Thread: Help.....need to know how to create a gui to execute a C script

Did you compile and make any sense out of the example program I gave you on the earlier thread on the C++ board?

I've closed the old thread by the way, this is the right place for this discussion.

The only files you have to worry about during a compilation are .obj files, which are then linked together to create an executable. What exactly is the problem?

The reason I code my tutorial examples that way, is that only one file needs to be loaded. If I zip together a .cpp, .rc and .h file, frequently newcomers do not understand what to do with them.

The example I gave was a real noddy one to show a window creation, a window message processing loop and a control creation. Most people would build their UI as a dialog box, or series of dialog boxes which were created using the resource editor.

VC++ throws numerous files all over the place, unless you really know what you are doing, I would not move or change any of these files - let the IDE do it. Sooner or later you will, and a little later, you'll be starting a new project and trying to get it back to how it was again!

TheForgers tutorial at www.winprog.org is also a good one, I don't know if that one is linked from the board FAQ.

Have a play around, there is always someone here that will help you if/when you get stuck.

Good luck.

Originally posted by adrianxw
The reason I code my tutorial examples that way, is that only one file needs to be loaded. If I zip together a .cpp, .rc and .h file, frequently newcomers do not understand what to do with them.

The example I gave was a real noddy one to show a window creation, a window message processing loop and a control creation. Most people would build their UI as a dialog box, or series of dialog boxes which were created using the resource editor.

VC++ throws numerous files all over the place, unless you really know what you are doing, I would not move or change any of these files - let the IDE do it. Sooner or later you will, and a little later, you'll be starting a new project and trying to get it back to how it was again!

TheForgers tutorial at www.winprog.org is also a good one, I don't know if that one is linked from the board FAQ.

Have a play around, there is always someone here that will help you if/when you get stuck.

Good luck.

A couple of VC++ resource editor questions:

1/ How do I create a text entry field with a default value visible to the user in the text field?

2/ How do I insert a *.bmp? I used the resource editor to create a bitmap icon, but I can't figure out how to associate a file with it. In the picture property menu I tried to put a path to the image, but it wouldn't take it..... tells me identifier contains illegal characters???

Thanks in advance.

Sorry, in a bit of a rush today.

If you created the edit box with the resource editor, I'll guess it is in a dialog. That being the case, use the SetDlgItemText() API function in your WM_INITDIALOG handler. To read it use GetDlgItemTxt().

If you used a dynamic creation, use SetWindowText() and GetWindowText().

LOading an icon can be done when you set up the window class structure. There are 2 members, WindowClass.hIcon and WindowClass.hIconSm both take the icon's handle, use LoadIcon() if necessary.

That should get you going. Hopefully I'll heve more time later.

Yup...

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp

... be warned, some people find MSDN a little difficult to navigate, but you get used to it. Everything is there, use the search box with the API routine you want to look up and there it is, then look at the frame on the left and see where it fits into the heirachy, you start to get used to where things are then.

Actually, if you have some spare time, it is well worth browsing the stuff on the site.

Originally posted by adrianxw
Sorry, in a bit of a rush today.

If you created the edit box with the resource editor, I'll guess it is in a dialog. That being the case, use the SetDlgItemText() API function in your WM_INITDIALOG handler. To read it use GetDlgItemTxt().

If you used a dynamic creation, use SetWindowText() and GetWindowText().

LOading an icon can be done when you set up the window class structure. There are 2 members, WindowClass.hIcon and WindowClass.hIconSm both take the icon's handle, use LoadIcon() if necessary.

That should get you going. Hopefully I'll heve more time later.

I attempted to use "SetDlgItemText()" in the following example API code (from tutorial). The values I inputed didn't show up in the text edit boxes until AFTER I selected OK. I am interested in having default values appear in the text input box prior to selecting OK so the user can see them and decide whether or not they are acceptable

Code:

// Step2.cpp : edit box handling
//

#include <windows.h>
#include <math.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <tchar.h>

#include "resource.h"

// Calculate the real and imaginary roots of the given quadratic equation
void GetQuadraticRoots(double a, double b, double c, 
	double *pReal1, double *pReal2, double *pImag1, double *pImag2)
{
	*pImag1 = *pImag2 = 0;
	if (a == 0)
	{
		if (b == 0)	// indeterminate - 'c = 0' so just set it to 0
			*pReal1 = *pReal2 = 0;
		else		// linear: bx + c = 0 (so x = -c/b)
			*pReal1 = *pReal2 = -c / b;
		return;
	}

	*pReal1 = *pReal2 = -b / (2 * a);
	if ((b * b) >= (4 * a * c))
	{
		// Real roots
		*pReal1 += sqrt(b*b - 4*a*c) / (2 * a);
		*pReal2 += sqrt(b*b - 4*a*c) / (2 * a);
	}
	else
	{
		// Complex roots
		*pImag1 = sqrt(4*a*c - b*b) / (2 * a);
		*pImag2 = -*pImag1;
	}
}

BOOL MainDialog_OnCommand(HWND hWnd, WORD wCommand, WORD wNotify, HWND hControl)
{
	double	a, b, c, r1, r2, i1, i2;
	TCHAR	buffer[64], *pEnd;

	switch (wCommand)
	{
	case IDOK:
		
		SetDlgItemText(hWnd,IDC_A, "2");
		GetDlgItemText(hWnd, IDC_A, buffer, sizeof(buffer) / sizeof(TCHAR));
		a = _tcstod(buffer, &pEnd);
		SetDlgItemText(hWnd,IDC_B, "4");
		GetDlgItemText(hWnd, IDC_B, buffer, sizeof(buffer) / sizeof(TCHAR));
		b = _tcstod(buffer, &pEnd);
		SetDlgItemText(hWnd,IDC_C, "6");
		GetDlgItemText(hWnd, IDC_C, buffer, sizeof(buffer) / sizeof(TCHAR));
		c = _tcstod(buffer, &pEnd);
		GetQuadraticRoots(a, b, c, &r1, &r2, &i1, &i2);
		_sntprintf(buffer, sizeof(buffer) / sizeof(buffer[0]), 
			_T("Roots: %f%+fj, %f%+fj\n"), r1, i1, r2, i2);
		MessageBox(hWnd, buffer, _T("Quadratic Solver"),  MB_OK);
		break;

	case IDCANCEL:
		EndDialog(hWnd, 1);
		break;
	}
	return TRUE;
}

// Main dialog message-handling function
BOOL MainDialogProc(HWND hWnd, UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
	switch (uMsg)
	{
	case WM_COMMAND:
		return MainDialog_OnCommand(hWnd, LOWORD(wParam), HIWORD(wParam), (HWND)lParam);

	case WM_CLOSE:
		EndDialog(hWnd, 0);
		return TRUE;
	}
	return FALSE;
}

int _tmain(void)
{
	DialogBoxParam(GetModuleHandle(NULL), MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDD_DIALOG1), 
		NULL, (DLGPROC)MainDialogProc, 0);
	return 0;
}

Another result of this code is that the default values are not editable....... they remain the input values regardless what I type in.

Ugly.

Try putting the SetDlgItemText() calls in a WM_INITDIALOG message handler in your main dialog process.

You are having paint problems. You cannot, (generally at least, certainly not as you are doing), write to and read from a control in the same control loop iteration, to update the contents of a control requires the processing of WM_PAINT messages, you are not doing that/giving anything else the chance to do that.

Code:

BOOL MainDialogProc(HWND hWnd, UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
	switch (uMsg)
	{
        case WM_INITDIALOG:
		SetDlgItemText(hWnd,IDC_A, "2"); //
		SetDlgItemText(hWnd,IDC_B, "4"); // These here and deleted from the other routine
		SetDlgItemText(hWnd,IDC_C, "6"); //
	case WM_COMMAND:
		return MainDialog_OnCommand(hWnd, LOWORD(wParam), HIWORD(wParam), (HWND)lParam);

	case WM_CLOSE:
		EndDialog(hWnd, 0);
		return TRUE;
	}
	return FALSE;
}

I can't test this as I cannot compile your program without the header and resource script. If you want me to compile it, zip the necessary files together and attach them to your post.