Beginning Visual C++ 6

Many high-level language programmers (Visual Basic, Delphi) are hesitant to approach Windows programming with C++. The topic seems unapproachable because of the learning curve involved.The reality is, this stuff is very complex; however, in the hands of a good author or teacher the subject can be broken down into consumable portions and taught to even the most novice developer. I've tried three other books on this subject...none of them come close to this text! In fact, this book not only flows well, it almost acts as three books in one, first coving C++ (in depth, all though Win32 console based applications), then it approaches user interface using the MFC, next database development using ODBC, and lastly it devotes a chapter to ATL/COM development (which is far better written than the entire Beginning ATL COM 3.0 book by Wrox).If you want to learn Visual C++, youc can do it! Start with this book.

This text of nearly 1,200 pages attempts to do it all: take a neophyte with little or no knowledge of programming and 1) teach C++ programming - not just a quick once over, but the whole darned language, right from soup to nuts; and 2)teach Microsoft Windows programming in C++, including full coverage of Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) and ActiveX controls; and 3)oh yeah, just as a side note, also teach the use of the Visual C++ integrated development environment!This is just not possible to do in 'merely' 1200 pages; 3,000 might be more appropriate, and 4,000 would certainly not be wasted. So it's not surprising that there's a slight sense of brevity in some of the topics covered.What is truly amazing is just how well Horton manages to pull this off. A combination of skilled writing, careful editing and towering educational skill has resulted in what must truly rate as THE single best text out there on Visual C++ programming. No other book even comes close; no other book is even in the same ball park. This book sets a new standard of excellence that, sadly, most authors will never achieve.The book starts with a quick 1 chapter 'once over' of the Microsoft Visual C++ Integrated Development Environment (IDE), explaining how to start a simple DOS window application and pointing out various useful features of the editor. At the end of this chapter you won't be an expert in the IDE, but you will be able to get a project created, a file started and start entering code.From here to about the half way point Horton does a masterful job of teaching the practical basics of programming in C++. He not only teaches the language, syntax, and idiosyncrasies; he also teaches basic programming concepts, covering such topics as decision structures, loops, strings, sorting... basically everything you'd expect to learn in a full college 'programming fundamentals' course.From the mid way point on through to the end of the book, Horton concentrates on teaching the practical aspects of programming in the Windows environment using Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC). He pulls this off just as well as the first half of the text; although occasionally theory is a little bit terse or 'skimpy', the practical usage of MFC is well presented and thoroughly discussed.Really, the only way to improve this text would be to double or triple it in size, and really let Mr. Horton take off. I considered - briefly - reducing my ranking of this book to 4 stars, simply because it attempts to do so much. But I just couldn't do it; this book is just too good, it achieves so much, it is so clearly written. It's an absolute masterpiece! To give this book less than 5 stars would be somewhat analogous to dismissing the Mona Lisa, simply because it was mounted in a rather indifferent frame.For readers with absolutely no knowledge of computers at all, who don't know the difference between a bit and a byte and couldn't define either one, I might recommend Mr. Horton's "Beginning C++:

I also purchased Ivor's book on Java programming and I was up and running with in no time. The same goes for this book, this is, although, a rathar large one (1000+ pages) but it's no professionaly written, so understanble. Makes learning a pleasure, even if it is the pain that C++ is. It starts off with the very basics of C++ and moves up the scale to Pointers, Classes, OO programming and of course, MFC. Beginner? head this way!

I work as a C++ developer but was new to MFC before reading this book. It's important to note that the first half is about C++, the second half is about MFC and is equivalent to the other Wrox book: Beginning MFC Programming. I only read (and did most of the extra exercises too!) the second half of the book since I already knew C++ quite well.The author's approach is to have you build up a fairly substantial and functional MFC app by adding more and more advanced features to it as you go along. It's a sketching/drawing application and will interest you if you like graphics apps. Other books tend to take a different approach - they tend to show very simple applications or code snipets to demonstrate each new MFC feature/topic. Horton's approach is different - you will be mostly working with the same app for several chapters. This has the benefit of showing you how to structure a non-trivial Visual C++/MFC application. Advanced C++ programmers typically alreadyknow how to structure large programs and probably don't need this - they usually prefer to see simple code examples that illustrate how the class is used. Maybe that's why you see a lot of negative reviews here from people looking for the ultimate MFC book which is not the intent of this book.Horton shows you a design philosophy that you will see over and over again - the concept of creating document objects/classes that can "draw" themselves given a device context. e.g. pShape->Draw(pDC, ...);<p>Beginners will probably have a lot of difficulty understanding the mapping mode (MM_ANISOTROPIC, etc) topics. Horton includes it because it's important for graphics apps like Sketcher. He actually explains things better and more completely than advanced MFC books. For example, he actually gives you the equations for transforming between document/model coordinates and device coordinates. While I (as a person who is interested in computer graphics and all the math that entails) appreciates this, I'm sure that for some beginners, this will be over their heads.<p>The only negative thing I have to say about the book is that the Author takes the sketcher app one or two chapters too far. At one point, I thought the app was complete and deleted it from my workspace before going onto the next chapter. Then a couple of chapters later, he uses it again and I had to drag it off my floppy.<p>My suggestions:<p>1. Make sure you know your C++ before looking at MFC in this book or another other book for that matter. I recommend learning C++ from some of the classic (not-compiler specific) texts by authors such as Pohl, Lippman, etc.<p>2. The book leads you through the wizards and where to add custom code in a step-by-step manner. It is very complete in this sense and there are plenty of snapshots. If you follow his directions, you shouldn't get lost anywhere.<p>3. Don't just read the book. Do the exercises. If you get stuck, look up the answers at the back o

If you read the remaining reviews of this book, you will probably be surprised and confused by the extreme opinions expressed. To help you decide whether this book is worth your time and money, I offer these observations:C++ is a very complex programming language written BY advanced programmers FOR advanced programmers. NO AUTHOR CAN MAKE C++ PROGRAMMING EASY. However, it is my opinion that Mr. Horton does an excellent job presenting a well-rounded overview of Visual C++ programming in this book.Be warned. This book is NOT for you if:-You have never programmed before-You have written a few Visual Basic programs that have a couple dozen lines of code in them-You expect this book to tell you everything that there is to know about Visual C++, MFC, ATL, Windows, COM, DLLs, memory management, enterprise development, etc., etc. (No single book can do all these things.)However, this book may be a good choice for you if:-You have written some fairly advanced programs in languages like Visual Basic, and love the challenge of programming-You have the patience to read a 1200 page book slowly and carefully, and are willing to write sample programs to reinforce your learning-You need a systematic, thoughtful overview of Visual C++ so you can start down the very long path to proficiencyI use this book when teaching my college-level C++ programming classes, and my students do struggle. But they struggle with the complexities of C++ and MFC, not with the book. I find no fault in the book itself. Please try to distinguish those reviewers who criticize the language from those who criticize the book.I hope you find my comments useful.