on 7/28/07 6:45 PM, Michael Williams at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> >> If what you have is a shared library (dylib, DLL, ...) with a C >> interface >> then you can call it today with declares and you don't need a plug- >> in at >> all. If you don't know much about declares I recommend Charles >> Yeoman's book >> iDeclare at http://www.declaresub.com/. You need to use a plug-in when >> either the interfacing becomes complicated or all you have is >> source code to >> the library. >> >> Chris > > > Well, that's just it; I'll need it for different platforms so I'll > either 1) need to create a plugin to do what I want or 2) have to > distribute the shared library with every copy of the program which is > very prohibitive. As I stated earlier, I'm working with the FITS > file format and my plan was to make use of the following library: > http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/software/fitsio/fitsio.html > > If you all could, take a look and let me know what you think. > Perhaps this is the wrong approach. Perhaps I'm missing something. > Otherwise, thanks for the great suggestions.
I took a quick look at the library and I think you could go either way. The FITS source allows you to build both static and shared libraries. Using declares would be involved but may not be any more complicated than creating a RB friendly plug-in interface. I wouldn't worry about distributing a dylib/DLL. The former can be put inside the application package while the latter would be included with the installer that any real Windows application requires. I think the place to start is to design an RB friendly wrapper for the FITS API's. No matter which route you choose that will be your first task. With that done you can make a better judgement on which path plug-in/declares will be better for you. Chris _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe or switch delivery mode: <http://www.realsoftware.com/support/listmanager/> Search the archives: <http://support.realsoftware.com/listarchives/lists.html>
