Visual C++.NET in 21 Days

This book emphasizes using Visual C++ tools and wizards to generate code. Code examples are augmented with C++ language sidebars: Readers who need a refresher on the language or want to go further "under the hood" will have a context, while those who don't can easily skip that coverage. The revision includes more information throughout on Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC), how Windows applications work, and how MFC abstracts the Windows functionality to simplify building applications. Chapters on managed code, ATL functionality, and interacting with VB and C# components will help users begin to master the new .NET aspects of Visual C++.

Contents

• Introduction 1
• How This Book Is Organized 2
• Conventions Used in This Book 2
• Week 1 At a Glance 5
• Day 1 Building Your First Application in the Visual C++ Development Environment 7
• Touring the Visual C++ Development Environment 8
• Starting Your First Project 12
• Designing Your Application Window 18
• Adding Code to Your Application 20
• Adding Finishing Touches 25
• Summary 29
• Q&A 29
• Workshop 30
• Day 2 Debugging Your Application 31
• What Is Debugging? 32
• Debug-Aiding Code 35
• The Visual Studio Debugging Tools 42
• Building a Faulty Application 52
• Debugging the Application 61
• Summary 64
• Q&A 64
• Workshop 65
• Day 3 Using Controls in Your Application 67
• The Basic Windows Controls 68
• Adding Controls to Your Window 73
• Attaching Variables to Your Controls 78
• Attaching Functionality to the Controls 80
• Summary 93
• Q&A 93
• Workshop 94
• Day 4 Integrating Mouse and Keyboard to Allow User Interaction 95
• Understanding Mouse Events 96
• Capturing Keyboard Events 110
• Summary 119
• Q&A 119
• Workshop 120
• Day 5 Working with Timers 123
• Understanding Windows Timers 123
• Placing a Clock on Your Application 124
• Adding a Second Timer to Your Application 130
• Summary 137
• Q&A 138
• Workshop 138
• Day 6 Adding Dialogs to Your Application for User Feedback 141
• Using Pre-existing (or System) Dialog Boxes 142
• Creating Your Own Dialog Boxes 159
• Summary 167
• Q&A 167
• Workshop 169
• Day 7 Creating Menus for Your Application 171
• Understanding Menus 171
• Creating a Menu 174
• Creating Context Menus 183
• Creating a Menu with Accelerators 186
• Summary 186
• Q&A 187
• Workshop 187
• Week 1 In Review 189
• Week 2 At a Glance 193
• Day 8 Working with Text and Fonts 195
• Finding and Using Fonts 196
• Using Fonts 208
• Summary 218
• Q&A 218
• Workshop 220
• Day 9 Incorporating Graphics, Drawings, and Bitmaps 221
• Understanding the Graphics Device Interface 222
• Creating a Graphics Application 238
• Summary 265
• Q&A 266
• Workshop 266
• Day 10 Creating SDI and MDI Applications 269
• Understanding the Document/View Architecture 270
• Understanding MDI Applications 278
• Creating an SDI Application 280
• Saving and Loading the Drawing 295
• Interacting with the Menu 300
• Summary 307
• Q&A 308
• Workshop 310
• Day 11 Adding Toolbars and Status Bars 313
• Understanding Toolbars, Status Bars and Menus 314
• Designing a Toolbar 315
• Adding a Combo Box to a Toolbar 326
• Adding a New Status Bar Element 341
• Summary 346
• Q&A 346
• Workshop 347
• Day 12 Saving and Restoring Work 349
• Understanding Serialization 349
• Implementing a Serializable Class 363
• Summary 391
• Q&A 392
• Workshop 393
• Day 13 Updating and Adding Database Records Through ADO 395
• Understanding Database Access 396
• Understanding ADO 396
• Building a Database Application with ADO 423
• Summary 444
• Q&A 445
• Workshop 445
• Day 14 Sharing Functionality with Other Applications Through DLLs 447
• Designing Classes 448
• Why Create DLLs? 450
• Creating and Using an MFC Extension DLL 454
• Creating and Using a Regular DLL 468
• Summary 478
• Q&A 478
• Workshop 480
• Week 2 In Review 481
• Week 3 At a Glance 485
• Day 15 Building Your Own Widgets: Creating ActiveX Controls 487
• What Is an ActiveX Control? 488
• Creating an ActiveX Control 493
• Summary 510
• Q&A 511
• Workshop 511
• Day 16 Adding Web Browsing Functionality to Your Applications 513
• The Internet Explorer ActiveX Model 514
• The CHtmIView Class 515
• Interacting with COM Interfaces 516
• Building a Web-Browsing Application 523
• Summary 535
• Q&A 535
• Workshop 536
• Day 17 Implementing Multitasking in Your Applications 537
• Understanding Multitasking 538
• Building a Multitasking Application 548
• Summary 574
• Q&A 574
• Workshop 577
• Day 18 Working with Internet Applications and Network Communications 579
• Understanding How Network Communications Work 580
• Building a Networked Application 597
• Summary 612
• Q&A 612
• Workshop 613
• Day 19 Working with Managed Code 615
• Understanding Microsoft's .NET Platform and the Common Language Runtime 616
• Working with Managed C++ 621
• Writing a Managed C++ Application 631
• Summary 639
• Q&A 639
• Workshop 640
• Day 20 Building Components with ATL 641
• What Is ATL? 642
• Building a Simple ATL Component 647
• Summary 661
• Q&A 662
• Workshop 663
• Day 21 Interacting with Visual Basic and C# Components 665
• Mixing Languages: Realizing the Promise of the CLR 666
• Building a Managed C++ Component with a C# Client 670
• Building a C# Component with a Managed C++ Client 674
• Building an Unmanaged C++ Client 678
• Summary 682
• Q&A 682
• Workshop 683
• Week 3 In Review 685
• Appendix A Answers to Quiz Questions 689
• Answers for Day 1 689
• Quiz 689
• Exercise 690
• Answers for Day 2 690
• Quiz 690
• Exercise 691
• Answers for Day 3 691
• Quiz 691
• Exercises 692
• Answers for Day 4 694
• Quiz 694
• Exercises 695
• Answers for Day 5 698
• Quiz 698
• Exercise 699
• Answers for Day 6 700
• Quiz 700
• Exericses 701
• Answers for Day 7 702
• Quiz 702
• Exercises 703
• Answers for Day 8 703
• Quiz 703
• Exercises 704
• Answers for Day 9 707
• Quiz 707
• Exercises 707
• Answers for Day 10 709
• Quiz 709
• Exercise 709
• Answers for Day 11 714
• Quiz 714
• Exercises 715
• Answers for Day 12 717
• Quiz 717
• Exercise 717
• Answers for Day 13 721
• Quiz 721
• Exercise 721
• Answers for Day 14 722
• Quiz 722
• Exercises 723
• Answers for Day 15 724
• Quiz 724
• Exercises 724
• Answers for Day 16 726
• Quiz 726
• Exercises 726
• Answers for Day 17 728
• Quiz 728
• Exercises 728
• Answers for Day 18 731
• Quiz 731
• Exercises 731
• Answers for Day 19 733
• Quiz 733
• Exercise 733
• Answers for Day 20 734
• Quiz 734
• Exercise 735
• Answers for Day 21 739
• Quiz 739
• Exercise 740
• Index 743