Mail Archives: djgpp/1998/11/09/14:14:52
Robert Cronk <rcronk AT altiris DOT com> wrote:
> > We are currently using DJGPP in a DOS environment. We are currently
> > adding a GUI for our DOS product and have been working with ZINC
> > software's cross-platform layer. We can get the source code for ZINC and
> > port it to compile under DJGPP - but - ZINC under DOS uses MetaWindows as
> > their graphics support. MetaWindows is written completely in assembler
> > and so we need to know how much effort would be involved to get DJGPP to
> > compile the ZINC code with the correct calling conventions (parameter list
> > order, etc.) along with the MetaWindows code.
What assembler is ZINC using? TASM/MASM? If yes and MetaWindows is large (and
I think is pretty large) it will be very difficult, specially if the code is
16 bits. But you need more information to evaluate.
> We're not sure if it would
> > be more difficult to work with the MetaWindows or modify ZINC to work with
> > Allegro.
Hmmm... isn't MetaWindows the GUI? in this case is much more complex than the
GUI used by Allegro and I think there isn't a good replacement to use just
writing a wrapper. Again you must know more information, but when I contacted
ZINC and asked about the DOS code they told me it isn't available to the
public because the most important stuff is your GUI and it's used for
embedded systems. So I think this MetaWindows is the GUI, in this case isn't
just a graphic library and is more like the GUI code of M$Windows.
> > I guess our question is : What order does DJGPP put parameters when
> > calling asm routines from C++.
DJGPP uses the C standard convention ;-), but: parameters are 32 bits long
and your assembler MUST be a 32 bits PMODE code adapted for DPMI.
> Do you know of anyone who is working with
> > DJGPP, ZINC, and MetaWindows (or Allegro)? Could anybody give us some
> > hints or direction regarding these issues? Thank you.
When I calculated the cost of developing using ZINC for DOS my numbers were
about $5000 by year (soft and support) that's fine for a company but not for
a small project ;-). As the cost is too huge I doubt anybody will spend time
adapting it to djgpp, just buy the compiler/assembler needed to compile the
ZINC package.
Is lamentably because ZINC is the best I know in your category and is free
for personal use for X and Windows.
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