Best GUI programming tools? Help.

[OzoZoz]

Hi,

I have to write an application that will be used to control and monitor a hardware system. This application will run on Windows XP. The user interface must have a very professional look, which means I can not write a simple Dialog MFC Application: I need more elaborated controls and windows for a better look-and-feel. Also, since other people will eventually need to support this project, it needs to be easy for another programmer to add controls and UI pages. It does not need to be blazingly fast since it is only control and monitoring.

Since I have not much expertise in GUI programming on the Windows platform, I would like to have suggestions on what tools / toolset / language I should use for that task.

Note: I am writing code for 10+ years now, but I never wrote complex GUI apps. Most of my code was non-UI stuff (mostly low-level C/C++ and even ASM), except for few small applications were I had to write a small GUI using mostly MFC or straight Win32 APIs. I am not too familiar with more recent stuff like COM, ASP, .NET, JAVA, XML and the likes, so please resist to the temptation of using abbreviations and acronyms; try to be more specific and, if possible, explain a bit more.

I know I'll have to learn new stuff; I just want to choose the right tool and make sure I do not miss something wonderfull Microsoft or some other company would have to make my life easier.

Thanks,

Ozo.

[SOCM_FP_CPP]

Hi ,

IMHO , use Windows API to write ur interface. Here are my reasons


MFC is deprecated.
ATL/COM/.NET are not necessary in ur context.


if u write for WinAPI , u can port to new versions of the OS ( 64-bit itanium/amd systems also ) without much trouble.


Praseed Pai
www.praseedpai.com

[Andreas Masur]

MFC is deprecated.
??? Since when? :confused:

[SOCM_FP_CPP]

Hi masur,

MFC was a good library for the programming needs of the 1990s. Even in the late 90s MS started advocating ATL windowing . MFC does not have any relevance in the .NET world also. ( This prompted me to write that it was deprecated )

It is my observation.


Praseed Pai

[Ejaz]

Take a look at Code Jock (http://www.codejock.com/).

Also wxWidget (http://www.wxwindows.org/) is an open source C++ GUI framework to make cross-platform programming.

For MFC Part, you'll find alot of stuff at www.codeguru.com & www.codeproject.com. You can also have a look at WTL (http://www.viksoe.dk/code/all_wtl.htm) for the ATL counter part.

Good luck :thumb:

[_uj]

The user interface must have a very professional look, which means I can not write a simple Dialog MFC Application: I need more elaborated controls and windows for a better look-and-feel.

Why couldn't you use MFC for a professional looking GUI? It's a C++ wrapper around the Win API. Why don't you check out some book, for example VC++ MFC Extensions by Example, by Swanke.

If you want a leaner approach check out Win32 GUI Generics. It's an article series which started in the July 2004 issue of the C/C++ Users Journal.

[YourSurrogateGod]

You could use VC++ 6.0. It's quite easy to make such a GUI and you can play around with the dialog boxes and such without many problems. It's pretty straight forward stuff.