Question:
I am not new to C++, but I am new to VC++. The question I have pertains to the usability of MFC versus the ease and power of VB.
I was told recently to skip anything pertaining to MFC when getting up to speed on VC++. They noted if I needed to create a GUI, it was much faster to do so in VB, and that MFC would take longer and be a waste of my time (both to learn and to code in).
What is the degree of truth in this insight? Is MFC a dying legacy? If not, what advantages does it have over VB?
Answer:
There is a great deal of truth to what you were told. However, I’m not sure that means VC++ is dying.
C++ simply provides more control than VB. But Windows programming can be very complex, and VB makes Windows programming much easier if you don’t need that extra bit of control. This is the reason VB has become the most-used Windows programming language.
But VB also requires more overhead (two installation disks are required to distribute a simple “Hello World” program, and VB can only create certain types of DLLs). Although VB now includes an optimizing compiler, everything uses OLE, which can make it considerably slower than VC++ code for many tasks.
