Programming Windows With MFC

Rating:
Summary: excellent book
Review: This book is really good. It tought me a lot about the way windows works and doesn't abstract it at all by using MFC or classes. It's kind of like the assembly of windows programming in that it's not neccessarily the best way to program windows apps, but you sure learn a lot about it. All in all, I'd reccomend this book to anyone who wants to learn about programming in windows.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy this book
Review: just simple fact. This book is a badly organized MFC reference.
I prefer using MSDN MFC refernce to this book.
If you want to learn about how MFC works try "inside visual c++ 5.0"
by David Kruglinsky ( no 6.0 version after his death) with
"Programming Windows" by Petzold ( for win 32 api and basic drawing).

Rating:
Summary: The CD ebook installs just fine
Review: I am only reviewing this to correct a recent review that claims the ebook doesn't install because it is a Windows 16 bit application. I bought this book the first month it came out and have been using it ever since. But I never even opened the CD at the back of the book. When I saw that review, I had to see for myself if the ebook wouldn't install, since I found that pretty incredible. Turns out the ebook installs just fine under W2K. There's probably something wrong with the user's OS. I find it hard to believe that Microsoft would regress and start shipping a version of the CD where the ebook doesn't install. Since I bought mine in the first printing, I doubt whether it EVER didn't install.

Rating:
Summary: Try building 2D games using this book.
Review: WSU Virtual Worlds: I teach a 2D (gdi and directx) and 3D (direct3d) university graphics class. Most students taking the class have a strong background in c/c++. C++ students are familar using stream I/O for input and output to their applications, and find MFC VC+ input methods new. MFC Visual c++ is a tool, designed to simplify and reduce Windows 32 api programming. It is a wizard driven tool. Object Oriented class wrap windows functionality within template classes. Tool wizards provide access to object methods and attributes. The class wizard controls attributes and methods for the application, mainframe, view, and document. MFC Visual C++ has numereous other class, such as, winsocket, threads, and filedialog; controls have MFC class definitions that can be generated.

MFC Visual C++ wizards direct api message maps designed to manipulate form events: window creation, destruction, timer events, scrollbar events, and more.

MFC Visual C++ wizards direct api message maps designed to manipulate input from the mouse movement, click, and state. The class wizard can be used to capture Keyboard keystrokes.

Back to the class, In the first part, students are given an assignments to create a 2D game using MFC VC++. The game must have menu items, keyboard and mouse input, and GDI objects: polygons, lines, circles,brushes, pens, and arches. Background sound is added to the game. OCX controls such as the animation control allow AVI movies to be played in the application.
Step by step instruction can be given in mass to a large group of students. MFC VC++ program is different not impossible. Game application parameters are input using popup dialog dialogs that contain listboxes, textboxes, checkboxes, radio buttons, combo boxes, and slider controls. Using DDE information is passed between the dialog and the form.

Moving to a new level of development. More advance knowledge of the Windows api is required as students learn how to program direct3D. Students are exposed more to the windows 32 api set as they work more within the windows architecture of directX 8.0 api's. Solid understanding of data types, pointers, and structures is required. A solid understanding of the win apis is required. DirectX has over 5,000 lines of api calls. Understanding each initialization sequence requires a very solid understand of the win 32 api, hardware architecture, and application MFC objects. 3D programmers are the world's best MFC VC++ programmers.

My advice is to use this book to get started programming simple 2D games. Build your confidence using MFC Visual C++ wizards and then move into robust and rigorous win32 api 3D programming. This book has all the building blocks to create 2D games and other applications.

Rating:
Summary: Can you expect this from Microsoft? i guess yes..
Review: I bought this book and was so happy that the accompanied CD contains eBook. I was glad because then i can travel without carrying 5lb book and read the book using the ebook.
Listen to this. I was disappointed when i opened the CD and launch the eBook setup.exe to install that. A message poped up on my screen saying that "setup.exe is 16bit application and you can not run it".
This is MS..why would you send 16bit application with MFC book.Who is running Windows 3.11 in this time? and if someone is then what is he doing with MFC book..:-)
Can't get eBook at all.

paracha3

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent MFC Reference Book for Windows
Review: Hi,

This is an unparalleled MFC reference. You will at one point or another need to look up something from Prosise's book. There are no exceptions! Buy it, read it, and keep it as a reference. In fact, I honestly feel that all MFC programmers should have a copy of it. It is to MFC as Programming Windows by Charles Petzold is to Win32 API.

I highly recommend Programming Windows with MFC Second Edition.

Kuphryn

Rating:
Summary: Technical, clear and lots of know-how and practical advice
Review: Jeff never seems to miss the point throughout his book, always
clarify and explain. He fantasticaly balances between the amount
of wizards and hand typed code, so when you write the apps, you still feel like a programmer and not a wizard expert. I came from the Unix world and knew C and all those system stuff, while
had limited knowledge of C++ but Java. Java gave me an intro to
OO programming so it was ok to move along with the writer.
Overall, this book is excellent for writing medium size apps that
perform daily tasks. I missed a little bit more on database operation and maybe windows sockets but of course, no book can
include everything. This book is already heavy enough to sleep with. Great job !

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for learning MFC
Review: I have been writing Windows programs for several years, and have read many MFC books. This book is definitely one of the best around. It covers most of the stuff you need to know in detail. The examples provided are also quite good, not the trivial programs that you would usually see in most programming books.

A reader claimed that, "The examples aren't too helpful, and look the book is 1000+ pages¡K Keep it short and sweet, it'll take us the rest of our lives to finish reading this book¡K" This is simply not true. Programming for windows in MFC is not simple, if he cant get himself to read a 1000+ page book, then maybe programming isn't for him.

Rating:
Summary: Good starting point but...
Review: When I saw this book for the first time, I got the similar feeling when I first saw Charls Petzold's book for Windows 3.1 10 years ago. It seems a good documentation on the MFC. However, there are some issues that interests me but I could not in this book yet. For example, how to use ">>" operator to read a word from a file not a whole line. Using CFile, CArchive & CString did not work for me. I guess I have to learn more...

Rating:
Summary: The premier resource for object-oriented programming.. NOT!
Review: If I were this guy I'd take my picture off the front of the book. The examples aren't too helpful, and look the book is 1000+ pages. Keep it concise and give simple examples that illustrate what you're talking about buddy. Keep it short and sweet, it'll take us the rest of our lives to finish reading this book, well unless you have no life then thats a different story. All I have to say is don't get this book if you want to learn MFC.. It's useless. I don't know how this guy got his text published.