Re: Title bar in Doc/View application

Tech Tip: Click here to run a free scan for Windows Errors and optimize PC performance

On Nov 29, 12:37 pm, "David Ching" <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"BobF" <rNfOrSePeA...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:uIAFhbpMIHA.4808@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



I wish I could believe that. Maybe. There are a couple of reasons I hate
to see C++/MFC obsoleted. First is performance. I still don't believe
that C#/WPF/WinForms are capable of achieving performance levels equal to
native C++ coded apps. I might be wrong - I have zero experience using
C#.

I agree the performance is lacking. You have to be very careful about whose
components you use in order to achieve acceptable performance. But as PC's
get faster (you can get a decent dual core machine that runs Vista/.NET
acceptably fast for under $1,000 these days), this is not as much of a
concern.

This leads to the second reason. Experience. Sure, it is supposedly easy
for a C++ old-timer to transition to C#, but how long will it take to
achieve the same level of proficiency? C++ is old, but so am I :-)

A few months at most. .NET is exceptionally easy to learn because of the
Object Browser and Google. I wrote my first .NET app in C++/CLI so I didn't
have to worry about C# eccentricities, but after that, C# was really
natural.

An additional problem I have with investing in C# is it's highly
proprietary nature. While it's true that MFC isn't portable, at least C++
is. So if I delve into a different OS space, I at least have the comfort
of C++, if not the GUI framework.

Any app that uses MFC/Win32 is not portable anyway. Platform independent
C++ is really a pain, and I'm only interested if it works on Windows anyway.

Yes, I'm stubborn. I'm stubborn because I feel like MS is forcing a
change on me that I don't believe is for the better. I remain unsold.

I think developing in MFC and more so with Win32 is akin to writing in
assembly language compared to .NET. The reasons for keeping in assembly
language died out long ago, and so will staying with MFC/Win32. It's not MS
that's forcing a change, it's that Java opened the world's eyes to what was
possible, and MS is following up with that.

OTOH, I feel like I need to *do* something because I don't think it's just
MFC that's dead. I believe the entire native app model is drawing it's
final breath in the Windows world.

I still am starting new development with MFC for some clients who still want
to target Windows XP and not have to worry about the customers installing
.NET. Performance is not among their concerns, though.

At this point I see two options, neither particularly appealing:

1. Jump into the C#/managed code pool.
2. Look at alternative platforms. Maybe MAC.

I scarcely think Windows native code dying is reason enough to jump to the
Mac. Maybe the Mac has other reasons, such as increased market share these
days, though.

I remain undecided at this point, but joining the ranks of the
script-kiddies and web-weenies is not an option for me.

It's true that since .NET is easier to program, the consulting rates and
prestige tend to be less than native C++ which still has an aura of mystery
about it. But just read Jeffrey Richter's book about the CLR and you will
see that the virtual machine is still very technical, and with things like
reflection and optimization, it is hardly a world merely for "script-kiddies
and web weenies". You can be as technical as you want to be with .NET. And
I think that is what will separate the men from the boys even in the .NET
world.

-- David


David,

I have very similar attitude towards this debate.

---
Ajay
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Help with text adventure
    ... You can also just write a console app with printf and getline, ... Is there a way to make a Win32 console application? ... Since you don't want or need MFC, ... windowing process of Windows, like it was behind any Windows program. ...
    (microsoft.public.win32.programmer.gdi)
  • Re: Running Windows on Mac
    ... when using any sort of virtual app such as VMWare ... I'm mildly curious: MacSpeech runs on OSX. ... use it to feed transliterated text into a Windows program running in ... I run both Windows and Mac versions of speech software. ...
    (uk.comp.sys.mac)
  • Re: GUI programming, MFC and C#
    ... iterations of a product called Windows that didn't take off until Windows ... VB presented millions of folks with a way to develop GUI ... Microsoft added visual designers to C++ through Visual Studio using MFC. ... Depending on the size of your app, you could go one of two ways or ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.csharp)
  • Re: Now, about running Windows on a Mac, isnt it great?
    ... Because I don't know of any Windows app that can do something I need or want to do that I can't do with a Mac app. ... That's human costs - not software or hardware. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.system)
  • Re: My G5 & Leopard
    ... It offers a great deal over winders. ... It's functionality windows ain't got. ... With windows you are stuck with it's app centric menu driven ... With a Mac you _can_ use it as an app centric menu driven ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)