Re: how much harder is Windows C API than C#/.NET

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Jeff,

If you plan to do 'serious' programming you will need to use the API in C#
anyway, great chunks of it are missing from C#, it's its biggest weakness
in my view.

There is not much in C#, however it has an it seems for me endless class
library as it is in .Net that you can use, which make the possibilities so
wide as I have never seen in any programming language. Are you *completely*
common with this in all versions of the Framework? (With other words do you
know all classes for WindowsForms, HTTP, ASPNET, Mobile, Data etc etc?)

Cor


"Jeff Gaines" <whitedragon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> schreef in bericht
news:xn0eqt2i3iyxpu001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 03/09/2006 in message
<1157324380.635902.105210@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> dan wrote:

Back to my original question: I'm interested in getting feedback, based
on experience, how much harder is it to use the Windows C API than
C#/.NET for writing a desktop application, assuming the programmer is
coding into an editor.

I've always used the IDE rather than an editor. I would put C# alongside
VB6 for ease of programming, it is very quick indeed to put an app
together. I like C and the API but it takes longer (in my experience) to
put an app together. If you plan to do 'serious' programming you will need
to use the API in C# anyway, great chunks of it are missing from C#, it's
its biggest weakness in my view. There is a lot of help now though as
experience has built up in the community. MS really need to accept the
need for this and issue a proper API library. Also missing is the #include
statement - if you write, say, a control using several files you need to
manually link each one to your project each time you use them - an
absolute pain!

A C app using the API will start a lot quicker and can be compiled to work
stand-alone. Delphi is still ahead in terms of compiling a stand-alone app
and speed of starting, I still get tempted to go back to it. There are
also far more free utilities for Delphi, it has always had a great
community spirit. A good example is Mike Lischke's Virtual TreeView and
VirtualShellTools at MustangPeak - there's nothing like either in C#
without paying for them. I'm not sure that will change any time soon.

--
Jeff Gaines


.

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