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Visual C++ 2008 Feature Pack: MFC Enhancements
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Nick Wienholt - 04/07/2008
Hot on the heels of the significant MFC updates that were delivered with the release of Visual Studio 2008, the Visual C++ 2008 Feature Pack significantly boosts the ability of MFC to deliver modern-looking user interfaces that will be familiar to Windows and Office users. Look at these new controls and see how MFC developers can significantly improve their application's look and feel.Fix Performance Problems Fast: Advanced VSTS Profiler Use
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 03/04/2008
For large and complex applications, dealing with the amount of data collected can be difficult. See how the Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) Developer Edition Profiler can do an excellent job of finding performance problems by simply pointing it at an application and allowing it to collect data.
Improve Code Performance with the VSTS Code Profiler
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 02/05/2008
Applications with great performance are a hallmark of C++ programming, and one of the best tools for achieving great application performance is a code profiler. Take a look at the Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) profiler, and see how it can be used to find code bottlenecks and improve performance.
Going Mobile with the Active Template Library
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 01/09/2008
Learn how to rapidly develop applications and add-ins using ATL for Windows CE.
Windows Mobile Development with MFC
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 12/10/2007
Drill deeper into Mobile Development in C++ and go through the development and debugging of a Windows Mobile 6 application with a focus on MFC.
Visual C++ Smart Device Primer
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 11/07/2007
Try a no-embedded-background-needed introduction into developing Windows Mobile applications in C++. With comprehensive support for smart device development in Visual C++ and great device emulation features in the Windows Mobile SDKs, mobile development is well within the reach of all Visual C++ developers.
Visual C++ Class Designer
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 10/02/2007
The release of Visual Studio 2008 brings support for using the Visual Studio Class Designer with Visual C++ projects. Look at the differences in how the Class Designer works with C++ compared to purely managed languages, and learn about the range of functionality available to C++ developers.
MFC Controls for Vista
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 09/04/2007
Microsoft Foundation Classes continue to play an important role for C++ developers. Discover how to upgrade an existing application with MFC 9's full support for the Windows Vista look-and-feel.
Visual C++ Orcas Marshaling Library
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 08/02/2007
The conversion between common native types and the equivalent .NET Framework type is a common programming activity for interoperability development in C++. Visual C++ Orcas introduces a light-weight, template-based library for performing this conversion. This article will look at both the use of this library and how it can be extended to add new conversions.
A Quick Look at Visual C++ Orcas
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Nick Wienholt - 07/16/2007
Take a quick look at the upcoming release of the new Visual C++ release slated for release in late 2008—Visual C++ Orcas. The Orcas release builds on the heritage of C++, offering great new features for achieving deep integrating with Windows Vista and better support for interoperating with managed code.
Windows Cryptography API: Next Generation (CNG)
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 06/04/2007
For long-term Visual C++ developers, the CryptoAPI will be a familiar part of your programming toolkit. If you're developing Windows Vista applications, though, you should be applying the new Windows Cryptography API: Next Generation.
Vista User Access Control and Visual C++
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 05/11/2007
Windows Vista introduces a new security concept called User Access Control (UAC), where local administrators have two access tokens—one representing the privileges of a normal user and the other holding the elevated privileges of the local administrator account. Here, you will learn how to properly implement the UAC to provide a rich user experience.
Integrate Ink into Your Application with Windows Vista
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 04/06/2007
Windows Vista brings tablet-style development to the mainstream by incorporating ink functionality directly into the core operating system. The greater availability of operating system support for ink is complemented by new Vista drivers from digitizer OEMs that provide the same functionality as a full TabletPC device, greatly increasing the potential client-base for ink enabled applications. This article will look at how an existing application can work with new forms of input without a major re-design.
Simplified Thread Synchronization in Windows Vista
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 03/05/2007
Within the new threading and synchronization APIs that Microsoft added to the Windows SDK for Vista, condition variables dramatically simplify the semantics of lock acquisition and management.
Vista Improves Security Through Private Object Namespaces
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 02/12/2007
Windows Vista allows you to define, secure, and use custom namespaces to prevent malicious applications from denying access to kernel object functionality.
Simplified One-Time Initialization in Windows Vista
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Nick Wienholt - 01/05/2007
With the rapid increase in parallel computing, correct threading, and synchronization are vitally important to programmers building scalable, high-performance solutions. Explore the new one-time object initialization APIs in Vista from a C++ programmer's perspective.
Handling OS Shut Down in Windows Vista
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Nick Wienholt - 12/06/2006
The way Vista closes applications during operating system shut down has changed from prior Windows versions' approaches. Learn how to provide your users with appropriate notification from the Vista shut down screen.
Using the .NET Fusion API to Manipulate the GAC
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Nick Wienholt - 11/03/2006
Fusion is the code name for the .NET Framework sub-system responsible for locating and loading assemblies. It comes in handy for C++ developers who are working with the GAC.
Windows Template Library: Still Alive and Kicking
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Nick Wienholt - 10/04/2006
Find out what's become of the Windows Template Library (WTL) since Microsoft released it as an open-source project in 2004. Examine the recent WTL releases and see where WTL fits in the C++ programmer's toolkit.
Catch C/C++ Errors Early with VSTS Code Verifier
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 09/06/2006
The application verification features in VSTS Developer Edition help identify errors that are detectable only when an application is running.
Simplify Application Deployment with Registration-Free COM
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Nick Wienholt - 08/14/2006
In the days before .NET, COM's dependency on the Registry and its backward compatibility issues were the Achilles' heels of Win32 development. Learn a technique for deploying your existing COM components without the pain traditionally associated with the Registry.
Programming the Windows Vista Event Log
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 08/04/2006
The Windows Vista Event Log offers a much richer experience than today's Event Log functionality. Dive into the code and tools that a C++ developer needs to use the new log.
New Windows Event Log: Gateway to Native Windows Functionality in Vista
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 06/05/2006
Native code continues to be the most powerful and flexible mechanism for producing applications that work closely with the host OS. For native development in Vista, get to know the new Windows Event Log features.
Visual Studio Team System Unit Testing
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 05/05/2006
While Visual Studio Team System cannot resolve the two intrinsic C++ unit-testing problems (cultural issues related to agile programming and lack of metadata in native C++), it does deliver a polished unit-testing framework for C++.
VSTS Annotations for C++: Beyond Just Documenting Method Behavior
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 04/07/2006
Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) code annotations enable C++ developers to attach metadata to a method's parameters to explicitly define the correct usage of the method.
Get to Know the VSTS Native C/C++ Code Analyzer
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 03/01/2006
The Static Code Analyzer that ships with Visual Studio Team System, Developer Edition can detect common security issues in native C/C++ code.
Secure C++: Checked Iterators for Safer STL Coding
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 02/03/2006
The security issues with Standard C++ aren't as severe as those of C and the CRT, but a few exploits are possible if you misuse STL and iterators.
Employ Secure CRT Functions in Your C/C++ Applications
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Nick Wienholt - 01/06/2006
The C run-time libraries (CRT) make writing code with buffer overrun vulnerabilities much more likely, but thankfully Visual C++ 2005 provides extended CRT functions that offer the same functionality with a broader safety net.
MFC 8.0 and Windows Forms Integration, Part II
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 12/07/2005
Drill down deeper into MFC 8.0 with a look at control placement and event handling, the MFC classes used for the Windows Forms integration, and the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly known as Avalon).
MFC 8.0 and Windows Forms Integration, Part I
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Nick Wienholt - 11/02/2005
The migration path from MFC to fully native applications is a slow one because Windows Forms lacks many of the advanced features of MFC. See how much easier MFC 8.0 makes Windows Forms integration.
VC++ Cures for .NET Configuration Change Headaches, Part 2
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 10/03/2005
The Configuration Application Block is a viable solution for reloading changed configuration settings, but requires you rework existing applications. Learn how a Visual C++ assembly offers a much easier way.
STL.NET: Combining Generics and Templates
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 08/01/2005
STL.NET provides a bridge between the worlds of traditional C++ templates and .NET generics. By allowing C++ developers to leverage their STL skills without precluding interaction with developers using other .NET languages, STL.NET promises the best of both worlds.
Visual C++: Protecting Against Buffer Overruns With the /GS Switch
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 07/08/2005
This final installment wraps up the coverage of what's new in the IDE with a look at Tracepoints, new project types, enhancements to the Server Explorer, and new functionality for creating C++ projects.
Visual C++ 2005 IDE Enhancements, Part 5: Variable Display
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Nick Wienholt - 06/03/2005
For complex data types, the traditional display offered by debug windows is inadequate. Visual C++ 2005 makes a dramatic upgrade to the variable display, offering a number of improvements in the way you can examine data during a debug session.
Visual C++ 2005 IDE Enhancements, Part 4: Beta 2 Changes
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 05/09/2005
The Visual C++ 2005 IDE team made two painful cuts in Beta 2 related to the Class Designer and IDE Click Once support. Read up on these significant changes and find out how C++/CLI programmers can still take advantage of ClickOnce to deploy their applications.
Visual C++ 2005 IDE Enhancements, Part 3: MSBuild
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 05/09/2005
MSBuild is one of the major new features in Visual Studio .NET 2005. Discover the motivation for MSBuild, how it works, and how Visual C++ developers can get their hands on it.
Visual C++ 2005 IDE Enhancements, Part 2
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Nick Wienholt - 03/09/2005
In a continued examination of the new Visual C++ 2005 IDE enhancements, Nick Wienholt looks at the code definition window, changes to class view, and finally one of the big new additions to Visual C++: the class diagram.
Visual C++ 2005 IDE Enhancements
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Nick Wienholt - 02/07/2005
Improvements to the IDE are one of the givens in any new release of Visual C++; hence, they are often overlooked. Take a closer look at some of the new features that the Visual C++ 2005 IDE delivers.
Batched Execution Using the .NET Thread Pool
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 01/07/2005
The .NET thread pool's functionality for executing multiple tasks sequentially in a wave or group is insufficient. Luckily, a Visual C++.NET helper method that uses other types within the System.Threading namespace provides this batch-execution model.
Composite Custom Web Controls in Managed C++
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Stephen Fraser - 01/05/2005
Continuing his series on custom Web control development in Managed C++, Stephen Fraser takes it up a notch by examining the more advanced—and far more powerful—composite custom Web control.
Writing Verifiably Type-Safe Code in Visual C++
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Nick Wienholt - 12/07/2004
In the first two releases of Visual Studio.NET, writing verifiably type-safe code with C++ went from impossible to extremely difficult. Thankfully, Visual C++.NET 2005 offers a much better story on verification than the current compiler.
Superclassed Web Controls in Managed C++
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Stephen Fraser - 11/17/2004
Continuing his series on Custom Web Controls in MC++, Stephen Fraser examines the first of the three types of custom Web controls: superclassed. Learn how to add a new property to control and then specify the appropriate attributes for your app interface.
Visual C++ and CodeDom
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 11/04/2004
CodeDom hasn't gotten the same level of attention in C++ circles as VB.NET and C# have, but it is just as relevant there. Nick Wienholt demonstrates why by examining CodeDom from a C++ perspective.
Creating Custom Web Controls in Managed C++, Part 1
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Stephen Fraser - 10/13/2004
Think Managed C++ and ASP.NET Web applications are mutually exclusive? Think again. When it comes to custom Web controls, MC++ is on equal ground with the other .NET languages in the arena of ASP.NET Web applications.
Visual C++: Protecting Against Buffer Overruns with the /GS Switch
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Nick Wienholt - 10/06/2004
Visual C++.NET supports the automatic detection of stack-based buffer overruns through the use of the /GS compiler switch. Learn why stack-based buffer overruns are so serious, and how /GS and other Visual C++ settings can combat them.
Controlling Project and File Properties with C++ Macros
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Kate Gregory - 06/16/2004
Examine a C++ macro that changes a file (within a managed project) from managed (/clr) to unmanaged—a task you may need it to perform for performance reasons, creating a mixed executable.
C++ Language Changes for Visual Studio 2005
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Kate Gregory - 06/11/2004
Take a look at some of the C++ language changes awaiting you in the next Visual Studio version.
A C++ Macro to Stub Interface Methods
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Kate Gregory - 05/17/2004
Learn about a macro for use with a class that implements one or more interfaces. When you run the macro, it adds empty function bodies for all the functions in the interface.
Macros for C++, in C++
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Kate Gregory - 04/30/2004
Learn how to write macros for C++ in Visual Studio.
.NET Remoting with Events in Visual C++
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Kate Gregory - 04/13/2004
Learn how to add a button to a server application (a WinForm app with a big Listen button) and have the handler for the click event raise a custom event.
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