C Programming

[ChrisD]

Hello All.

I've recently seen alot of threads containing subjects on C programming. Lately I have become more serious about pursuing this area further. I have a little bit of VB experience, but nothing to brag about. This may be a dumb question, but I always see just plain 'C' and there is also Visual C++.

could someone tell me which of the above would be the best one to pursue. Please excuse my ignorance.

 

Chris

 

 

[Luther_Heggs]

C++. That way you'll won't be coming from a non-object oriented background with pre-conceived notions that have to be "un-learned".

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

You REALLY don't want to "unlearn" anything. You want to be able to build on what you already know.

JMHO

James Meyette

[ChrisD]

Thanks Guys.

I'll start looking into a course for visual c++.

 

Chris

[This message has been edited by ChrisD (edited 02-12-2001).]

[ProductDevelopmentGuy]

You can develop C-Hooks without using C++ i.e. strictly using "C", (in fact most of the C-Hooks out there are written in C) but this limits you somewhat in the area of interface development. Microsoft Visual C/C++ has lots of tools to make this easier.

Also, there is talk in this forum about "Visual" C and C++. Remember that "Visual C/C++" is not a language in itself, but it is a Microsoft product that is a complete development environment. It is the software we use to build Mastercam, and iw what we recommend for C-Hook developers. I have heard that it's possible (but not simple) to develop C-Hooks using Borland C/C++, and we do not support that.

[Bullines]

It is a little tricky using Borland tools to develop C-Hooks. This is mostly because of different naming conventions for project options and settings between Microsoft and Borland environments. I have managed to get something work with Borland C++ 5.02. In my spare time, I'm working on getting a Borland C++ Builder 3 test project (with UI) working, but to no avail yet. Syntax is not really an issue since Borland's implementation of C/C++ is slightly more ANSI complient. Either way, it's probably safer to stick with MS Visual C++ since that's what Mastercam is developped with. Anybody play with the Visual Studio.NET beta yet?

[This message has been edited by Bullines (edited 02-09-2001).]

[ChrisD]

Are there any books out there to get me started on Visual C++

[Bullines]

If you want to learn Visual C++ syntax only, I recommend "Practical Visual C++ 6". You'll learn a little bit of C++ but it'll focus primarily on building Windows apps using MFC. If you prefer to learn ANSI compliant C++ itself, go to the Bjarne Stroustrup's website (http://www.research.att.com/~bs/homepage.html); he lists his books. As far as programming goes, "The Art of Computer Programming" is the computer science bible. Good luck!

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

The best resource for programming can be found at http://www.wrox.com . I found a C++ Book called "Beginning C++ - The Complete Language" written by Ivor Horton. I found this book to be an invaliuable resource. It has actually helped me with my Post Processor writing as well.

JMHO

James Meyette

[This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited 02-13-2001).]

OOPS, sorry about the typo folks.

James Meyette

[This message has been edited by James Meyette (edited 02-13-2001).]

[ChrisD]

Thanks James,

I tried going to that site but it won't show up on my explorer. I guess the site is defunct. But I'll look into that book you mentioned.

Chris

[Bullines]

Remove a "w"

http://www.wrox.com

[Corrected in original message - Webmaster]

[This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited 02-13-2001).]

[aberent]

What is the difference between Visual Basic 6 and Visual C++6? Are both valid languages for Mastercam? I'm playing with VB6 for another software application & wonder if they're related or one is "better" than the other.

[Luther_Heggs]

The Chook Development kit used to write chooks for Mastercam is basically a library of C or C++ function calls. I don't know if you can call C functions from VB, but I would think there would be some compatibility issues.

[Bullines]

Visual C++ is Microsoft's C/C++ development environment. You can use C and C++ syntax. Visual Basic is a RAD (Rapid Application Development) tool. It's native language is a modified version of Basic.

All of the header files that come with the Mastercam SDK are C header files. That means that they can be included in a C project or C++ project (using "extern"). Including these headers in a Visual Basic project is not an option. In theory, if the header files were built as DLLs, then you may be able to use VB for C-Hooks...in theory. It would probably be a HUGE pain to this, however.

[aberent]

Thank you for your informative replies. I looked at some of the recommended reading for C++ at the bookstore yesterday. I've seen smaller encyclopedias. Maybe I'll try my hand at French...