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GLOSSARY 645Figure 8: The ActiveX month calendar control in use.VISUAL C++.NET: A COMPARISON
As this chapter is being written, Visual C++.NET has
just recently been released. Compared to its predecessor,
Visual C++ 6.0, Microsoft Corporation (2002) claims many
enhancements, including the following:The IDE has been enhanced with new features such as
user-definable bookmarks within source files and the
ability to highlight and then comment (or uncomment)
a sequence of statements with a single mouse click.
The Visual Debugger has been enhanced. For example,
one can debug multiple processes simultaneously; this
is helpful in debugging client–server applications.
The ClassWizard has been replaced by options on the
context menus of the class view. This is more logical
than its previous location on the “View” menu of the
IDE.
Support has been added for XML, XML schemas, and
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol). Developers also
have been given the ability to create and expose ATL
COM components as XML Web services.
The new ATL Server, which is a successor to ASP (Active
Server Pages), but which is written in C++ for greater
speed and integration into C++ applications, has been
added.CONCLUSION
Visual C++ is a powerful suite of application develop-
ment tools. These applications can be as simple as highly
portable console applications and as complex as Windows
GUI applications. Visual C++ and MFC support the devel-
opment of Internet-aware applications with tools such as
WinSock, WinInet, ActiveX controls, and COM compo-
nents. With its latest release, .NET, Microsoft continuesto expand the Internet development capabilities of Vi-
sual C++ with new features such as XML, XML schemas,
SOAP, and ATL server. It is worth the effort to learn to use
these tools, which can significantly increase productivity
and decrease development time.GLOSSARY
ActiveX Microsoft’s follow-up to OLE, incorporating
newer Internet concepts into the sharing of data, ob-
jects, and components.
AppWizard A Visual C++ tool for generating skeletal
Windows/MFC applications.
ATL (Active Template Library) A suite of tools for the
development of new ActiveX controls.
ATL Server A Microsoft .NET successor to ASP (Active
Server Pages).
ClassWizard A Visual C++ tool for maintaining MFC-
derived classes and message handlers.
COM (common object model) The underlying archi-
tecture of ActiveX.
IDE (integrated development environment) The de-
velopment environment of Visual C++, including ed-
itors, variable watch windows, and class/file/resource
browsers.
MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class) Library A library
of classes that support the development of Visual C++
applications.
OLE (object linking and embedding) One of Mi-
crosoft’s early protocols for sharing data, objects, and
components among different applications.
WinInet (Win32 Internet) A Windows API for writing
FTP, Gopher, and HTTP clients.
WinSock API (Windows sockets application program-
ming interface) A WindowsAPI based on the BSD
sockets paradigm.