Skip to main content

Introduction to Win32

Win32 is a library made of data types, variables, constants, functions, and classes (mostly structures) that can be used to create applications for the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems. A typical application is made of at least two objects: a control and a host object on which the control is positioned.
To create a Win32 application using Microsoft Visual C++:
  • On the Start Page, you can click New Project
  • On the main menu, you can click File -> New Project...
  • On the Standard toolbar, you can click the New Project button
  • You can press Ctrl + N
Any of these actions would display the New Project dialog box. From there, select Win32 Project item.
Just like a C++ program always has a main() function, a Win32 program uses a central function called WinMain. The syntax of that function is: 
INT WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,
                    LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow );
To support international characters, Microsoft Windows provides another version of this function named _tWinMain. This version uses the same syntax (same arguments) as the first.
Unlike the C++'s main() function, the arguments of the WinMain() function are not optional. Your program will need them to communicate with the operating system. Here is an example of starting a program with the WinMain() function:
#include <windows.h>

INT WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,
                   LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow )
{ 
    return 0;
}
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Creating a Resource

Although an application can use various resources that behave independently of each other, these resources are grouped into a text file that has the .rc extension. You can create this file manually and fill out all necessary parts but it is advantageous to let Microsoft Visual C++ create it for you. To start creating the resources: On the main menu, you can click Project -> Add Resource... In the Solution Explorer, you can right-click the name of the project, position the mouse on Add, and click Resource... Any of these actions would display the Add Resource dialog box. From this dialog box, you would select the type of resource you want and click New (or Import...). You will then be expected to design or customize the resources. Throughout our lessons, we will see various examples. After creating or designing a resource, you must save it. In most cases, you can try closing the resource. In this case, Microsoft Visual C++ would prompt you to save the resource. If you agree to do t...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to create a new static library project in Visual C++

From the File menu, select New and then Project…. From the Project types pane, under Visual C++, select Win32. From the Templates pane, select Win32 Console Application. Choose a name for the project, such as MathFuncsLib, and enter it in the Name field. Choose a name for the solution, such as StaticLibrary, and enter it in the Solution Name field. Press OK to start the Win32 application wizard. From the Overview page of the Win32 Application Wizard dialog, press Next. From the Application Settings page of the Win32 Application Wizard, under Application type, select Static library. From the Application Settings page of the Win32 Application Wizard, under Additional options, deselect Pre-compiled header. Press Finish to create the project.
Post a Comment
Read more

Overview

In an MFC application, a resource is a text file that allows the compiler to manage such objects as pictures, sounds, mouse cursors, dialog boxes, etc. Microsoft Visual C++ makes creating a resource file particularly easy by providing the necessary tools in the same environment used to program. This means you usually do not have to use an external application to create or configure a resource file (as done in other programming environments).
Post a Comment
Read more