Just because I'm curious--is there any C analog to the functionality of the STL in C++? I've seen mention of a GTK+ library called glib that a few people consider fills the bill but are there other libraries that would provide STL functionality in C?
A:
Well since STL's very nature is based on templates which C doesn't have, it would be difficult to even come close to the STL in C. The best you could hope for is some collection classes which manipulate void* pointers to unknown object.
James Curran
2008-10-14 14:51:49
@James Curran, I was asking for an _analog_ to the STL. I realize that templates are a C++ feature.
Onorio Catenacci
2008-10-14 14:57:22
STL is more than just a container library.
Martin York
2008-10-14 15:14:44
I'm aware that STL is more than a container library, which is why I said "The best you could hope for"
James Curran
2008-10-14 15:21:22
@Onorio: Templates are at the very essence of the STL. Your question is much like say "I need something like an airplane, but don't worry about the flying part"
James Curran
2008-10-14 15:23:53
@James Curran: So maybe he's looking for a car, bus, train or boat.
Michael Burr
2008-10-14 17:00:32
@Mike: Then he would need to clarify what non-flying parts of a plane he wants.
James Curran
2008-10-14 17:16:12
@James Curran: Am I mistaken in thinking that there were STL-like structures in C# before the introduction of generics into that language? What about Java--didn't that have data structures analogous to STL before they added generics to that language? Why would a C STL be such a conceptual stretch?
Onorio Catenacci
2008-10-14 17:19:54
Prior to the introduction of generic, C# has ArrayList and a few like that, basically, "some collection classes which manipulate void* pointers to unknown object." as I said in my answer. But the STL is far more than that. The affect of LINQ's Enumerable class (in .net) begins to approach STL.
James Curran
2008-10-15 02:02:05
+9
A:
Yes, glib is a pretty good choice: it includes a lot of utilities for manipulating containers like linked lists, arrays, hash tables, etc. And there is also an object-oriented framework called GObject that you can use to make objects with signals and slots in C (albeit with rather verbose function call names like gobject_set_property, since C doesn't have any syntax for objects). And there is also code for main loops so you can write event-driven programs.
More info from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glib
Glib was originally part of GTK, but the non-GUI code has been completely factored out so that you can use it in command-line programs: http://library.gnome.org/devel/glib/stable/
Dan
2008-10-14 14:52:19
Vlion, as I said, I'm mostly asking from curiosity. I don't write C code any more but I was curious if there were something analogous to the STL in C.
Onorio Catenacci
2008-10-14 17:11:04
Good remark: you would need replacement for collections, iterators and algorithms.
xtofl
2009-01-06 10:06:18