🚀 go-pugleaf

"Jason W. Hinson" <hinson@physicsguy.com> wrote in message news:hinson-6E84C1.18360311112004@news.east.cox.net...
> Hi all...
>
> I'll note up front that I'm copying this to a C++Builder group in case
> anyone there is interested...

I think there are ongoing discussions about BCB alternatives
in these newsgroups, but since such discussions are against
the usage terms of the newsgroups it wouldn�t be a good idea
to copy the posts to Builder groups.
Please don�t do that with my comments, i don�t want to
get involved in flame wars. I�ll try to be neutral in my statements.

> Anyway, I've used Borland C++Builder for a while, and now I'm going to
> have to switch to Visual C++.  I took a look at VC++ a bit, and I must
> .....<SNIP>

I know both compilers (VC and BCB) very well and both have their pros and
cons. On the BCB side the pro is surely the C++ RAD. I don�t know why
VC doesn�t have RAD implementations for Win32 like Visual Basic or BCB.
One reason might be that - AFAIK - C++ RAD has been protected by a software
patent - but i�m not sure about this.

Commonly i use a C++ compiler for non GUI services and applications.
For GUI applications i user mixed code - GUI in Basic or Pascal and
the backend in C++.

To your question:

I think you have the following options:

a) Use MFC.
    It�s still supported and will be supported in future versions. Though i would call it
    the "old" framework. But if you want to target the native Win32 platform it�s your
    only option.

    It�s somewhat comparable to OWL from Borland. It�s different - compared to BCB RAD
    and the learning
    curve is much more Win32 based. I�ve written a large application in MFC and
    have been productive after i�ve got used to the framework - and yes it�s more
    C++ ish than BCB.
    AFAIK - a better support for mixed applications using MFC and WinForms
    and later WinFX - Forms has been announced.

b) Use Managed C++ or better C++/CLI

     You�ll need the .NET framework installed to run your applications but managed C++
     gives you the same "comfort" like BCB in developing GUI applications.
     Though i would recommend you to wait for C++/CLI, which is replacing managed C++
     and integrates much better into existing C++ code.
     Just download a beta version of VC 2005 and play around with C++/CLI.

c) Use RAD plugins for VC

    There are some commercial RAD plugins for VC which are comparable to BCB.
    I didn�t use them and so can�t comment on them.
    AFAIK - there are also some open source plugins.

d) Use mixed  code

    You may implement your GUI in another language. C#, Visual Basic, Pascal
    and compile your C++ code as DLL or COM object.
    That�s what i�m mostly doing, when i target the .NET platform.
    Since IMHO C++ is not the best language for RAD (due to compilation time).
    For the Win32 platform this is perhaps not the best (productive) option - depends
    on your application.


Hope that helps.

Andre