OWLNext: C++ Application Framework

This update adds support for the new C++Builder XE8 and corrects a few bugs. Changes Source Installation Guide We thank Olaf Schumann and Igor Epatko for their contributions to this release. We have recently added many developers to the project. If you want to join the project, let us know. See [discussion:c8848884].

After spending nearly 6 months in beta-testing mode, since the release of 6.40.0 Beta late June, we now declare OWLNext 6.40 stable with the release of update 6.40.5. We hope 6.40 now will be adopted and work reliably for all of you that want the ... [More] latest and greatest the OWLNext project has to offer. The big ticket feature in 6.40 is, of course, the new support for 64-bit compilation. We have tested 64-bit builds with both the latest Visual Studio Community 2013 edition, as well as the latest C++Builder XE7 (BCC64). The results look good. Both of these compilers build and run OWLNext and OWLNext examples cleanly at the default warning level. And while there is some warts in the 32-bit C++Builder compiler (BCC32), full 32-bit compatibility has been retained. In fact, for the first time, BCC32 builds the OWLNext core with no warnings. There have been improvements in the build system as well. The bcmake driver for C++Builder now detects the compiler version automatically, and the bc.mak makefile has had a major clean-up. OWLMaker supports 32-bit and 64-bit compilation for Visual Studio 2010-2013, as well as 32-bit compilation for C++Builder XE-XE7. Alas, we haven't been able to incorporate support in OWLMaker for 64-bit C++Builder (BCC64). However, we have provided C++Builder projects within the source directories that can be used to build the 64-bit libraries and examples from the C++Builder IDE. For those of you who prefer working with IDEs, we have provided similar build projects for Visual Studio. We also like to remind everyone that we now have very convenient online documentation for OWLNext. Have you ever wondered what the event handler signature for WM_COPYDATA is? Just search the net for "TDispatch WM_COPYDATA", and you will be directed right to the answer. Go to our wiki to learn more about OWLNext 6.40. Big thanks to all donors and contributors! [Less]

Registered developers now have permission to change tickets (bugs and feature requests), e.g. take ownership, edit labels, set milestone, modify the description, etc. For open tickets, see our trackers. So, if you want to take on one of the open issues and contribute a solution, go ahead! See forum [discussion:c8848884].

This update fixes regressions in 6.40.3 and other remaining issues, most importantly problems with dysfunctional dispatchers and BCC32 compiler failures. OWLNext 6.40 now compiles cleanly with both BCC32 and BCC64 (C++Builder XE7), as well as the ... [More] latest Visual C++ Community 2013 edition in 64-bit as well as 32-bit mode. Changes Source Installation Guide Version 6.40 is starting to look good, and we hope to go out of beta and into stable release before the end of the year. PS. Support for BCC64 in OWLMaker is still lacking. If you want to help out, let us know. [Less]

Versions 6.40.3 has been released: OWLNext 6.40.3 Beta (changes | source) To install this release, see our Installation Guide. It gives full step-by-step instructions on how to download, set up and build the library. Version 6.40.3 adds TDispatch ... [More] specialisations for many messages that were missing after the overhaul of the dispatch machinery in 6.40 [bugs:#272]. It also corrects many incorrect dispatch signatures, and replaces or removes dispatch for some obsolete messages [r2733]. [Less]

Versions 6.40.2 and 6.34.2 have been released: OWLNext 6.40.2 Beta (changes | source) OWLNext 6.34.2 (changes | source) To install these releases, see our Installation Guide. It gives full step-by-step instructions on how to download, set up ... [More] and build the library. Version 6.40.2 fixes many issues, and most noteworthy, the build issues with C++Builder have been resolved. Version 6.40 can now be built using C++Builder XE-XE7. Support for 64-bit compilation with C++Builder is still limited, with no support in makefiles and OWLMaker yet, but it is possible to perform a 64-bit build of the core library using the C++Builder XE3 project provided in "source/owlcore/CBXE3". Both versions add support for the latest C++Builder XE7. [Less]

An update for OWLMaker has been uploaded. It primarily fixes a regression that causes Unicode build mode to fail [r2653]. It also overhauls the UI by making use of the system message font, and it ensures that images that are used in its dialogs and ... [More] wizard pages are scaled properly with the system font setting. It also makes a few other minor changes. See [r2655]. Go to Files | tools to download. [Less]

Does your vital software product depend on OWLNext? Do you value the contributions made and want to see further development and maintenance of the project? You can now show your appreciation by making a donation.

We have just released a project template for Visual Studio 2012/2013 that might be useful to OWLNext users, especially for those who often create new small OWLNext applications, e.g. for testing. See Installing the OWLNext Application template for ... [More] Visual Studio. After installation, you will have a new option in "File | New project" within Visual Studio that lets you create a basic OWLNext Application in one click. [Less]

Version 6.40.1 has now been tagged in the source code repository: OWLNext 6.40.1 Beta (changes | source) To install this release, see our Installation Guide. It gives full step-by-step instructions on how to download, set up and build the library. ... [More] Among other lesser changes, this update fixes a serious pointer truncation bug in TDocument::NotifyViews and QueryViews, which made OWLNext unsafe for 64-bit code [bugs:#260]. The resolution changes the signature of these functions so that the generic parameter is now wide enough to carry a 64-bit pointer (changed from long to TParam2). Note: This bug is still present in 6.34, making this release branch unsuitable for 64-bit programs. Since the fix is not binary compatible (changes API signatures) we cannot apply the fix on the stable 6.34 release branch. Hence, if you use OWLNext for 64-bit code, you should upgrade to 6.40. [Less]