Author: martin fierz
Date: 05:24:21 01/15/04
i have a general windows GUI programming question, here's the motivation for it: i wrote a checkers interface which is similar to winboard - basically just a single board window that you can resize, with a toolbar and a status bar. it's written in plain C, using the windows API. you could say, this is windows programming at it's most basic level (if you disregard consoles for the moment...); maybe that was the way to go in 1995 but not in 2004. i have many ideas on how to improve that interface - but i think my programming technique (plain C + win32 API) is simply unsuitable for more complex interfaces. as an example of what i would like my program to be like, take anything from arena over chessbase to the visual studio environment - i would like it to include multiple window panes which can be resized and displayed or hidden. fancy interfaces also allow docking/undocking and individual window pane arrangement. my ideal checkers interface does not need to be too fancy, let's say something like arena with split windows which you can resize and add/remove panes. question: what kind of development tool(s) should i use for such purposes, given that (i) i know C but not C++, (ii) i am over 30 and don't learn things as easily as earlier, (iii) programming is just a hobby for me, and i don't have large amounts of time to learn something new, (iv) i don't develop commercial software, so i don't want to pay large amounts of money for a development tool. so the ideal tool for me is probably easy to learn, easy to use, free, and somewhere close to C. should i... ...forget C and use visual basic? ...learn C++ and use MFC? ...forget about MFC and use WTL? ...forget about MFC and WTL and use .NET? ...forget about all of this and use XYZ? ...forget it all because i'm too old and don't have enough time/energy to learn something new? any opinions are appreciated! martin
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