Customer Reviews

Mfc Black Book

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been programming "real" apps for sometime using MFC, and this book is way cool. There are many, many things in here that I did not know how to do until I read it.

The examples were practical, and weren't snipped down so much that I couldn't figure out where things were supposed to go. (Besides, if you don't like the listings, it is all on the CD).

I've had this book for awhile -- it is very clear and really really cool. If you are just muddling through MFC (or don't know it at all), get an introductory book on MFC first. But if you understand MFC, but want it to do more, get this book -- you will love it.

Here are my comments by chapter --

Chapter 1 - Mostly review. A good refresher, but if you don't understand MFC already, you'll miss the point of this book anyway.

Chapter 2 - Serializing with encryption or to a database? Great! Reading old file versions too

Chapter 3 - Custom print preview with editing during preview was exactly what I needed for one of my apps.

Chapter 4 - The CListCtrl and CScrollView improvements are great. I never thought of the author's method for using CEditView with splitters, either. The owner draw stuff, I'd used before, but still good stuff. And now I know why my nested splitter code never worked. It does now!

Chapter 5 - Using DDV to validate fields "live" instead of all at one time seems simple now that I saw how to do it. I want to find time to play with the custom DDX/DDV too.

Chapter 6 - Modeless property sheets are very neat.

Chapter 7 - I've done a lot with MFC DLLs, so this wasn't much new for me, but it was still a good DLL chapter.

Chapter 8 - This is a good intro to ActiveX using MFC. Of course ActiveX is a big topic and there are whole books on it, too.

Chapter 9 - I haven't had a chance to do any of the Internet stuff with MFC, but it sure looks easy in this chapter.

Chapter 10 - I work a lot with databases; this chapter is introductory; again, whole books on this subject, but a nice overview with some solid examples.

Chapter 11 - I'd used simple multithreading before, but the part on using threads with event loops was fantastic! In fact, I read this chapter first because it solved a design problem we were having at work.

There's more cool stuff in here, but these are the things I was particularly interested in.

This book explains a lot of the underlying concepts and principles of MFC and why they turn against you if you wander off the path ;). Its not an all encompassing MFC Reference (use the MSDN), or an A-Z Programmers Guide, its the book you need at an intermediate level to understanding the MFC way of thinking. And this book explains things very well.

If you need to do some simple network communication, this book has a nice chapter and sample app on using CSocket.

This book has so many great ideas in it, it is hard to fit it all in. Editing during print preview... encrypted archives... modeless property sheets... Many, many tricks and tips with views and splitters. This is the book if you know MFC, but aren't sure how to make your application work the way you want it to.

That's not all, but it is the high points. Solid examples that are really useful and very easy to read.

As an experienced MFC'er I am used to being disappointed with MFC books. However, this book showed me how to do many things I didn't know were possible including edit during print preview, use multiple CEditViews, and a lot more. I've also really enjoyed writing custom wizards and modeless property sheets, something I could not do before.

Al Williams does an excellent job of describing MFC in depth. There is a previous review indicating that this book is chock-full of screen shots and wizard-generated code -- Not True! Throughout this work Al shows us the building blocks and design concepts behind MFC. And then goes on to show enough real detail so that you can actually extend those ideas, and bend them to your own will. If you're the kind of person who wants to be spoon-fed, or who simply doesn't want or need to be able to bend the rules a little in order to achieve something different than what the application wizard can create for you, then don't bother with this work. However, if you're the kind of person like myself who is not comfortable unless you understand what all of those wizard generated lines of code are actually doing - and how you might be able to get in there and actually extend things in a way that is both consistent with MFC's architecture while not imprisoning you within it's limits, then this is the book for you!

Its has the page thickness.... Its has the huge font size.... It has plenty of puffy Wizard Code and extra space in the table... However, what it doesn't have anything useful unless you are just starting out. It claims intermediate to advanced - don't believe it. Instead, this is most definately a newbie book (and in that area it plays a second fiddle to Prosise's book). However, if you are just starting out and already have Prosise's book, then this isn't a bad second or third purchase (after the MFC Reference Guide).

What stops this book from becoming useful for anyone beyond their first forays into MFC are the treatment of the topics. The example code is mostly pre-generated with only a few real bits of work by the author. In fact, if it got any worse in some places it should list Microsoft as co-author, since they did much of the work.

Similiar material - in much better depth - is handled by Richter in Advanced Windows (for the non-MFC crowd) or get Shepard/Wingo's MFC Internals for a clearer picture of what is really happening.

Most, but not all, of the sample programs work out of the book - which is unfortunately becoming a rarity these days. This is a plus. On the downside the program snippets are so simplistic it rarely matters.

A book that rates 1 star only because there is no 0 star on the chart. I recommend this book for beginning MFC Programers that are partially vision impaired (since in huge font size this book is tops). Anyone beyond the beginning stage of MFC programming would find this book useless.

Mike

If this book is trying to show ways to use MFC then it fails. If its aimed at the Starter's market then it leaves out several key topics and code snippets. None of the examples reach beyond starter level - so I believe this is the target's this book is out to fleece.

Still, if you want a book with big page-padding fonts, hundreds of AppWizard generated code, and lots of screen shots of the wizards being run - then this is the tome for you. Otherwise, let this book join its brethen in the landfill where it belongs. Enough strange ranting - move on to the reasons why this book can't fulfill any role.

While the errors and misjudgements can be passed over - or simply pencil edited, the code snippets are in worse shape. The author has made several errors in judgement as to what to include within a code snippet and what to leave out. He leaves in hundreds of MFC AppWizard generated lines, but fails to include several key files. The size padding reaches epic sizes as AppWi! zard //TODO: lines are consistently left in.

Jeff Prosise's book ("Programming Windows95 with MFC") is a far superior book for learning the basics. However, all is not lost with this book. Come our annual Christmas bonfire (where we burn all those mistakes we purchased through the year) this book will be sitting right on top of the pyre.

The book is written in such a way that it's very easy to read and follow. This is the kind of book that I wish there were more of!

As a medium level MFC programmer, 2+ years, this book is exactly what I've been searching for! It shows you how to easily do many things I thought were either not possible, or just too hard. It doesn't teach a newbie MFC, but whether you've just finished your first class or your fifth year of MFC programming - It's a definate must have!