computer/system/be/programmers_1062493971@rtfm.mit.edu>Expires: 30 Sep 2003 10:46:16 GMTX-Last-Updated: 2003/02/26Organization: noneNewsgroups:comp.sys.be.programmer,comp.answers,news.answersFrom: Stephen van Egmond <svanegmond@home.com>Subject: [comp.sys.be.programmer] Welcome - read this FAQ first!Followup-To:comp.sys.be.programmerSummary: This posting contains important information for newcomers to comp.sys.be.programmer.  It aims to answer some of the mostfrequently asked questions on that newsgroup.Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDUOriginator: faqserv@penguin-lust.MIT.EDUDate: 09 Sep 2003 10:52:20 GMTLines: 285NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.eduX-Trace: 1063104740 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 572 18.181.0.29Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.sys.be.programmer:15854 comp.answers:54795 news.answers:257765comp.sys.be.programmer, a Usenet newsgroup for discussion among BeOS  software developers.  All software referred to in this FAQ can be found at BeBits,http://www.bebits.com/, unless otherwise noted.  It has been translated into Japanese, available athttp://www.fsinet.or.jp/~suzu-kat/beos/csbp-jp.htm  Table of contents:  (1.1) Welcome tocomp.sys.be.programmer!  (1.2) How to ask for help  (1.3) What's the development environment like?  (1.4) Recommended Books  (1.5) Where is Java?  (1.6) Where are the Visual Basic or Delphi-like development systems?  (1.7) GeekGadgets  (1.8) How to avoid getting tons of linker errors  (1.9) I'm still getting link errors with cin, cout, etc.  (1.10) Disclaimer and copyright/trademark notice  Special thanks to Chris Herborth and Brent Newhall.> SOUTHEnchanters' RetreatBelboz is meditating here.> BELBOZ, HELLO"Hello." Belboz doesn't seem pleased to see you.> ASK BELBOZ FOR A HINTBelboz looks at you suspiciously. "Only the rawest apprentice would askfor help without observing proper netiquette."  (1.2) How to ask for help  If you are having trouble with your operating system as a user, you  should visithttp://www.be.com/support/, and you should not bothercomp.sys.be.programmer about it. We're not in the business of free tech  support.  If you having developer troubles, you should be able to demonstrate that  you have read (1) the Be Book, and (2) the Be Developer Library, athttp://www.be.com/developers/developer_library/index.html.  How to post source code: Take your source code aside and strip it down  to the smallest possible case which does not work the way you expect to,  and post that.  If you know that you've found a bug in the BeOS, visithttp://bebugs.be.com/.  If you are looking for other developer resources, Be hosts several  mailing lists for developers. Read up athttp://www.be.com/world/mailinglists.html. Tim Vernum has written up a  FAQ for common developer questions on BeDevTalk, and it's athttp://www.acay.com.au/~tpv/be/devtalk/FAQ.htmlBelboz looks at you expectantly.> ASK BELBOZ ABOUT COMPILERSHe lights up. "Ah, a newcomer."  (1.3) What's the development environment like?  Long ago, Metrowerks (the makers of the CodeWarrior development system)  were hired by Be to write the Integrated Development Environment (now  known as the BeIDE), and port their compilers to the BeOS for PowerPC.  The compilers included with the BeOS had a limited capacity, and you had  to pay money to get an unlimited environment.  When Be first released the Intel version, the Metrowerks environment was  brought over with it. At the time, Metrowerks' compilers were not  renowned for producing great code on Intel systems. With R4, Be switched  to the EGCS/gcc compiler set.  Here is how things stand today:    * Be owns and continues to improve the BeIDE.    * Metrowerks compilers remain in use for PowerPC.    * The EGCS/gcc compiler set is in use on Intel.    * There is a visual source debugger. It is called bdb. It is still in      a bit of rough shape, it it not yet integrated with the BeIDE, and      it is getting a lot of attention for improvement within Be. gdb has      been ported, but all the ports are a bit rough.  There are some alternative languages, though none are recommended if you  are serious about shipping an application.  For people who want to do scripting-like things, the order of preference  for doing that on the BeOS goes like this:      Belboz looks at you expectantly.> ASK BELBOZ FOR A SPELL BOOK"Don't they sell those at Amazon.com?"  (1.4) Recommended Books  Be maintains a nice list of applicable books, without reviews, on their  web site athttp://www.be.com/store/bebookstore.html . Here's some  recommendations, with a bit more annotation:  If you're utterly new to programming, there are two kinds of books you  need to read: those that teach you how to turn ideas into design, and  those that teach you how to turn your designs into C++ code.  Books on design: Design Patterns" by Gamma, Helm, Vlissides, etc.  Learning C++ if you already know some other language: "The Beginner's  Guides to C++" by Y. Yaroshenko, and "C++: How to Learn" by Deitel &  Deitel.  Writing good code: "Code Complete" by Steve McConnell, and "Effective  C++" by Scott Meyers.  New to programming and the BeOS: "Programming the Be Operating System"  by Dan Parks Sydow.  Good at programming some other OS, learning the BeOS: You don't need a  book. Read the Be Book, included with your OS install or available on  Be's web site in HTML form.  Getting even better at programming: "Structure and Interpretation of  Computer Programs" by Sussman and Abelson, and the CS342 course notes  from Waterloo's concurrent-programming course athttp://www.undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca/~cs342 .> ASK BELBOZ ABOUT JAVABelboz rolls his eyes.  (1.5) Where is Java?  There are Java compilers available at BeBits that work quite well, and  produce bytecode that runs on any interpreter on any platform.  But there is no Java VM. There was one long ago, made by Metrowerks, but  it is gone now, for many tedious reasons. There is at least one being  developed: a port of the open-source Kaffe project. The Kaffe port works  nicely, but the AWT system is not complete.http://bekaffe.sourceforge.net/  Sun has certified the BeIA platform's compliance with the requirements  for PersonalJava.> S.W.SW.W.W.Flathead OceanPassing alongside the shore now is an old boat, reminiscent of an ancientViking ship. Standing on the prow of the ship is an old and crusty sailor,peering out over the misty ocean.> HELLO SAILORThe seaman looks up and maneuvers the boat toward shore. He cries out:  (1.6) Where are the Visual Basic or Delphi-like development systems?  There are none. Some people are working on them, but none are finished  or even near alpha. Those under development are listed at BeWare.  Many people feel Interface Elements is good enough for now. It will  generate code for you that you must fill out to get functionality.  Another piece of software called BeXL has also been gaining favour  lately."Please accept this gift. You may find it useful!" He throws somethingwhich falls near you in the sand, then sails off toward the west, singinga lively, but somewhat uncouth, sailor song. The boat sails silentlythrough the mist and out of sight.> EXAMINE GIFT  (1.7) GeekGadgets  GeekGadgets is a huge effort undertaken by Fred Fish (who has since been  hired by Be) to bring the huge Unix-compatible tool set to the BeOS.  This includes things like perl, text tools, nroff, man, and many many  more.  If there is a tool that you have known and loved from the  Unix/Linux/FreeBSD world and it's not already installed in your system,  go to ftp://ftp.geekgadgets.org/. You can download pre-built executables  or source distributions.> READ BOOKCommandment #12593  (1.8) How to avoid getting tons of linker errors  The Short Answer: Use the "BeEverythingApp" project stationery when you  build your project.  The Long Answer: Your C or C++ code can not run on its own. It has to  introduce itself to the operating system, know how to output to a  Terminal, and all kinds of other things. The code to do this is in glue  code and libraries which must be linked to your code.  Glue code is the bare minimum to get your program up off the ground. It  well set up the basics for you, call your main() function, and clean up  when your program exits.  Libraries contain the functionality of the BeOS. They are named  libsomething.so, where something is supposed to be descriptive.  libroot.so has most of the C library. libbe.so has the basics of the  Application Kit. libmedia.so contains the Media Kit. And so on.  Libraries are stored in the BeOS under the /boot/develop/lib/ directory.  It is generally easier to rebuild your project using the right  stationery than to go hunting around on your disk for the necessary  files. You should use either the BeApp or the BeEverythingApp stationery  for applications and command-line tools.  BeApp stationery has glue code, libbe.so and libroot.so. These are the  basics for getting an application off the ground and putting windows up.  You will have to add other libraries as you use other kits.  BeEverythingApp has all the system libraries already included. It might  slow down the link process, but if your system is decent you won't  notice.> TURN THE PAGECommandment #12594  (1.9) I'm still getting link errors with cin, cout, etc.  Add /boot/develop/lib/x86/libstdc++.r4.so to your project. PowerPC users  should use /boot/develop/lib/ppc/libmslcpp_4_0.a.A seedy-looking individual with a large bag just wandered through theroom. On the way through, he quietly abstracted some valuables from yourpossession, mumbling something about:  (1.10) Disclaimer and copyright/trademark notice  This FAQ Copyright 1999 by Stephen van Egmond. Reproduction of this  document and inclusion in any off-Net compilation without permission is  not OK. Ask first.  Do me a favour, and only link to the page athttp://bang.dhs.org/faq/csbp.html; do not copy it onto your web pages,  because it will be out of date very quickly.  All trademarks remain the property of their respective companies.Someone carrying a large bag is casually leaning against one of the wallshere. He does not speak, but it is clear from his aspect that the bag willbe taken only over his dead body.> KILL THIEF WITH SWORDA good slash, but it misses the thief by a mile. The thief comes in fromthe side, feints, and inserts the blade into your ribs.It appears that that last blow was too much for you. I'm afraid you aredead.  **** You have died ****Press any key to continue  ----------------------------------------------------------------------                                                        Stephen van Egmond                             Reader Comments  Hi, just wanted to see if you have the time to edit and update the links  on this page. Thanks for keeping the BeOS 'alive' and programming  information available. There are still some of us out here that use BeOS  exclusively, and love it.  Todd Nathan Dev #4296 Owner of BeBoxen #6 :o)  --Bubba Jones on January 5, 2002                              Add a comment