[comp.windows.ms.programmer] Borland C++, are you telling me there are no WIN Classes?

pcb@basin04.cacs.usl.edu (Peter C. Bahrs) (03/04/91)

This is a repost.  The responses I have received are not clear.  Does
Borland C++ come with a set of class libraries for windows programming?
i.e. window, button, bitmap, controls in general....  I suspect this is
not the case.

Or is Borland C++ just SDK protocol compatible.  That is, if I have 
the lib specs from C/SDK, I can make the same calls under borland c++.
Which of course means that the Petzold book is not enough...all of the
functions are not covered in here...rather I need the MSC SDK references.
I have sdk and actor (and smalltalk), so I have the function descriptions,
but if I just had borland c++ I would be stuck!

So in summary, I have a C++ development environment that generates
windows applications and is itself pseudo-windows compatible.  But my 
graphics and gui development will be from scratch.

Is anyone working on classes?  Will the zortech, or glockenspeil classes
work? i.e. Can I just copy them to a new directory and compile them into
borland c++?  Is this legal?

My copy of borland c++ is still in the mail.

/*----------- Thanks in advance... --------------------------------------+
| Peter C. Bahrs                                                         |
| The USL-NASA Project                                                   |
| Center For Advanced Computer Studies      INET: pcb@swamp.cacs.usl.edu |
| 2 Rex Street                                                           |
| University of Southwestern Louisiana      ...!uunet!dalsqnt!gator!pcb  | 
| Lafayette, LA 70504                                                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------*/

johnm@spudge.UUCP (John Munsch) (03/06/91)

In article <26272@rouge.usl.edu> pcb@basin04.cacs.usl.edu (Peter C. Bahrs) writes:
>This is a repost.  The responses I have received are not clear.  Does
>Borland C++ come with a set of class libraries for windows programming?
>i.e. window, button, bitmap, controls in general....  I suspect this is
>not the case.

Borland C++ does not come with class libraries for Windows programming.
Until you or someone else comes up with a class library for this you have
to make normal SDK calls.

>Which of course means that the Petzold book is not enough...all of the
>functions are not covered in here...rather I need the MSC SDK references.
>I have sdk and actor (and smalltalk), so I have the function descriptions,
>but if I just had borland c++ I would be stuck!

Not at all.  Most bookstores with a technical section have the Microsoft
Windows _Guide to Programming_ and _Programmer's Reference_ on the shelf
right now.  If you felt Petzhold was sufficient you wouldn't even need the
_Guide to Programming_ and could just purchase the reference.  If you wanted
to be really cheap you could just use the online SDK documentation that is
present in the Borland IDE and skip the reference too.

>So in summary, I have a C++ development environment that generates
>windows applications and is itself pseudo-windows compatible.  But my 
>graphics and gui development will be from scratch.

Yes.

>Is anyone working on classes?

Most people who are using it are undoubtedly doing some classes but the only
major libraries I know of are Tier and C++ Views.

>                               Will the zortech, or glockenspeil classes
>work? i.e. Can I just copy them to a new directory and compile them into
>borland c++?  Is this legal?

Um, what classes would those be?  I have Zortech C++ v2.18 and it comes with
no Windows classes.  If you are talking about the "C++ Tools" library that
Zortech sells then you will probably prefer to use the class libraries that
Borland includes for linked lists, hash tables, etc.  I think they are
considerably better designed.

John Munsch

ISSHST@BYUVM.BITNET (03/06/91)

As other messages have said, Borland C++ contains everything to create
Win Apps.  The trouble is there isn't any decent documentation for those of
us new to Windows programming.

There are no classes for Windows programming in Borland C++.  Zinc is working
on porting their class library to Windows.  It has a wonderful set of classes
for user interface designing.  Rumor has it that once the Windows class is
completed, source written for the DOS library will need only one line of the
source to be changed and then re-compiled to run under Windows.

wallis@sieras.enet.dec.com (Barry L. Wallis) (03/07/91)

In article <91064.202956ISSHST@BYUVM.BITNET>, ISSHST@BYUVM.BITNET writes...
>There are no classes for Windows programming in Borland C++.  Zinc is working
>on porting their class library to Windows.  It has a wonderful set of classes
>for user interface designing.  Rumor has it that once the Windows class is
>completed, source written for the DOS library will need only one line of the
>source to be changed and then re-compiled to run under Windows.

I was looking at the source code examples that came with BC++ last night and
was pleasantly surprised. Some of the examples rolled their own C++ Windows
classes. I will be printing them out and studying them this week (in my
copious spare time) to see if they are something decent to start building
with., 

They also included a single chapter WINPRIMR.DOC in the DOC subdirectory.
However, my copy is incomplete (some of the sentences have been cut but not
pasted) and inaccurate (it says _export will inhibit C++ name mangling, looking
at the .OBJ this does not seem to be the case, I need to use extern "C" { } so
my exports can be seen by the RC).

---
Barry L. Wallis			USENET: wallis@labc.dec.com
Database Consultant		Prodigy (don't laugh): DNMX41A
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---

cjones@isis.cs.du.edu (Charles J. Jones) (03/07/91)

In article <26272@rouge.usl.edu> pcb@basin04.cacs.usl.edu (Peter C. Bahrs) writes:
>This is a repost.  The responses I have received are not clear.  Does
>Borland C++ come with a set of class libraries for windows programming?
>i.e. window, button, bitmap, controls in general....  I suspect this is
>not the case.

Correct suspicion.  There are no windows classes.

>Is anyone working on classes?  Will the zortech, or glockenspeil classes
>work? i.e. Can I just copy them to a new directory and compile them into
>borland c++?  Is this legal?

Genesis Development Corp has a library that was mentioned in the February
25th issue of PC Week.  The product is called Tier and reportedly has
150 (!) object classes for Windows SDK functions.  The list price is $450,
and the company phone number is (214) 644-8559. (Texas)

>
>My copy of borland c++ is still in the mail.
>

My $#%@^ upgrade notice is still in the mail :-(.

>/*----------- Thanks in advance... --------------------------------------+
>| Peter C. Bahrs                                                         |
>| The USL-NASA Project                                                   |
>| Center For Advanced Computer Studies      INET: pcb@swamp.cacs.usl.edu |
>| 2 Rex Street                                                           |
>| University of Southwestern Louisiana      ...!uunet!dalsqnt!gator!pcb  | 
>| Lafayette, LA 70504                                                    |
>+-----------------------------------------------------------------------*/


-- 
=============================================================
Charles J. Jones        | Insert witty saying here.
cjones@nyx.cs.du.edu    |

jim@se-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Jim Ruehlin, CFC User) (03/08/91)

In <28193@spudge.UUCP> johnm@spudge.UUCP (John Munsch) writes:

>Borland C++ does not come with class libraries for Windows programming.
>Until you or someone else comes up with a class library for this you have
>to make normal SDK calls.

You could buy the ImageSoft CommonView libraries.  They are a set of class
libraries for MS Windows 3.0 programming.  Window classes, Edit classes,
event managing, etc.
They've been available with the Glockenspeil compiler for a while.  Now
their available for ZC++ and BC++.

>>So in summary, I have a C++ development environment that generates
>>windows applications and is itself pseudo-windows compatible.  But my 
>>graphics and gui development will be from scratch.

>Yes.

Not if you get the CV libraries.

>>                               Will the zortech, or glockenspeil classes
>>work? i.e. Can I just copy them to a new directory and compile them into
>>borland c++?  Is this legal?

Hmmmm...  You must be talking about the CommonView class libraries. 
I have them for Glock, and I have to purchase them again, at full price,
for BC++ (pretty good libraries, but having to buy them twice is a
ripoff if you ask me).  I'm going to try to re-compile using my old libs
to see if it can be done.  It seems like it would, given the libs are in
DLLs, so all you need to do is link in the import libraries.  But with
C++ name mangling, who knows?
As far as it being legal, I'm no lawer, but it seems to me that if you buy
it, it's yours.  As long as you don't let other people copy and use the libs
I'd think it would be OK (Disclaimer:  I am not a lawer, so any legal
advice is conjecture on my part.  Consult a professional!).

- Jim Ruehlin

matt@medicod.UUCP (Matt Smith) (03/14/91)

In article <28193@spudge.UUCP> johnm@spudge.UUCP (John Munsch) writes:
>In article <26272@rouge.usl.edu> pcb@basin04.cacs.usl.edu (Peter C. Bahrs) writes:
>>This is a repost.  The responses I have received are not clear.  Does
>>Borland C++ come with a set of class libraries for windows programming?
>>i.e. window, button, bitmap, controls in general....  I suspect this is
>>not the case.
>

I just got a copy of Borland Express in the mail (it is some sort of Borland
magazine/advertisement)  and it has some windows class stuff in it.  I did
not order this, I think they send it to people who order products.

From an article in this magazine, I checked the examples that come with
BC++ and they have windows classes in the examples.  Although they
are by no means extensive, they are a good start for someone to write
a good windows class



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