Thread: C++ moving to MFC

I think i've covered most of the things in C++ and planning on moving to MFC.

What this are a MUST in MFC and what things will help?

i completely agree... MFC is hated

I've had a little taste of Win32 but it seems too much coding and a lot of it just doesn't make much sence.

MFC seems to be a lot shorter and well doesn't make much sence but then again i haven't really read anything about it.

I haven't used MFC. I assume, like the WinAPI, it's like learning a new programming language... So, you don't need to know that much standard C++ to use it. To use the API, you mainly need to understand variables, (including constants & typedefs), pointers, structures, functions, and loops. I'm not sure if you need a good understanding of classes to use MFC.

MFC will save you a ton of time over straight API. It does similar for C++ what VB does for BASIC. The learning curve is a bit steep at first. Check out codeproject dot com.

I think i've covered most of the things in C++ and planning on moving to MFC.
What this are a MUST in MFC and what things will help?

MFC will help you write window gui applications.

I assume, like the WinAPI, it's like learning a new programming language... So, you don't need to know that much standard C++ to use it.

You'll probably want to use standard C++ for most of your application. The use of the library itself isn't standard, but is epected. And, whether you want to use std::string or CString, std::vector, std::list, std::deque or the MFC alternatives, is up to you. I'd learn to use CString because of the unicode support. The other containers MFC offers are awkard compared to the STL, and probably aren't worth learning unless if a lot of code is written using them.

To use the API, you mainly need to understand variables, (including constants & typedefs), pointers, structures, functions, and loops. I'm not sure if you need a good understanding of classes to use MFC.

Yes, you'll need to know about classes. A lot of the message handler stuff can be done within the app wizard.

Originally Posted by okinrus

Yes, you'll need to know about classes. A lot of the message handler stuff can be done within the app wizard.

You can actually get away with very little formal C++ OOP knowledge. IMO, that is one of the down sides. MFC has been criticized often because it disregards many of the conventions of object oriented programming to make it easier to squeeze out running code quickly. So in reference to the statement that you need to know about classes, yes, but not for the reasons one may initially think.

I have used MFC many times in the past because the message map macros alone provide a significant reduction in the number of lines of code I need to write. I can knock out a functional GUI using MFC almost as fast as I can using VB. I hate writing VB code. MFC gives me the same advantages (almost) as VB, and I can write code in my preferred language. I try to make my code as robust as I can, but there isn't much I can do about the framework code.

For anyone starting out learning MFC, I recommend digging right into the message maps. Read the Technotes and everything you can find in MSDN pertaining to message handling. Once you have a grasp on how the message pump and message map macros work you're 66.6% of the way to having MFC mastered.

-Rog

You can actually get away with very little formal C++ OOP knowledge.

Understanding the semantics of C++ classes is almost essential to use a library with C++ classes.

MFC has been criticized often because it disregards many of the conventions of object oriented programming to make it easier to squeeze out running code quickly.

MFC's message system creates unexpected behavior because non-mfc programmers are used to designing their classes and then extending them using virtual methods. MFC, however, uses it's own message system, although the MFC docs try to justify it.