Managed C++

[Peter]

Hi,

I'm considering to make my own little 3D game using C++ /
DirectX. Problem is that I need to create some tools for
that, and I need an editor with lots of buttons and
controls. I bought a book a while ago about MFC
programming for VC++6 but I found the material hard to
master compared to what I was used to in my old days with
Visual Basic, and I kinda gave up on MFC for VC++.

Now I stumpled upon this page:
http://www.developer.com/net/cplus/article.php/1559251

I'm not sure if I fully understood this correcly, but it
says that with MC++ you can easily put buttons and
controls on a form just as with C#. Is MC++ just as easy
for buttons and controls as VB or C# or did I
misinterpreted? Has anyone here has experience with MC++,
what are your opinions about it?

I'm kinda hoping to write the tools in MC++ and the game
in C++, that would save me a lot of time. I wouldn't have
to learn MFC with C++ and I could transfer parts of code
which are similar in both the game and editor to one
another. Right now I'm using VC++6 but I will consider
switching over to .NET if I find it usefull.
Thanks,
Peter

[Keith Patrick]

I tried Managed C++ with VS.Net 2002 for a bit. I love C++'s templates and
the fact that const & for the most part ensures at compiletime that you won'
t have a null, so I tried to stick with it. 2002's problem was it didn't
have a WinForm editor, so it was nearly impossible to write a UI (and MUCH
more time-consuming that C#) I've never used 2003's WinForm editor, but it
should be just as easy. My problem with MC++ (other than the fact that I
couldn't write a WinService in 100% MC++ due to a security check) is that
with all the .Net macros (like __gc), the code gets extremely difficult to
read, as you wind up with something that's like 1/2 code, 1/4 macros, and
1/4 attributes. I find C# MUCH cleaner, although I would like to have stack
variables and deterministic GC in it. C++ should still be faster for games,
but as the API becomes more high-level, C# should become more suitable for
gaming (in fact, I'm writing a 3d system right now in it, but speed is not a
concern of mine; it's more of an architectural project that something that
could be competitive)
So bottom line for me is that I consider MC++ more trouble than its worth,
but that's because I stay 100% in .Net; C++ is ultimately much more
flexible.

"Peter" <pe********@zonnet.nl> wrote in message
news:04****************************@phx.gbl...

Hi,

I'm considering to make my own little 3D game using C++ /
DirectX. Problem is that I need to create some tools for
that, and I need an editor with lots of buttons and
controls. I bought a book a while ago about MFC
programming for VC++6 but I found the material hard to
master compared to what I was used to in my old days with
Visual Basic, and I kinda gave up on MFC for VC++.

Now I stumpled upon this page:
http://www.developer.com/net/cplus/article.php/1559251

I'm not sure if I fully understood this correcly, but it
says that with MC++ you can easily put buttons and
controls on a form just as with C#. Is MC++ just as easy
for buttons and controls as VB or C# or did I
misinterpreted? Has anyone here has experience with MC++,
what are your opinions about it?

I'm kinda hoping to write the tools in MC++ and the game
in C++, that would save me a lot of time. I wouldn't have
to learn MFC with C++ and I could transfer parts of code
which are similar in both the game and editor to one
another. Right now I'm using VC++6 but I will consider
switching over to .NET if I find it usefull.
Thanks,
Peter