The OS/2 operating system provides a programming interface that enables applications to implement Desktop objects. This programming interface enables you to create Desktop objects that conform to the CUA architecture using a basic object-oriented programming interface. The interface is implemented using the IBM SC (SOM Compiler).
The SOM Compiler (SC) helps implementers build classes in which interface and implementation are decoupled. The SOM Compiler reads the IDL definition of a class interface and generates:
Bindings are language-specific macros and procedures that make implementing and using SOM classes more convenient. These bindings offer a convenient interface to SOM that is tailored to a particular programming language. For instance, C programmers can invoke methods in the same way they make ordinary procedure calls. The C++ bindings "wrap" SOM objects as C++ objects, so that C++ programmers can invoke methods on SOM objects in the same way they invoke methods on C++ objects. In addition, SOM objects receive full C++ typechecking, just as C++ objects do. Currently, the SOM Compiler can generate both C and C++ language bindings for a class.