Ok, ok, ok, I admit it! I'm a MAGAZINE JUNKIE! There's just no better place to pick up
a good little nugget of MFC info than a well written rag. I think I get every magazine on
this list and more. Here's a list of all mags I know of with my review. Please feel free
to submit any reviews you have of magazines - it's always a subjective kind of thing.
I've tried to list these in order of MFC content. The ones first have the most MFC
content with the ones last having the least. Even though they don't directly cover MFC,
most of the Windows programming magazines are still pretty valuable. Any of these that
I've read, I put comments with. If you'd like to comment, email me and I'll throw it in
here. Please don't tell me about more magazines - I'll go broke <g>.
- Visual C++ Developer
- Pinnacle Publishing ($149/yr)
- (800) 788-1900 voice
- (206) 251-1900 voice
- (206) 251-5057 fax
- [email protected]
- http://www.pinpub.com/vcd/home.htm
-
- My favorite, very meaty, lots of MFC coverage. They have had a rocky year, but appear to
be back on track now.
-
- Visual C++ Professional
- Oakley Publishing ($149/yr)
- (800) 234-0386
- (503) 747-0800
-
- Similar to above, but just a smidge less MFC.
-
- Microsoft Systems Journal (MSJ)
- Miller Freeman Inc.
- (800) 666-1084
- (303) 678-0439
- http://www.microsoft.com./msj/
-
- Visual Programmer column is EXCELLENT!!!!
-
- Dr. Dobbs
- Miller Freeman Inc.
- (800) 456-1215
- (303) 678-0439
- http://www.ddj.com
-
- Check out the "Undocumented Corner" for the continuing adventures of George
and Scot's wild MFC Internals explorations. Ok, it's not that exciting, but it is a
living.
-
- Windows/DOS Developers Journal
- Miller Freeman
- (913) 841-1631
-
- Continuing to add strong MFC material - getting better!
-
- C/C++ Users Journal
- Miller Freeman
- (913) 841-1631
-
- Not much MFC specific stuff at all, language-y articles.
-
- C++ Report
- SIGS Publications
- (800) 361-1279
- (212) 242-7447
-
- Great if you want to learn about the dynamics of instantiated, real-time templates as
applied to generic programming and patterns in modern-day CASE/UNIX based GNU compilers.
<yawn> Don't these guys have day jobs?
There's tons of books on Visual C++, but not many of them go into the details about
MFC. Here's a list of books that are over 50% oriented towards MFC (e.g. don't have pages
of screenshots of compiler options dialogs and the MSVC IDE)
- Microsoft Visual C++ Documentation Set
- Microsoft Press
- MSPRESS
- (416) 293-8464
-
- Volume 2: Programming with MFC and Win32 ($27)ISBN 1-55615-802-5
- Volume 3: MFC Library Reference ($45)ISBN 1-55615-801-7
-
- These come in the on-line docs, but nice to have printed versions of them. If you are
going to do MFC programming, volume 2 is a 'must have'
-
- Inside Visual C++, Fourth edition
- Microsoft Press ($45)
- David J. Kruglinski (Ex-Microsoftie)
- ISBN: 1-55615-661-8
- http://mspress.microsoft.com/
ISBN is 1-55615-891-2
Sounds like it would be Visual C++ specific, but this is the 'Petzold of MFC
programming. In other words, it's a 'must have' (along with volume 2 of the printed docs.
If you can't afford both, stick with volume 2 on-line and get this one)
**Note, the MFC/VC++ 5.0 version (fourth edition) just hit the streets - it looks
pretty good. -see last comment for the scoop on the latest version. Do not buy the third
or second edition, it is bird-cage liner at this point. Rumor has it that David passed
away recently in a freak hangliding accident. Does anyone know if this is true or not?!
The best MFC book that I know of is "Inside Visual C++" by David Kruglinski.
Despite the name, this is primarily an MFC book.
Chris Marriott, [email protected], programmer.graphics, 6/15/95
I owned the previous version of Inside VC++ and learned a lot about MFC [ed note - he
now has the third NEW version]. This was the book that got me started in MFC programming
and I have recommended it to everyone who asked. I recently bought the latest edition and
my impressions are as follows:
- It still is THE book for SDK programmers who want to learn MFC.
- Its strong suit is the coverage of the Document/View architechure, printing and print
preview and on-line help.
- It is weak in it's coverage of Windows controls (CListCtrl, CTreeCtrl, etc, etc)
I did not feel that the new material it contained justified the almost $50.00 price tag,
however. I recommend that anyone who owns an earlier edition of the book spend a little
time in the bookstore with this 3rd edition before taking it home.
- Blaine Anderson [email protected], mfc-l, 1/14/96
The Revolutionary Guide to MFC Programming
WROX Press ($45), June 1996
Mike Blaszczak
ISBN: 1-874416-47-8
http://www.wrox.com
NOTE: A second edition of this book is out, it has MFC in the title, the old one
has Win32 in the title.
This is my personal favorite MFC book (well next to MFC Internals of course…).
- [email protected]
If you understand C++ and _some_ windows programming this is a great book to learn MFC.
Shelley Lambert, [email protected], programmer.tools, 6/18/95
It is the best book on Win95 programming I have found.
Gary Coombs, [email protected], programmer.win32, 6/19/95
MFC Internals - AW George Shephard and Scot Wingo
Addison Wesley $39.95
George Shepherd and Scot Wingo
ISBN: 0201407213
http://www.aw.com
This book is best described as the 'other side' of the Mike B book. Where Mike shows you
how to use MFC at an advanced pace, we show you how MFC works under the hood (also at an
advanced pace). If you've ever gotten lost in the MFC source, you'll know why this is
*extremely* helpful information. Plus, it's MFC 4.0 so it's pretty darn current
information. Check out the March "Undocumented MFC" column in Dr. Dobbs for a
sneak peek at the book.
[email protected] - co-author.
"Quite simply, this book is a must-have for any serious MFC developer."
""This book is definitely not a rehash of existing documents. It is not a
"how-to" book-it is a "how does it work" book."
-Dean McCrory - technical editor, lead of the MFC team.
Writing Windows Applications with MFC
M+T Books ($40)
Bryan Waters
ISBN: 1-55851-379-5
At first I thought it was too beginner, but the last 5 chapters kick butt. Lots of info
on MFC internals, exception handling, and topics not covered elsewhere. Good for someone
new to Windows and MFC programming. - not updated to cover 4.0.
Visual C++ How-To: The Definitive MFC Problem Solver
Waite Group Press ($40) Apr-95, 570 pages
Info: http://www.dnai.com/waite/
(800) 788-3123
(510) 658-3453
Scott Stanfield, Ralph Arveson, Alan Light & Mickey Williams
Includes a CD-ROM
ISBN 1-878739-82-4
Note: Not updated for VC++ 4.0.
I can tell you that its a real good book for what its intended to be. Which is, sort of
like your FAQ. It comes with a CD and has little tidbits like:
- How to animate an icon. I adapted this a bit to figure out how to change icons (in an
MDI on the fly).
- How to detect multiple instances of a Windows app and pull theother one to the top of
the Z-order. This is a perennial Usenet question and I pulled the code and had it working
first time.
- How to put a bitmap on the main client window of a MDI app. Again, a nasty little thing
to figure out on your own, but given good directions, quite easily done from the book.
The CD is also broken out between those that are using VC 1.5 versus 2.0.
Like other Waite Group "How-To" programming books, this one is in
"Cookbook" or FAQ format. You read the table of contents for the functionality
you are looking for, and the associated chapter contains the code to implement it.
Topics include:
- Document and View, Status Bars and Toolbars, Controls, Multimedia,
Bitmaps and Icons, Dialogs OLE and DDE, System and a FAQ of short tips. Many new classes
are given here which all supplement the MFC in a fairly logical manner. Some of the
chapters which were of interest to me were:
- 2.1 - Put the current time in the status bar
- 2.3 - Add a status bar to my Views
- 2.4 - Display Progress information in the status bar
- 4.1 - Preview an AVI file using the common file dialog
- 4.3 - Play AVI files in a CView
- 4.4 - Play large WAV files
- 4.6 - Create 3D animation using OpenGL and MFC
- 5.5 - Smoothly animate bitmaps
- 6.6 - Write customized DDX/DDV routines
- 8.3 - Localize MFC applications using resource DLLs
- 8.5 - Make multiple inheritance work in MFC
- And many tidbits from the FAQ...
-
I like the cookbook format which allows me to glue in specific functionality on demand.
I found this book to be fairly helpful in that regard. I look forward to Volume II
[email protected] via email, 7/15/95
Visual C++ 2: Developing Professional Applications in Windows 95 and Windows
NT using MFC
Marshall Brain and Lance Lovette
Prentice Hall
ISBN: 0-13-305145-5
Note: Not updated for VC++ 4.0.
This was the third MFC book I picked up, and by far the best one. Like Brain's other
books (Heart of NT...) this one sets out to answer some frequently asked questions, as
enumerated in the introduction. It's definitely a comprehensive book, divided into five
sections covering the basics of Visual C++ and MFC, Controls, Using the App Wizard with
MFC, Professional Features, and Advanced MFC classes. It has an interesting appendix that
is designed to get C programmers up to speed with the C++ concepts that they will need to
use MFC right away. It does cover things like OLE, ODBC and Threads as well as some
'example chapters' covering things like splash screens, and multiple document templates
per application. It's pretty cool because it goes through MFC without the Class/App
Wizards before introducint them to you. It's very clear, and most everything is done by
example, which I really like ;). What it doesn't do is cover any of the new common
controls despite its title implying Windows 95 development. This seems to be ok, because
Nancy Cluts' book looks like it should handle
that part well enough ;) I highly recommend this one, especially if you have previous
windows programming experience and are looking to migrate to MFC 3.x for 95/NT.
Topics of interest:
- Understanding Message Maps, Debugging and Robustness, Dynamic Data
Exchange and Validation, How MFC Works with Windows, Creating a Self Drawing Control,
Property Sheets, OLE, MFC Threads, Combining Two Documents and Views in a Single
Application, Subclassing and Windows Procedures, as well as the standard treatment of
every control from edit to combo boxes.
[email protected]
Animation Techniques in Win32
Nigel Thompson
Microsoft Press (Early 1995)
ISBN: 1-55615-669-3
At first glance, I ignored this book on the shelves, however, when I finally picked it
up, it used MFC completely throughout. A very good book on doing graphics with MFC.
[email protected], John Clark, via email 6/6/95
Teach Yourself Microsoft Foundation Class Library Programming in 21 Days
Robert Shaw
SAMS ($30)
ISBN: 0-672-30462-7
Note: Not updated for VC++ 4.0.
I find "Teach Yourself Visual C++ in 21 Days" a good reference, since it is
set up to cover a small group of features each "day", so you can quickly go to a
subject area, and get a from-scratch description of it and how to use it. However, the
author is not strong on using the VC IDE, claiming that "you have to write this code
yourself the first few times, so you better appreciate what AppStudio and ClassWizard are
doing behind the scenes." I'd prefer the approach where we use the tools at hand, and
then map out what those magic MESSAGE_MAP macros are really doing.
[email protected], email, 7/11/95
Robert Shaws` book is terrific for the beginner learning MSVC and MFC. Before trying out
the examples found within, download the updated files via ftp from the address specified
in the book. This will save you alot of frustration. The examples are well thought out.
This book is better that Steve Holzner`s series of books on OLE or MFC (what isn't?). Once
a beginner has finished with this book he is ready for more serious books such as
"Inside Visual C++" by David Kruglinski.
[email protected]
MS Foundation Class Primer: Prog Windows 3 & Windows NT w/MFC
Jim Conger
The Waite Group Press ($32) Mar-93, 830 pages
ISBN: 1-878739-31X
Note: Not updated for VC++ 4.0.
The best MFC book that I've seen that DOESN'T use VC++ Wizards is Microsoft Foundation
Class Primer.
[email protected], ED, programmer.misc, 6/24/95
This book is a good intro for people new to MFC, but it's getting pretty dated. This
book was written during the time of MS C++ 7.0, and some of the newest functionality just
isn't covered (for obvious reasons ;), which can confuse a newbie. At any rate, it's still
makes pretty good book for someone looking for the basics.
[email protected], email, 7/15/95
Master Visual C++ 2,2/E w/CD-ROM (covers MFC 3.0 library)
Howard W. Sams & Company ($ 50) Jan-95, 1183 pages
Gurewich & Gurewich
ISBN: 0-672305-321
Note: Not updated for VC++ 4.0.
I picked up a copy of "Master Visual C++" specifically for its coverage of
creating custom VBX's. This is not covered in Kuglinski's "Inside Visual C++"
nor in "Teach Yourself Visual-C++ in 21 Days". "Master Visual C++" is
just my speed, since I am a dabbler who does not read instructions or tutorials, just
jumps in over my head, then starts looking for the routine calls I overlooked. Similar to
the Heavy Metal book, this book could have been squeezed down to about 1/3 the size, but
here that is not the point. Each example starts with a demo of the finished product, then
goes through the steps descriptively, then goes through the steps again with the code. My
little VBX was done in a day an a half, and I have a much better feel for the ins and outs
of this process.
[email protected], email, 7/11/95
Heavy Metal Visual C++ Programming
Steve Holzner
Brady Publishing
ISBN 1-56884-196-5
Note: Not updated for VC++ 4.0.
Hate to disagree, but I find this book disappointing. The reason is, I felt like being
treated as a semi-idiot when reading the book. Don't get fooled by its number of pages, it
could have been easily reduced to half of its size, if the author knew how to list the
code efficiently. Furthermore, there are too many misprints in the version I have.
Huayong ([email protected]), programmer.tools, 6/18/95
The rule of thumb is never buy Holzner's book. His book only leads you the the door. You
can't find practically useful examples. Almost every updated vesion is the same.
Runhong ([email protected]), programmer.tools, 6/18/95
Programming the Windows 95 User Interface
Microsoft Press ($34.95)
ISBN 1-55615-884-X
Nancy Cluts
NOTE: Microsoft Developer Network Developer Library contains the complete text of
this book. Might want to check it out there first before buying it?
%%TODO - get a review!
Visual C++ Power Toolkit
Ventana Press ($50), 1995, 785 pages
Info: http://www.vmedia.com/vc++.html
(919) 942-0220
Richard Leinecker, Jamie Nye
Includes a CD-ROM
ISBN 1-56604-191-0
Note: Not updated for VC++ 4.0.
YACTB = Yet Another Cookbook Type Book. Although this book tries to be a sourcebook for
programmers by giving many new classes and clever code, it just isn't laid out as
logically as other books I've seen recently (see: "Visual C++ How-To" listing).
This book covers a lot of topics, such as: Customizing the Interface, Animation, Screen
Effects, Music & Sound, Advanced Animation, Data Compression, OLE 2.0, Communications
and Scanner Input (Using TWAIN). I haven't found this book to be as useful as other books
for my purposes yet, but it does include a lot of new Classes which may prove useful for
other programmers.
[email protected], email, 7/15/95
I just grabbed this one and at first glance it looked really useful, then I started
reading it and BLECH! The author's writing is, well, it's not so great. Also, the classes
are sloppy and show no OO design at all. The author's comment is "I'm not hungarian,
so why should I name variables like one". Can't say I recommend this one.
[email protected]
The following are rumored to be coming out RSN (Real soon now)
MFC 4.0 Bible - The Waite Group ($45)
Extending MFC - AW David Shmitt
Programming Windows 95 with MFC, Microsoft Press, Jeff Prosise
%%TODO - get review, I think this is out.
There's probably a million 'good' MFC articles out there, but this section is for the
ultra-hip, totally-swinging, must-have, gotta-read MFC articles. If you submit an article
for this section, please include all the 'volume' information and a short paragraph about
why it's so damn cool! [Note if you have questions about the magazines or MSDN mentioned
below, see sections: 2.4.1 and 2.1.2]
- "Fun with MFC: 33 Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of ..." Paul DiLascia,
MSJ, November 1993, Volume 8, Number 11
- This is my A#1 MFC article of all time. Even though this article is 2 years old, it has
principals and ideas that are extremely valuable to today's MFC programmer. Good news is
that it's on MSDN in their MSJ archives! You can also find this gem under books online:
Extensions: articles/Technical Articles/Fun with MFC: 33 Tips.
- [email protected]
- "Meandering Through the Maze of MFC Message and Command Routing" Paul
DiLascia, MSJ, July 1995, Volume 10, Number 7
- Best explanation of messages ever, a MFC FAQ "must-read".
- "Rewriting the MFC Scribble Program Using an OOD Approach" Allen Holub, MSJ,
August 1995, Volume 10, Number 8.
- Not my favorite article, but 'DID' stir up lots of talk on most MFC forums. Any article
that generates this much noise has to be good.
- "Self Decorating Pages" David A. Schmitt, Windows Tech Journal, July 1995
- "Dad, Can I Drive the Printer Tonight?" -David A. Schmitt, Windows Tech
Journal, August 1995
- This series of articles is pretty good, especially if you are into printing.
- "Plunge into MFC's User Interface" Scot Wingo, Windows Tech Journal, August
1994
Stuff by MFC FAQ maintainer:
- C++ Report, SIGS Publications, "A Brief History of MFC" - recaps section 3 of
this FAQ and throws in some new information.
- Dr. Dobbs, January 1996, "Extending MFC" - describes an MFC grid extension.
- Windows Tech Journal, November 1994, "All aboard the MFC Express"
- Windows Tech Journal, August 1994, "Plunge
Into MFC's User Interface"
%%TODO - Come on MFC FAQ readers - let's get some new submissions in this section,
getting boring!