Customer Reviews

Introduction to MFC Programming with Visual C++

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been programming C++ for like 2 years but don't know anything about MFC. This book helps me learn MFC. Jones' explanations are really good and there are a lot of screen-shots to support that. Rather than reading through the code, you look at the screen-shot, and you know right away what a program does. The other thing is the book doesn't use AppWizard right away. Jones makes you start from the scratch which gives you the insight look on all MFC classes and data types. But this book doesn't teach C++! You have to know basic C++ and some OOP, or you will feel lost most of the time. If you are new to MFC, go get this book. If you alreay know MFC, this book will be too easy for you. If you don't know C++, this is not your book. I also recommend that you get MS Visual C++ 6.0 so that you could try out all the programs in the book. Keep it up! There are cool Windows applications ahead!

For reader who has a fairly good background in C++, this book is a good introduction to MFC programming/Visual C++. It is written for individuals who want an in-depth practical understanding of MFC programming, and who are willing to put the time and effort into the learning of it. The book includes a CD which includes the 90 different sample programs in the book.

In chapter 1, the author introduces MFC utility objects in console applications. The three utility classes CString, CPoint, and CRect are used to create a simple Windows application. The author is careful to distinguish between a console application, which has the main() function, and a windows program, which does not. The CString class is used, instead of the standard C++ library class, and this is standard in MFC programming. The author advises the reader to think of CString objects as an actual object, and not as a pointer to a string. This is an example of value (or "copy") semantics, wherein the value is copied, and not just the pointer. Programmers concerned about performance issues commonly use this feature of C++. The author gives an interesting method to extract a string from a stream into a CString object, and how to use the Format() function to convert a value to a string for eventual display in a window.

A review of classes in C++ is given in Chapter 2, with emphasis on how virtual functions get executed in windows applications. The author shows explicitly how to use Visual Studio to add a class and member functions, and a good discussion is given on the difference between passing parameters by value, by reference, and by pointer. The role of the member function "this" is discussed also.

Chapter 3 could be skipped by the reader interested only in MFC windows applications, according to the author, where he discusses collections and class templates. Object and pointer array collections are treated via the code examples. The author discusses the three different ways of performing tasks on collections, and discusses how to use pointers to objects, which is very advantageous from a memory management point of view. He is also gives an interesting discussion on serialization.

The actual building of MFC Windows programs begins in Chapter 4, without using the AppWizard. The event handling via keyboard and mouse input is given the main emphasis, and the author gives a detailed discussion on the steps taken by a window event. The different types of member functions in the CMainFrame class are given a thorough treatment. The reader is first asked to use an MFC virtual function in this chapter.

In the next chapter, the author shows how to get graphics shapes in the windows, via device context attributes. This is followed in Chapter 6 by a discussion on how to use the mouse and keyboard to make changes to text and graphics.

The window controls are then discussed in Chapter 7, and the author gives a very detailed discussion on how controls fit in to CMainFrame. The process by which event and notification messages are handled is summarized in a diagram. List boxes, combo boxes, and scroll bars are all treated in detail using the example programs. This is followed naturally in Chapter 8 by a discussion of menus and dialog boxes in the context of resource editors.

Finally in Chapter 9, the author uses the AppWizard to generate an application. A simple program example begins the discussion, followed by a non-document application. The author carefully explains the steps used in the AppWizard to give the reader more insight on just how it is able to do its job. Then in Chapter 10, the AppWizard and the ClassWizard are used to refine and extend the discussion on menus, toolbars, and dialogs. A good program example is given for a dialog-based application.

Time-dependent messaging and XOR drawing mode are the subjects of the next chapter. The three functions for timer control are discussed, along with a discussion of animation. This is followed in Chapter 12 by a treatment of bitmap graphics, with bitmap editors via MS Paint discussed.

Messaging via the MFC functions SendMessage() and PostMessage() is discussed in Chapter 13. These functions are discussed in a setting more general than modeless dialogs. Modeless dialogs are however discussed in detail in the chapter, and the difference between modal and modeless dialogs clearly explained.

The next chapter of the book discusses how to use the document view architecture and the author shows in detail the major classes involved in its use. The reader can see the CMainFrame object as a container object, which will adjust the sizes of the windows it contains if the mainframe window is resized. The document and view classes are derived from the CDocument and CView classes. The discussion is helpful in that it shows how to use the member functions in these classes to propagate information to all views. The author also shows how to serialize the document objects.

In the last chapter the author shows the reader how to use Visual C++ to manipulate an existing ODBC database. The discussion is very brief, but it does the reader with database knowledge of how to generate code to interact with these databases.

This is an excellent book. It is an introduction, but that doesn't mean it gives little information - it leaves out lots of things you don't need, but there's plenty here. It doesn't leave out important details, and when you need to know something, it isn't hidden. I said "three books". You also need the Prosise book, and maybe(but probably not) one of those crash course books(21 days, 15 minutes, whatever), but this book helped me a lot. It is well written, and follows a good path at a steady pace. The only thing I wish for is that the answers to the problems were included or available on the CD or web. This is not a book on C or C++, but if you have only a little experience programming you won't be stumped. It's also not version-specific. If you use version 1.52 through version 6 of VC++ you'll be fine.

My suggestion, get a traditional 1000+ page book that turns out to be nothing but cookbook, struggle through it a couple times until you are ready to give up your dream of ever programming windows in C++, then buy this book and get ready to have your questions answered! Out of the 20 or so computer books I have on my shelf there are 3 that I have learned nearly all my programming skills from and this is one of those 3. If you know C++ including classes fairly well you will have no problem writing basic MFC programs with the background to do more complex programming after reading this book.

About the book having been written for a previous version of MFC - The console applications in chapters 1 through 3 will run fine after you replace
#include <iostream.h>
with
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

All other 90 plus programs work fine with the exception of 3 programs that use the slider control: Ex07f-sliders, Ex08e-DialogMsgMap, Ex08f_DialogMsgMapIcon.

The compilation error in the function OnVScroll() can be fixed by replacing the type CWnd* with CScrollBar*.

After going through several MFC books, I found this one. It doesn't tell you how to use the Wizard but rather what the wizard does for you. Great fundamentals and good explanation of concepts. This is book perfectly suited for a C or C++ programmer who wants to learn MFC.

Just so you have some background on who I am. I'm 16 years old and the only programming coarses they offer at my high school are VB (gag) and C++. VB is a prerequisite for C++ so I'm taking that now. Anyway because of this general situation I've been in for my whole life, I've had to teach myself pretty much every programming/scripting language I know, from JavaScript to Perl to C++ to Q-Basic. And of all the books I've read, this one is the best by far.

Richard M. Jones assumes you have a basic knowledge of C++ before reading this book which makes sense. He starts out by teaching you some of the basic classes used in MFC such as CString, CPoint, CSize, and CRect. What I love about this author is that he makes reaching the book like taking a formal class. He starts by teaching you a firm basis, and then builds each lesson thereafter on the one before. By the end of the book (it took me approximately two weeks to finish). You're writing code for menus, toolbars, status bars, buttons, edit and static controls, etc.

This book is great, period. If you've never had any MFC experience and want to learn it from scratch I recommend this book.

I am a professional c++ programmer with lots of experience in Unix X Windows programming. Recently, I migrated to win32/windows application development. My transition was made easier by this book.
"Introduction to MFC Programming" is truly an excellent book. It provides a good introduction to the fundamentals of MFC programming before proceeding to advanced topics. Most other MFC/Windows programming books I have read were "cookbooks". But this book is structured very well starting with an introduction to Utility classes using console applications, followed by event handling and handcrafted MFC programs before moving onto advanced topics. Knowledge of c++ is assumed.
Overall an excellent book.

This book provides a decent introduction to the topic with enough examples to show you how to put together a working MFC program. But it leaves you hungry for more. If you can find it in the library it's worth taking home to introduce yourself to MFC.

If you want something that will get you started with the basics and act as a thorough reference for the future, check out Jeff Prosise's Programming Windows With MFC. Although Prosise's book may seem intimidating at over 1000 pages, it will get you started and keep you going.

It's possible that the level of detail Jones offers is just right for you though. In which case I say, go for it. It may be exactly what you need.

Any time you have a choice of which programming book to buy (i.e. your boss or professor isn't assigning it), go to brick and mortar land or find a friend with the book(s), and make an investment of 15-20 minutes per title and see which one has the content and style that suits you.

My feeling is that Prosise is just as strong on the basics as Jones with plenty of readable examples. Once you get past the basics Prosise's book will provide depth and reference material to keep you busy for a long time.

I scoured the library looking for good MFC books and checked out about 5, before giving up. The other MFC books focused too much on the MFC AppWizard and ClassWizard. You ended up making contrived programs with no idea how they actually worked, this book starts from the beginning, showing you how to utilize MFC first in console programs, then moves on to actual windows programming. It jams the source code in to one page so you know exactly what to type and don't have to keep refering to the cd. One of the things I like most about this book is that he doesn't have 5 page long explanations about something you can figure out yourself, every time I had a question it was answered in the next sentence. This book is by far the best book covering MFC that I have had, I would strongly recommend it to beginners/intermediate of MFC