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I am a big fan of Microsoft Technologies. Learned lot of .NET Framework and C# like programming languages. But I believe .NET applications are running on top of .NET Framework so They have some kind of slow. Then I heard about MFC a wrapper classes for Windows Development and It is standard for Commercial Application Development(I mean not business level application) so I want to know is it worth to learn MFC now? Is there any alternatives? I want to develop commercial level application Thanks for read my question.
No, I wouldn't learn it - I'd look into it to gain an insight into some of the ways the GUI classes work so you have a wider understanding of this old, but important, technology. But I would not learn it as a technology you want to create new GUIs into the future. Forget the non-GUI parts of MFC, only people who are big fans of Microsoft technologies used them, everyone else used much better libraries...
Although you can write great applications using it, TortoiseSVN for example, today using Winforms is much easier and gives you the same results. Yes, .net is slower than native code but for a GUI you're generally limited by the speed a human can react to changes, so a 'slow' system is still going to be ok, unless it gets so slow it is noticeably laggy or slow to respond. For this reason I'd skip WPF as I know too many support calls from myself and friends who all have complained about WPF's performance (there's also lots on the web about WPF being pretty poor).
there are alternatives, Qt is a great GUI tool. wxWidgets is good to, and also cross platform. Today the general attitude to GUIs are that they should be web-based, so you might be better advised to learn ASP.NET MVC 4 (not the older versions) as there appears to be a significant number of jobs for this technology today (tomorrow might be different!)
There's still shops who have a MFC codebase who cant just throw it away since its well tested projects and for those it can be useful but as a learning exercise it would be better to learn straight Win32 programming from which MFC and .NET still is derived.
From my experience:
Guerilla games the makers of the PS3 Killzone series have tools in MFC
Bosch security systems where I worked still use MFC
Philips medical still has.
For new development they all use different technologies though.
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I'm planning on developing mobile application for both iOS and Android and I want to use C++ for the development.
Which cross-platform framework is available for building mobile application using the C++ language.
I'm sure a lot of people have this question as well, so read this if you'd really like to know the answer. Marmalade is probably the BEST solution. Code once, deploy to mobile devices, desktops, even some TV's. Many popular games have been created with Marmalade.
Extensive games like:
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Call of Duty: World at War Zombies
But also simple games like:
draw something.
Doodle Jump
They've added a free package. You can create your game for free and if you want to get rid of the ad splash screen, it's $150,- per year for mobile devices or $500,- per year for other devices as well.
A big advantage is the native speed. It doesn't matter what people claim about other languages like javascript or java (and unfortunately Qt, which of course isn't a language but you know what I mean) running as fast as C or C++. It's simply not true. For simple applications this is of course not important, but when you're looking at (simple) games, this is crucial.
At the moment version 7.3 is available, but this version has a problem with the ARM emulator. I would download 7.0.
Whether you choose Marmalade or not, make sure you read the documentation. You don't want to end up missing some functionality and switch to another option when you're almost finished.
I've looked into portable code between Android and iOS before and I don't think it's possible.
To release apps into the Android market it needs to be in Java, and anything with a GUI on iOS needs to use Objective-C.
You might be able to have partial portable C++ layer, but in reality it's probably quicker to write the same app twice in Java and Obj-C than it would be to write it once in C++ as a portable solution.
Qt or Wx-Widgets might have some support, but I have not looked into mobile platforms for these, and I suspect the reality is that Apple, Microsoft and Oracle want you to be tied into their technologies these days and have no incentive to make things portable.
C# and Java provide a complete framework that allows code to be written much quicker using well documented classes and libraries, especially when dealing with user interfaces.
C++ on the other hand relies on many open source projects that take a lot of effort to get functioning on multiple platforms, and much time is spent dealing with subtle platform problems.
My suggestion was simply that it might be easier to pick a language better suited to the platform you are dealing with, as C++ tends to be lower level than other languages, the syntax can seem verbose and many hours can be wasted trying to make things work that you would expect to just work, and unfortunately documentation for many open source projects is poor.
Maybe this can be considered to be an opinion, but then the shift from C++ to C# or Java commercially might also indicate that I'm not the only one believing this.
You can take a look on openFrameworks, maybe it fits on your needs:
http://openframeworks.cc/about/
There ARE solutions for C++ cross-platform development for Android and iPhone, despite what other answers say here.
The best is probably Marmalade, but it's expensive, so only useful for commercially viable apps: https://www.madewithmarmalade.com/
Then there's MoSync, which you can use for free. Unfortunately they went bankrupt last year, so there's no ongoing support. Still, might be worth a look depending on your needs. http://www.mosync.com
OpenFrameworks is one I hadn't seen, so thanks Rodrigo for that answer: http://openframeworks.cc/
There is no cross platform solution using C++, unless you're interested in making games. There are a few options available if you don't mind using another programming language. Take a look at Titanium SDK (Javascript), Xamarin (C#) or the multitude of HTML5/CSS/Javascript frameworks (Phonegap comes to mind).
Look for the DragonFire SDK it allows you to write apps and games in c/c++. Not cross-platform and never used it but looks good. It uses Visual Studio and has its own simulator for iOS development.
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I know this question has been answeared before, since i rad most of the answears already, but they didn't fully address what i was looking for, also i'm trying to get a heads up really really case-specific, since i need to develop an app really fast and i have almost no G.U.I. experience, so here is my problem:
I need to develop an application wich allows the input of some text fields (actually a database support-like would be awesome) and i need to store the inputs (like in a database, a .txt file could be good too if it would fasten up the developing)
once the input are fully stored (some text field must be unique) i need to pull some data from the database.
the final intention is to code a simple "random winner extractor" by simplying assigning a list of "number" to each entry and then calling the rnd function i will check who is the winner.
in addition to this i would love to be able to add a little animation to the whole gui (a gif would be enough)
Coming from vb6 Gui developing (that's the only G.U.I. developing experience i have so far) i searched from some good "drag and drop visual gui framework" and i bumped up into QT and into the .net Framework for visual c++ 2010, and i must admit i like them both, but i have no idea where can i get the Heads up to start coding in them... for example i have no idea how to change a text field value, or how to call the equivalent of "onChange" javascript handler for any of the forms (in neither the Qt or .net framework)
since i'm a little rusty with actual Event handlers and api codes,here are my 2 questions:
1.Between .NET and QT, for the sole realization of this single application, wich will be run in a windows computer, based on the "simplicity to learn and develop" wich should i choose?
2.Given the answear for point 1, where could i get some reference or material on how to easly understand the basics? (all the tutorial i found or tried so far gives me only case specific knowledge, but they won't cover overall function i need to know, like how to display a message box, or how to interact with the object values, or how to write down the values into a file...)
C++ is more difficult than C#. But it is more flexibel. C++ is an independent standard. C# on the other hand is safer to use.
Qt is cross platform. It can be used almost everywhere (except web applications) easily. .NET is for Microsoft and Windows only but common on that platform.
Qt is easy to learn and it is powerful. .NET is also powerful but I experienced .NET being harder to learn than Qt.
Qt is open source while .NET is closed source.
Pick the points that are important for you. I think the main question you should consider is: Do you intend to create a cross-platform application (today or in future)?
PS: Normally you should not ask such questions here since they tend to start endless discussions. The above is my personal opinion and hopefully it will be taken as subjective without the need of commenting it.
"Simplicity to learn and develop" is kinda subjective if you think about it and can rely on what you feel more comfortable with I think. I don't know much about .NET but you said you have a background in VB so maybe .NET might be the best approach for GUI development for you. If you know your way around C++ better, QT is surely the way to go, it's fast and powerful. I can't give you any reference material for .NET but you should definitely start with the qt documentation provided online. If you prefer to learn from video tutorials you can check out the Void Realms Qt youtube tutorials. The videos target Qt 4.7 if my memory serves me correctly but alot of the stuff he teaches are still more or less applicable with the newer versions of Qt. And finally, if you look in the examples section of Qt Creator (or online as well), they are some examples that are tutorial style and they can teach you some core concepts of Qt like the signals and slots system for one.
"simplicity to learn and develop" is what .NET is for, especially for database apps. But to get that simplicity use VB.NET or C#, not C++.
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I started C++ programming not long before and I want to learn GUI programming in C++. I looked at windows programming and the syntax looks really difficult. So my question is, should I use windows api at all? If so, what are the advantages of windows api over a toolkit like Qt or Direct2D?
It somewhat depends what sort of application you are trying to build. Most frameworks provide a level of abstraction over the Windows API but do so at the cost of flexibility. You should try and pick a framework that's designed to build the sort of application that you are trying to build.
For building Windows client applications then the Windows API (I assume you mean the Win32 API) will do the job but is very low level. The advantage is it gives you a great deal of control and also forces you to learn how a Windows application really works. For a lot of people these aren't always positives.
If you are trying to create a more graphically rich application then Direct2D gives you this but also means that you have to learn COM and some would say this API is also quite complex.
If you are just learning C++ and want to build simple graphical applications then I would recommend checking out Cinder. It's perfectly possible to build simple graphically rich applications and games in a few hundred lines of C++. Here's an example of the Conway's Game of Life written in a couple of hundred lines.
Qt is also an option but I've not used it. Again it depends on you goal. For example one of Qt's features is cross platform portability, which may, or may not be important if you are just starting out with C++.
If you are just creating some projects for your own learning, then I would suggest that you create some GUI using Windows API without any framework. This will help you learn the internals on how things work (messaging, etc).
But to make any real world project you must choose existing framework (MFC, Qt etc) so that you can save a lot of time. You will understand the framework better if you create some GUI projects with plain Windows API SDK.
If you platform is only Windows, then you can in fact develop faster using .Net Framework. Of course there is also Xamarin that will allow you to write in C# for cross platform.
So what you choose depends on your goals.
With WinAPI you can use all Windows GUI features, controls, styles, respond to some rarely used messages etc.
It's easier to achieve native Windows look&feel.
Higher-lever GUI libraries, especially multiplatform ones, are usually "least common denominator", limited in many ways, with some controls (e.g. dialogs) reinvented just for the sake of it. You can patch your code with WinAPI calls, but that quickly turns into spaghetti.
For one, tools like Qt, OGRE, OSG, OpenGL etc are cross-platform. So you won't be stuck with using your program only on Windows.
If by windows API you meant VC++ with WM_PAINT etc, then it's worth learning it only for the sake of knowledge about how Windows works. The parts about dirty rectangles etc will intrigue you.
"I started C++ programming not long before.." - so I would advise to start with well-documented library such as QT. You'll have much to learn in C++ itself and to learn WinAPI at the same time will be twice (or more) difficult.
The answer in general depends on the requirements, and if you want to learn "GUI programming in C++" I'd say it means QT (or some other library/framework). I do not know any rich GUI projects now which are written on pure WinAPI (what for?). (If smb knows, please put a link here.)
But you can ask yourself another question - you want to learn C++ or GUI programming? :)
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I am new to programming. I'd like to learn a new application programming language. I Googled and found the old MFC framework. I would like to ask: Is MFC still valuable?
I want to develop desktop applications. If not what should I choose to learn in depth?
If you want to develop desktop applications, then I'd recommend to avoid MFC and study Qt instead. Qt is quite powerful/flexible and using it won't lock you into single platform/OS.
First, you must have clear the platform where you want your applications to run; Windows? Linux? both?
In case you just care about Windows, MFC can be a good option if you want to do C++ native programming, which I suppose it's your case (otherwise, C# and .net could be a better way to start programming...)
MFC is a mature framework and once you get the basics, it will be as easy (or difficult) to use as any other library (e.g. Qt or TCL/Tk). IMHO.
I recently tried to use to MFC for a small client application.
After struggling for two days with trivial things (like how to change the font on a button!!) I gave up.
I gave a quick look at Qt and wxWidgets but (after having lost another couple of days), they seemed too compex for my task. Qt is probably the right way to go if you have time and/or the constraint to stay with a C++ framework.
It was not the case for me, so I decided to try Tcl/Tk to see what it had for me.
In its "tclkit/starkit" incarnation it allows you to create standalone GUI application with native look and feel. C/C++ code can be placed in a DLL that is embedded in the exe itself (no DLL hell, thanks!) and can be called directly from the Tcl script.
In two days work I almost finished the entire GUI with all the user interactions (enable/disable menaingful button, load listbox depending on other fields, ...) that would have taken weeks in MFC.
Tcl/Tk has its learning curve and may result unfamiliar to some but it repays many many times in productivity. Also, there are a lot of books, tutorials, examples, etc to learn from.
I would suggest you to give a look to see if it suits your need before going elswhere.
If you are happy with the document-view (MDI or SDI) nature of MFC go for it. It's great if your worried about distribution becuase you dont need a hefty framework, just a couple of DLLs. Don't expect rapid development without considerable background knowledge.
If you're interested in more modern C++ frameworks for Windows, consider using WTL and ATL instead of MFC.
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There are now so many ways to write windows apps, win32, MFC, ATL, .NET, WinForms, and probably some others that I don't know of. Which one should I choose? I'd like one that works on a fresh install of Vista, and is modern and easy to use.
I highly recommend Qt. It's cross-platform, very easy to use and LGPL licensed.
If you are amateur with C++ you'll have much easier time learning WinForms than any of the native Visual C++ frameworks (Win32, MVC, etc.). WPF will give you best versatily. It's a bit harder to master than WinForms but managed and so keeps you away from the nasty Win32 stuff.
The native frameworks are good mainly if you want to crunch the last bits of performance or need to keep the footprint small for stuff such as shell extensions.
I'd recommend checking WinForms at least first to get some quick understanding of the principles. If WinForms doesn't suit you, you can then move to either C++ if you feel you need more low level control or WPF if you wish more shiny features like skinning and theming.
Edit:
Though if you have a look at WPF, remember that fresh Vista contains only .Net 3.0 so 3.5 and 3.5 SP1 features require a separate runtime installation.
actuallly it's very easy to start with Qt - you get a complete SDK incl. a very nice IDE as a simple package and a smart integration into VisualStudio.
Plus the LGPL licensing which allows anybody to write opensource and closed source/commercial apps without paying any fees - the commercial support/licenses are optionally!
The biggest advantage of Qt is the very easy to learn and very very clean C++ API, which can do more than just building GUI apps (it supports low leven networking and file io etc.).
Best regards,
Chris
Short answer... It depends.
Whats your skillset/background? Why are you developing a desktop app? Is it for work or as an experiment for you to learn something new? Will there be multiple other developers working on it and whats they're skillset?
My personal preference would be winforms because that's what I spend most time coding in (in C#). They're very quick to put together and the VS IDE is very quick & stable for building the UI elements of your application. And you can publish/deploy them using Click Once which allows easy updating of the clients when you make changes & updates.
Alternatively, you might want to look at WPF which is the new Presentation Foundation in .NET 3.5. This will allow you to leverage a newer "shinier" UI experience for desktop applications.
Straight up Win32 is getting better with the Scenic Ribbon. Will work on Vista and Windows 7.
I'm probably biased (aren't we all?), but since your question states you're interested in Windows development and you want a modern and easy to use GUI framework that's works with Vista out of the box, the obvious answer is .NET WinForms.
I personally prefer gtkmm. Although it doesn't look as good as Qt or the native frameworks on Windows, I think the API is the most transparent among all frameworks I tried. It feels very OOish, and is very easy to learn. You can easily create GUI layouts with Glade, but you can also create decent designs with nothing but code. In this regard, gtkmm is similar to Java GUI programming.
I would recommend WxWidgets. The API is easy to understand; it is very well documented with samples; and it is cross-platform. If you are programming an application that is going to have any a large number of users, you will eventually want to have the option of running it on a different operating system. By choosing a Microsoft only API you will permanently put yourself into the Microsoft corner. Getting out will require a serious refactoring of your software which will require that you learn yet another API. Take my advice and start with a cross-platform API - it will save you a lot of grief in the future.
I would recommend C++Builder 2009, which can create applications that work with Windows 2000, XP and Vista.
If you go the Microsoft route, be sure to check which frameworks they are putting the most muscle behind lately. For instance, MFC is an older framework that should NOT be used for new development because MS isn't putting any time into it, and the marketplace for add-on MFC components has dried up and blown away.
Basically, when choosing MS backed technology, make sure you pick one that isn't already on the outs.
So you're a student with only PHP knowledge? Well before even considering a GUI you'll need to come up to speed in a proper language. I would suggest C# as you are already used to curly braces and you want to program Windows. WinForms is part of .Net, not a separate thing. Just download Visual Studio 2008 Express and you're up and running. By the way, GUI programming can be hard in any language, especially after you move past the stage of toy programs to real apps.
If you knew C++ to a higher degree I would have suggested Qt. Simply because the new LGPL licensing removes the final impediment. It's also cross-platform, high quality, high performance and now has the financial backing of a huge company (Nokia) to ensure further development.