Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!endor!stew
From: stew@endor.harvard.edu (Stew Rubenstein)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Any Linkers which take arb. length names?
Message-ID: <3392@husc6.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 27-Nov-87 22:11:17 EST
Article-I.D.: husc6.3392
Posted: Fri Nov 27 22:11:17 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 30-Nov-87 00:46:17 EST
References: <2413@sfsup.UUCP>
Sender: news@husc6.UUCP
Reply-To: stew@endor.UUCP (Stew Rubenstein)
Organization: Aiken Computation Lab Harvard, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 33

In article <2413@sfsup.UUCP> shap@sfsup.UUCP (J.S.Shapiro) writes:
>As I understand it, external identifier names as understood
>by MPW linker and Mac Linkers in general accept up to
>31 character names. This is not enough for some languages,
>notably C++, which mangle names in order to get them to
>compile.
>
>Is anyone aware of why this limitation exists, and whethet
>there are linkers out there which circumvent it? I would be
>willing to explore writing an Apple compatible linker for my
>own use, but I don't have access to the object file format
>anyplace obvious.
>
>Actually, I would be interested in the object format regardless.
>Any good sources for this?
>
>Jon Shapiro

1) Apple has stated that they will be shipping C++ and porting MacApp
to C++ shortly (I am not certain, but I think they said 1Q '88).  It
is possible that the 31 character name restriction wll be lifted then.
MPW 3.0 is expected about the same time.

2) The object file format is documented in the MPW 2.0 manual, available
from APDA.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with Apple, don't speak for Apple, and
the above is only my best recollection of a rumor I heard somewhere.

Stew Rubenstein
Cambridge Scientific Computing, Inc.
UUCPnet:    seismo!harvard!rubenstein            CompuServe: 76525,421
Internet:   rubenstein@harvard.harvard.edu       MCIMail:    CSC