Windows Fundamentals

To create a Win32 program using Borland C++ Builder, you must create a console application using the Console Wizard. You must make sure you don't select any option from the Console Wizard dialog box. After clicking OK, you are presented with a semi-empty file that contains only the inclusion of the windows.h library and the WinMain() function declaration. From there, you are ready.

From most environments used, Borland C++ builder is the only one that provides the easiest, but also unfortunately the emptiest template to create a Win32 application. It doesn't provide any real template nor any help on what to do with the provided file. In defense of the Borland C++ Builder, as you will see with Microsoft Visual C++ and Dev-C++, the other environments may fill your file with statements you don't need, you don't like, or you don't want. Therefore, Borland C++ Builder provides this empty file so you can freely decide how you want to create you program and what you want to include in your program. This means that I agree with Borland C++ Builder providing you with an empty file because at least the syntax of the WinMain() function is provided to you.

Practical Learning: Introducing Windows Programming

 

1. Start Borland C++ Builder (5 or 6 I don't care and it doesn't matter).
2. On the main menu, click File -> New... or File -> New -> Other...
    
   
3. In the New Items dialog box, click Console Wizard and click OK
4. In the Console Wizard, make sure that only the C++ radio button is selected:
    
   
    
5. Click OK.
   You are presented with a file as follows:
    

   //--------------------------------------------------------------------------- #include <windows.h> #pragma hdrstop //--------------------------------------------------------------------------- #pragma argsused WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow) { return 0; } //---------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Save the application in a new folder named Win32A
7. Save the first file as Main.cpp and save the project as SimpleWindow

To create a Win32 application using Microsoft Visual C++, display the New (5 and 6 versions) or New Project (.Net version) dialog box and select Win32 application (5 and 6) or Win32 Project (.Net) item.

Microsoft Visual C++ provides the fastest and fairly most complete means of creating a Win32 application. For example it provides a skeleton application with all of the code a basic application would need. Because we are learning Win32, we will go the hard way, which consists of creating an application from scratch. If fact, this allows me to give almost (but not exactly) the same instructions as Borland C++ Builder.

1. Start Start the Microsoft Development Environment.
2. On the main menu, click File -> New... or File -> New -> Project...
3. In the New or New Project dialog box, click either Win32 Application or click Visual C++ Projects and Win32 Project:
    
   
4. In the location, type the path where the application should be stored, such as C:\Programs\MSVC
5. In the Name edit box, type the name of the application as Win32A and click OK
6. In the next dialog box of the wizard, if you are using MSVC 5 or 6, click the An Empty Project radio button:
    

   If you are using MSVC .Net, click Application Settings, then click the Console Application radio button, then click the Empty Project check box:

7. Click Finish. If you are using MSVC 6, you will be presented with another dialog box; in this case click OK
8. To create the first needed file of the program, if you are using MSVC 5 or 6, on the main menu, click File -> New. If you are using MSVC .Net, on the main menu, click Project -> Add New Item... 
9. If you are using MSVC .Net, make sure that Visual C++ is selected in the Categories tree view.
   In both cases click either C++ Source File or C++ File (.cpp)
    
10. In the Name edit box, replace the contents with a name for a file. In the case, replace it with Main and press Enter

A computer application is equipped with Windows controls that allow the user to interact with the computer. Each control creates messages and sends them to the operating system. To manage these messages, they are handled by a function pointer called a Windows procedure. This function can appear as follows:

LRESULT CALLBACK MessageProcedure(HWND hWnd, UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam);

This function uses a switch control to list all necessary messages and process each one in turn. This processes only the messages that you ask it to. If you have left-over messages, and you will always have un-processed messages, you can call the DefWindowProc() function at the end to take over.

The most basic message you can process is to make sure a user can close a window after using it. This can be done with a function called PostQuitMessage(). Its syntax is:

VOID PostQuitMessage(int nExitCode)

This function takes one argument which is the value of the LPARAM argument. To close a window, you can pass the argument as WM_QUIT.

Based on this, a simple Windows procedure can be defined as follows:

LRESULT CALLBACK WndProcedure(HWND hWnd, UINT Msg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
    switch(Msg)
    {
    case WM_DESTROY:
        PostQuitMessage(WM_QUIT);
        break;
    default:
        return DefWindowProc(hWnd, Msg, wParam, lParam);
    }
    return 0;
}