Unfortunatly, it is not really easy to create
graphical applications. Instead, a better approach is to study the
language first. Although C and C++ are different languages, they have some
similarities. In our lessons, we will study both languages but as one.
Based on this, we will use the following conventions:
One of the environments you can use to study C and/or
C++ is Microsoft Visual C++. Microsoft Visual C++ is available two
options. Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 is a multi-language commercial
environment that supports programming in C++ and many other languages (C#,
Visual Basic, and F#). It includes Microsoft Visual C++ made for C and
C++. To make it easy to learn C++ programming, Microsoft created Microsoft
Visual C++ 2010 Express. This is a full-functional programming environment
that supports both C and C++ (it also supports another child of the C
language, called C++/CLI). It is free. You can use either Microsoft Visual
Studio 2010 or Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express to create C and C++
applications. To follow our lessons, we will use either.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 is a commercial
application. If you want to use it, you must purchase (or you can use a
trial version). Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express is a free application.
If you want to use it, you must download it from the
Microsoft web site.
Once you get to the site, look for and click the Visual Studio Express
link. Then locate and click the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express. After
acquiring the software, you must install it to be able to lanuch it.
To launch Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express, you can
click Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express ->
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express:
To launch Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, you can click
Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.
The top section of Microsoft Visual Studio displays
the main menu divided in categories such as File or Edit. The main menu is
used like the menu of a normal application.
Under the main menu, there is a toolbar. Normally,
when the studio is launched, it displays the Standard toolbar as its
default. Some additional toolbars will display in response to an action
from you. Still, you can display other toolbars if you want. To do this:
Toolbars are used the same way they are in other
applications.
Microsoft Visual Studio's menus and toolbars can be
customized. You can customize a menu category on the main menu by adding a
menu item to it. You can customize a toolbar by adding a button to it. To
start, right-click anything on the main menu or on any toolbar and click
Customize... For example, imagine you want to add an item named Start
Without Debugging to the left side of the Start button:
To do this:
In the same way, you can customize any toolbar and any
menu category.
The Start Page is the main body of Microsoft Visual
Studio or Microsoft Visual C++ Express when it has been launched. It
starts on top with a tab labeled Start Page. The main body of Microsoft
Visual C++ Express displays Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express. The left
section shows two labels: New Project... and Open Project... When some
projects have been previously created or used, their names appear under
Open Project... When you work on a project, the Start Page is usually in
the background but it is represented by a tab. At any time, to display the
Start Page:
When you start or open a project, the studio makes
some windows available. These are the most regularly used windows. If you
think that one of them is not regularly used in your types of assignments,
you can remove it from the screen. To hide a window, you can click its
Close button
 .
All of the windows you can use are listed in the View
menu. Therefore, if a window is not displaying, you can click View on the
main menu and click a window of your choice.
When working on a project, you will use a set of
windows that each accomplishes a specific purpose. Some windows are
represented by an icon but hide the rest of the body. To display such a
window, you can position the mouse on it. This would expand the window:
If you expand a window, it would display a title bar
with three buttons. One of the button is called Auto Hide:
If you expand a window but find out you don't need it
any more, you can just move the mouse away. The window would return to its
previous state. Based on this functionality, if you are working with a
window and move the mouse away, it would retract. If you need it again,
you would have to reopen it using the same technique. If you are going to
work with a certain window for a while, you can keep it open even if you
move the mouse away. To do this, you can click the Auto Hide button. If
clicked, the Auto Hide button changes from pointing left to pointing down:
By default, the studio installs some windows to the
left and some others to the right of the screen. You can change this
arrangement if you want. To do this, expand a window, then click its title
bar and start dragging. While you are dragging, to assist you with a new
position, the studio displays five boxes:
To position a window on one side of the studio, drag
its title bar to the box that represents that side. When you get to a
side, a transparent blue rectangle would be drawn to indicate the possible
position. Drop the window to either the most left guiding box to position
it to the left of the screen, or to the most right guiding box to position
it to the right of the screen. Here is an example:
or
To position a window to the top or the bottom side of
the studio, drag its title bar to either the most top guiding box to
position it to the top of the studio or to the most bottom guiding box to
position it to the bottom of the studio. Here is an example:
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To make two windows share an area, you can position one
above or below an existing window. Of course, you must first have a window
as reference. Then, drag the second window to the existing window. Drop it
in the top or the bottom guiding box of the middle big box.
This
Becomes
Most of the windows you will use are positioned on one
side of the screen. If you want, you can have a window that stays on top of
other windows but is not "glued" to one side. Such a window is said to
float. To float a window, drag its title bar and release it somewhere in the
middle of the screen but not on a guiding box.
When a window is floating, it displays a Maximize button
on the title bar. If you click this button, the window occupies the whole
interface of Microsoft Visual Studio. In the same way, if you double-click
the title bar, the window gets maximized.
If a window is currently floating and you want to dock
it, right-click its title bar and click Dock:
If a window is currently docked and you want to float
it, right-click its title bar and click Float.
You can make two or more windows share one side of the
screen or to share an area. To do this, first expand and dock the window
that you will use as the base (or reference). Then, drag the title bar of
the window that will share the area to its target until the bottom part of
the base window shows a highlighted and a non-highlighted area:
Then release the mouse:
To remove a window that shares an area, drag its tab
away:
To position a window to the left or the right of an
existing window, first drag the second window to where the existing window
is. Then click the left (or the right, depending on the side you want)
guiding box of the central multiple-box.
This
becomes this
In the same way, you can make two or more windows share
the same area.
You can make a window display its tab in the top section
of the Code Editor and share the area with it. There are two ways yon do it:
This
becomes this
If a window is already represented with a tab on top of
the Code Editor, you can drag the second window and drop it to the left or
of the right tab of the existing window.
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