems (or even
- just plain large), Delphi simply falls short. Don't get me wrong,
- I like Delphi and use it for what it's good for. Likewise C++ systems.
-
- Pete:
- >> Note that we are considering the languages with their respective
- >> standard libraries. Note also, that the comparison must include
- >> the whole gamut of software production, not just simple school
- >> projects or GUI-only front-ends.
- >
- Vince:
- >Whats your point here?
- >
- The point is that many software packages are primaly front-ends to
- databases or other servers. Often the great majority of code in
- such programs is involved in interacting with the user. Delphi,
- PowerBuilder, VB, and the like are the perfect tools for those
- products. Of course, you can build all of those front-ends with
- C++ also, it just takes a little more time and effort.
-
- But try writing a complex math computation or systems that require
- extensive memory management, and the others either can't do it at
- all, are very clumsy at best, or run at snail's pace. In other words,
- C++ gives you all that Delphi et al give you, plus some.
-
- Pete:
- >> In the second case, interpretation of "Powerful" must be established.
- >> Assuming that "more powerful" means that a given amount of
- >> source code or effort by the developer produces more functionality,
- >> the two are actually quite close to one another. Delphi wins in the
- >> speed of GUI development arena. MSVC++ wins in systems involving
- >> much computation and data manipulation. Also, C++ has capabilities
- >> that Delphi simply doesn't have or are difficult to implement.
- >
- Vince:
- >Specifically?
-
- Since I'm not an expert in Pascal, I may be wrong on this -- in fact, I
- hope someone corrects me on this so that I can solve this problem :-)
- -- I have found no way to dynamically allocate a specific amount of
- memory in Pascal where the amount is determined at run time. In other
- words, I can't do the Pascal equivalent of this:
-
- int siz = CountObjex();
- Obj * pObjArray = new Obj[siz];
-
- I know that I could use a container class that allocates a predetermined
- (by the system) amount of space, then adds to it as it's needed, but
- that's:
- 1. wasteful as siz may be 1, or even 0;
- 2. There's a good chance that, as the array grows, it has to
- reallocate memory, which involves copying -- needless runtime
- inefficiency.
-
- --
-
- Pete
-