device drivers - general info

[Larry Hall (Cygwin)]

George Locke wrote:
> On 10/25/06, Gary R. Van Sickle <g.r.vansickle <AT> worldnet <DOT> att <DOT> net> wrote:
>> > From: George Locke
>> > Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 1:48 PM
>> > Subject: device drivers - general info
>> >
>> > Hi group,
>> >
>> > I am running windows 2k with the most recent Cygwin version
>> > 1.5.21-1, just installed it last week.
>> >
>> > I wish to create a C++ program that communicates with a
>> > windows device driver (for a PCI card that interfaces with
>> > external electronics).
>> > The maker of the driver has provided a C++ library that
>> > allows me to write C++ programs that communicate with the PCI
>> > card, and i know that this works in regular windows, but i am
>> > feeling unsure about whether it will work in Cygwin.
>> >
>> > Would you say "in general yes, that kind of thing should
>> > work"?
>>
>> If the C++ library is not provided in source-code form, you're pretty 
>> much
>> out of luck, due to name-mangling differences and other issues.  If 
>> they're
>> giving you a C++ source library that ultimately communicates with the
>> kernel-level driver via normal Win32 filehandles and/or IOCTLs, I 
>> would say,
>> "if you've followed me so far, in general this kind of thing can be 
>> made to
>> work, but be prepared to roll up your sleeves, because odds are that the
>> code was written for Visual Studio."
>>
>> >  Is there a general rule for how Cygwin interacts with
>> > windows hardware drivers?
>>
>> The Cygwin DLL is Win32 application-level code, so Cygwin apps don't
>> interact any differently with drivers than "normal" Win32 apps.
>>
>> >  is there a web-page that will
>> > explain driver issues within Cygwin (googling the cygwin site
>> > has been unfruitful so far)?
>> >
>>
>> I'm sure there is no such animal, since again there's nothing special 
>> with
>> Cygwin when it comes to drivers.
>>
>> > If you need more specifics i'll provide them.  I can't simply
>> > test this because I don't have the driver, and i won't buy it
>> > ($900) unless i feel assured that i will be able to make it
>> > work, hence this email.
>> >
>> >  Regards,
>> >
>> > George Locke
>> >
 > thanks for your reply.
 >
 > the header for the for the external library does exist as source code,
 > eg #include "foo.h" where foo.h is C++ source code, but the functions
 > aren't defined within that file (just prototyped), and afaik they are
 > not defined anywhere in raw source code format.  If that is good
 > enough then i have a place to start.
 >
 > Is that good enough?


No.  You'll need to use the same C++ compiler as was used to generate this
library.

-- 
Larry Hall                              http://www.rfk.com
RFK Partners, Inc.                      (508) 893-9779 - RFK Office
216 Dalton Rd.                          (508) 893-9889 - FAX
Holliston, MA 01746

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