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C++ Tools

A growing list of libraries and tools from 3^rd party vendors support the use of KAI C++. There are ports-in-progress for even more libraries and tools. These 3^rd party products can enhance your ability to design, code, debug and deliver high-quality ISO C++ applications when used in conjuction with KAI C++.

KAI encourages library and tool vendors to support KAI C++ through the Library and Tool Vendor Program. Vendors of commercial, shareware and freeware products targeting the C++ marketplace are invited to join.

Standard Unix Tools

Each variant of the Unix operating system comes with a standard collection of tools supporting the traditional Unix program development model based around the make or gmake utilities. The KAI C++ Compiler and the KAI C++ Debugger are designed to work easily in this environment.

KAI C++ can be used with any editor that supports ASCII files.

KAI C++ should be used to link executables, build shared libraries, and build archive libraries instead of directly invoking ar or ld. These tasks became significantly more complex with C++. KAI C++ presents an extension of the familiar -o xxx command-line argument to the end user to request these tasks. Behind the scenes KAI C++ uses a variety of standard Unix tools including ar and ld to accomplish these tasks.

Most operating system vendor supplied profiling tools (that are designed to work for C code) also work with KAI C++. The output from the tools should be filtered to demangle names. A name demangling filter is included with every KAI C++ distribution: KCC_BASE/bin/edg_decode.

Any library written in C or assembler can be called directly from KAI C++, because KAI C++ is link compatible with C on every system.

3^rd Party Libraries and Tools

Tool Name		Summary
ACE/TAO		High-performance, real-time CORBA ORB
Blitz++		A C++ class library for scientific computing which provides performance on par with Fortran 77/90
Cantata++		A unique tool which allows developers to perform testing and verification of C++ software at reasonable cost
C-Forge IDE		An integrated development environment for Unix providing full project management and complete edit/compile/debug support
ObjectSpace C++ Toolkit		Portable C++ toolkit for communications, web, systems, internet, and other extensions to standard C++ functionality
OpenInventor		A C++ 3D toolkit that is the de facto standard for the development, management, and interchange of 3D graphics
OptSolve++		A C++ library for non-linear optimization
Purify		A debugging tool that identifies execution errors and memory leaks within your application everywhere they occur
Quantify		A powerful performance profiling tool for C and C++
TotalView		A full-featured, source-level graphical debugger for C, C++, Fortran (77 and 90), assembler, and mixed source/assembler codes

Need Another Library or Tool?

Library and Tool Vendor Program

This program is designed to encourage a library or tool vendor to the C++ community to support KAI C++.

KAI offers a one-year, fully-supported, no-cost license for KAI C++ on any and all KAI C++ supported platforms to any library or tool vendor who agrees to make a good faith effort to support KAI C++ on the selected platforms. After one year, the license is automatically renewed if the library or tool vendor indicates in publicly viewable documentation that the library or tool now supports KAI C++.

Why The Program is Needed

KAI C++ is an ISO standard C++ compiler. This simple fact, and a little history lead to these problems for library vendors and tool vendors

The ISO Standard for C++ Differs from the ARM and Cfront Dialects

Many libraries and tools were constructed with these earlier, and now obsolete definitions in mind. The ISO standard for C++ is not a superset of the earlier dialects. Almost every useful C++ program, written for the earlier dialects, requires that source code lines be changed for the program to compile with an ISO C++ compiler.

C++ Compilers are not Link Compatible

There are well defined ABIs for C language programming, but as of June 1999, there are no published ABIs for ISO standard C++ on any platform. Each compiler vendor has selected unpublished implementation techniques for many of the C++ features that go beyond those already specified for C. Since the computer manufacturer usually controls the ABI, and the computer manufacturer's C++ compiler have been slow to adopt the C++ features introduced by ISO C++, there is no published (or reverse engineerable) representation for many of the newest features of C++ within the ABI.

How to Sign Up

Please email c++support@kai.com for further information about the Library & Tool Vendor Program.