Creating a Windows Application

Creating a Windows Application

Visual C++ does not just compile code; it generates code. You can create a Windows
application in minutes with a tool called AppWizard. In this chapter you'll learn how
to tell AppWizard to make you a starter app with all the Windows boilerplate code you
want. AppWizard is a very effective tool. It copies into your application the code that
almost all Windows applications require. After all, you aren't the first programmer to
need an application with resizable edges, minimize and maximize buttons, a File menu
with Open, Close, Print Setup, Print, and Exit options, are you?
AppWizard can make many kinds of applications, but what most people want, at least at
first, is an executable (.exe) program. Most people also want AppWizard to produce
boilerplate code - the classes, objects, and functions that have to be in every program.
To create a program like this, Choose File, New and click the Projects tab in the New
dialog box, as shown in Figure 1.1.
 The Projects tab of the New dialog box is where you choose the kind of application you want
to build.
Choose MFC AppWizard (EXE) from the list box on the left, fill in a project name, and
click OK. AppWizard will work through a number of steps. At each step, you make a
decision about what kind of application you want and then click Next. At any time, you
can click Back to return to a previous decision, Cancel to abandon the whole process,
Help for more details, or Finish to skip to the end and create the application without
answering any more questions (not recommended before the last step). The following
sections explain each step.