Contributor: SWAG SUPPORT TEAM
TP 4.0 5.0 5.5 - LINKING TURBO C OR ASSEMBLER .OBJ OBJECT FILES
Q. Are the .OBJ files generated by Turbo C and Turbo
Assembler compatible with 4.0+?
A. Yes. You can write Turbo C or Turbo Assembler routines and
link the .OBJ files into your Turbo Pascal programs by using
the {$L} compiler directive. See the CTOPAS example on the
distribution diskette.
TP 4.0 5.0 5.5 - OBJECT FILE CREATION
Q. Does Turbo Pascal create object files that can be linked into
other languages?
A. Turbo Pascal 4.0+ generates .TPU (Turbo Pascal Unit) files, not
.OBJ files. We've made that decision for many reasons:
1. TP 4.0+'s .TPU files are smaller than .OBJ's, and they
contain symbolic information important to the support of
Pascal's strict type conventions (types, constants,
etc.).
2. .TPU files allow "smart linking" - elimination of unused
code and data on a procedure-by-procedure basis.
3. .TPU's allow built-in project management through version
4.0+'s Make and Build commands.
4. .TPU's allow faster compilation speeds (34,000 lines per
minute on a PS/2 Model 60).
TP 4.0 5.0 5.5 - LINKING .OBJ OBJECT FILES FROM OTHER ASSEMBLERS
Q. Will the $L compiler directive work for compiler object files
other than assembler?
A. That depends on the language. TURBO requires all the code
in the .OBJ to be in *one* CODE segment, and all the data to
be in *one* DATA segment. With assembly language that's easy,
but it may not work with some high-level language compilers.
You can use Turbo C to generate .OBJ files for use by Turbo
Pascal programs. An example, CPASDEMO.PAS is included on the
distribution disks.
TP 4.0 5.0 5.5 - INTERFACING MODULES WRITTEN IN MICROSOFT C
Q. Can I link modules, written in Microsoft C, with Turbo Pascal
programs?
A. Yes. M/S C .OBJ modules can be linked provided they do not
use the C runtime library. The same limitations apply to M/S
C modules as to Turbo C modules.