Developing for the Windows platform using Visual Studio 6

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Developing for the Windows platform using Visual
Studio 6

• Stefan Negritoiu, Duke MUG stefan.negritoiu_at_duke.e
  du
• March 26, 2001

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Outline

• Administrative
• Visual Studio
• Visual Basic
• Visual C
• Platform SDK
• MSDN
• Demos
• QA

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Administrative - Duke MUG

• Software
• Mugs
• Mini-Library
• MSDN share
• Pocket PC Contest
• Deadline April 8, midnight
• Submit completed forms and software to
  lmh6_at_duke.edu
• Winners get Pocket PCs

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Visual Studio

• Visual Basic
• RAD (Rapid Application Development)
• Visual C
• Tool of choice for most professionals
• Visual FoxPro
• Visual InterDev
• Visual J
• Visual SourceSafe
• Tools

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Visual Basic

• Complete IDE
• Editor, debugger, software packager
• Not BASIC
• Uses a subset of the keywords (Dim, ForNext, Do
  WhileLoop)
• Truly object-oriented except own code (classes
  available)
• Event driven
• No Win32 API message loop for GUI

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Visual Basic - GUI

• Windows are forms
• You draw buttons, text fields, list boxes
• GUI elements are controls
• Historically VBX -gt OCX -gt ActiveX
• Controls
• Receive events
• Have design-time and run-time properties
• Avaialble of any kind normal controls, dialog
  boxes, font and color pickers and you can make
  your own

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Visual Basic - Code

• Procedural language
• Sub (procedure) and Function (function)
• Can be organized in classes and modules
• Typed variables and Variants
• Plain and Set assignments
• When shipping app you need to have runtime
• Cool IntelliSense technology

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Visual Basic - Code

• You can call Win32 API function
• You can call functions from DLLs
• App packager (setup wizard)

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Visual C

• Complete IDE
• C, C compiler, debugger, libraries, tools
• Libraries
• STL, MFC, ATL, WTL
• App-Wizard
• Can write your own
• Class-Wizard, Class Viewer
• Intellisense

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Visual C - GUI

• Message loop paradigm
• Using Win32 API
• Low-level, cool stuff, but primitive
• Using MFC
• Tool of choice
• Great for client apps, too heavy for server apps
• Need to ship runtime (version conflict)
• Goal to have a universal runtime

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Visual C - GUI

• Alternative to MFC WTL
• Not supported
• Born from ATL
• Template based fast and small
• Preferred for ActiveX controls (along w/ ATL)
• GUI is drawn similar to VB
• Resources
• bitmaps and strings included in executable
• Permit easy international versions

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Visual C - Code

• Fully supports ANSI C and C
• Not different from any other C/C compiler in
  this sense
• You can do your CPS homework
• But need to port Duke specific classes
• Microsoft extensions
• Character set support (TCHAR, ANSI and Unicode)
• Clearly documented in MSDN
• Many defines and typedefs for easier migration
  and portability

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Visual C - Code

• Console apps
• GUI apps
• DLL
• COM components / ActiveX controls
• Specialized DLLs (ex ISAPI)
• Win NT/2000 services
• Code is organized in
• C, CPP, RES, DEF and other files
• Projects and workspaces

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Visual C - components

• COM components (ActiveX controls)
• Written using VB (need runtime, only apartment
  threaded)
• Written using VC
• Raw C
• MFC (more flexibility but same as VB)
• ATL (recommended)
• Examples MS Office, IE
• The future is .Net

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Platform SDK

• Win32 API
• The set of APIs exposed by the platform
• Directly used mostly from VC
• Base services (files, I/O, memory, IPC, registry)
• Component services (COM, COM, MTS)
• Data services (MDAC, XML, SQL)
• Graphics and multimedia (DirectX, Windows Media,
  OpenGL, Windows GDI)
• Management services (MMC, MSI, SMS, task
  scheduler, Win File Protection, WMI, Win System
  Info)

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Platform SDK

• Win32 API (cont.)
• Messaging and collaboration (MAPI, CDO,
  NetMeeting
• Networking and directory (SSPI, MSMQ, RAS, TAPI,
  UPnP, SNMP, NetBIOS, RPC, Winsock)
• Security (SSPI, CryptoAPI, SmartCards)
• UI services (accessibility, agents, shell)
• Web services (ISAPI)
• Other (Speech API)

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MSDN

• By far the most comprehensive programming
  documentation (personal opinion)
• You can buy a subscription, get it at \\Jazz\MSDN
  (on ResNet) or use it from http//msdn.microsoft.c
  om/library
• Useful not only for Windows programming but for
  any other C/C project (has STL docs)
• Reference docs, articles, tutorials, white
  papers, resource kits, partial books
• Ton of samples

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Demos
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QA, Resources

• Books available in the mini-library
• www.studentdev.org
• www.cs.duke.edu/stefann/MUG
• http//msdn.microsoft.com
• Fill and turn in surveys
• Food and drinks outside