HP DCE/9000 Application Development Tools for HP-UX 11i Release Note

HP DCE/9000 Version 1.8 Application Development Tools for HP-UX 11i Release Note

Developing DCE Applications with HP DCE/9000

• DCE CMA exceptions should never be allowed to propagate into a C++ scope. Allowing this

to happen could result in destructors failing to be executed. This can lead to memory leaks

and unexpected behavior. For example, suppose some C++ code makes a call to a C

function. Within this C function, a CMA exception can be raised. It is very important that

the CMA exception also be caught within the C function. If it is not, then the CMA

exception could propagate into the C++ environment, resulting in unexpected behavior.

A DCE exception can also be caught in a C++ routine which has called a DCE function. You

must be sure that there are no memory allocations within the TRY block (note that some

conversions cause memory allocation):

Try {call a function which might do a DCE RAISE}

CATCH_ALL {handle it but don’t RERAISE}

ENDTRY

Note that some library calls, and most system calls, are CMA cancellation points, and

must be wrapped as described here.

• Do not enable cancellation of a thread that is running C++ code. Asynchronous

cancellation may cause a DCE exception to be raised at any time. Synchronous

cancellation may cause a DCE exception to be raised any time a system routine is

executed.

• The following item applies only when programming DCE applications using C++ and

standard DCE:

Do not use C++ exceptions in multi-threaded processes, including DCE servers and

managers. The stack unwinding that occurs when a C++ exception is raised is not

guaranteed to work in the presence of multiple RPC threads.

Notes on Programming with HP DCE

The following are miscellaneous notes on programming with HP DCE. Also see Programming

with Threads on HP-UX (B2355-90060).

Several features of interest to programmers are not supported at the HP DCE 1.8, including

support for the rdaclif routines for ACL managers. You should also be aware of future

changes to threads support. For details, see "Features Planned for a Future Release" in

Chapter 1 of Planning and Conﬁguring HP DCE 1.8.

Appropriate Uses of the Cell Directory Service

The Cell Directory Service (CDS) was designed for a speciﬁc purpose: to store and retrieve

server bindings in a DCE cell. This mission implies numerous assumptions about the volume

of information that must be stored and about the types and frequency of access to that