Introduction to C++/CLI Generics
Rating:
Marius Bancila - 11/04/2005
Read an introduction to generics implementation in C++/CLI in comparison with templates.

Writing Code in a Natural Way with C++/CLI
Rating:
Marius Bancila - 09/29/2005
Learn about some of the most important changes to the managed extensions for C++, trying to show how it feels to write code with C++/CLI.

[Updated] The Mists of Avalon
Rating:
Guido Stercken-Sorrenti - 07/25/2005
Learn about "Avalon," the exciting new presentation subsystem of the upcoming Windows platforms. After an introduction to declarative drawing and XAML, you'll use XAMLPad to get a first taste of Avalon programming.

Beta 2 of Visual Studio 2005 Released
Rating:
Bradley Jones - 04/17/2005
Beta 2 of Visual Studio 2005 is now available for download for MSDN subscribers. Learn how you can get it too.

Managed C++: Determining User Security Roles
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Tom Archer - MSFT - 01/24/2005
For those who don't have the desire or time to become experts on Windows security, follow this demonstration of using various .NET classes to test for a user's inclusion in one or more security groups.

Composite Custom Web Controls in Managed C++
Rating:
Stephen Fraser - 01/05/2005
Continuing his series on custom Web control development in Managed C++, Stephen Fraser takes it up a notch by examining the more advanced—and far more powerful—composite custom Web control.

Managed C++: Debugging with the StackTrace Class
Rating: none
Tom Archer - MSFT - 01/04/2005
Learn how the StackTrace class makes your debugging life a bit easier by enabling you to retrieve full call stack information.

Managed C++: Monitoring the Windows Event Log
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 01/03/2005
Tom Archer illustrates the steps necessary to programmatically monitor your system's event log from a Managed C++ application. Monitoring certain event logs—especially the Security log—enables you to keep tabs on such security-related events as failed login attempts and port scans.

Managed C++: Rubber-Banding and Cropping Images
Rating: none
Tom Archer - MSFT - 12/01/2004
Learn how .NET enables you to easily allow your users to create a cropping area of an image with the mouse and then create a new image consisting of only that cropped area.

Managed C++: Loading and Displaying Images
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 11/29/2004
For years, one of the biggest complaints about MFC was its lack of imaging support. Tom Archer shows how Managed C++, the .NET Image class, and the PictureBox control make loading, displaying, and dynamically sizing an image a snap.

Visual C++ and CodeDom
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 11/04/2004
CodeDom hasn't gotten the same level of attention in C++ circles as VB.NET and C# have, but it is just as relevant there. Nick Wienholt demonstrates why by examining CodeDom from a C++ perspective.

Managed Extensions: Finding Files by Extension
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 09/27/2004
Tom Archer illustrates how to locate files matching a specified extension by using a .NET component and various .NET classes.

Managed Extensions: Measuring Strings
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 09/23/2004
Learn how to easily measure the height and width needed to display text values using .NET classes.

Managed Extensions: Adding Enumeration to Your Classes
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 08/23/2004
The .NET Base Class Library defines interfaces that enable you to quickly and easily define your classes. Learn how to write client code that enumerates these interfaces in a type-safe and object-specific manner.

MFC and .NET: Handling .NET Events
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 08/09/2004
Tom Archer explains how to work around the inherent problems associated with handling .NET events from a mixed mode (MFC/Managed Extensions) application.

Simplified Development Tools—The Microsoft Express Products
Rating:
Bradley Jones - 06/29/2004
Microsoft expands Visual Studio and SQL Server to the non-programmers, hobbyists, and students with simplified, low-cost to no-cost versions.

Controlling Project and File Properties with C++ Macros
Rating:
Kate Gregory - 06/16/2004
Examine a C++ macro that changes a file (within a managed project) from managed (/clr) to unmanaged—a task you may need it to perform for performance reasons, creating a mixed executable.

Distributed Application in .NET—Which Way to Go?
Rating: none
sndshreeman - 05/31/2004
Explore the distributed architecture in .NET and the general concept behind this architecture.

Working with Row State Information
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 03/22/2004
Whether you're working with a connected or disconnected data store, the majority of database operations involve NURD work—New, Update, Read, Delete. However, as this section will illustrate, many of the sometimes very tedious database operations are made much easier with the help of the various ADO.NET classes.

Static Constructors in Managed C++
Rating:
Kate Gregory - 03/15/2004
A feature under discussion may not be part of Standard C++, but if it's part of Managed C++, why go to C# to have it? If you're willing to target the .NET Framework and write a managed application, why not write in Managed C++?

Basic Database Operations with ADO.NET
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 02/17/2004
Learn about basic ADO.NET operations with this excerpt from Extending MFC Applications with the .NET Framework.

Interop

Hosting WPF Content in an MFC Application
Rating:
Kevin Choong - 01/18/2008
Learn to host WPF content as a control in MFC applications.

Visual C++ Orcas Marshaling Library
Rating: none
Nick Wienholt - 08/02/2007
The conversion between common native types and the equivalent .NET Framework type is a common programming activity for interoperability development in C++. Visual C++ Orcas introduces a light-weight, template-based library for performing this conversion. This article will look at both the use of this library and how it can be extended to add new conversions.

Calling .NET from Unmanaged C++
Rating: none
Jim Dill - 02/01/2007
Learn how to develop C++ wrapper functions around .NET classes.

Consuming Unmanaged C++ Class Libraries from .NET Clients
Rating:
Andreas Wieberneit - 04/01/2004
Learn how Managed C++ code can wrap Unmanaged C++ class libraries so they can be used from .NET clients written in C# or VB.NET.

Why Don't I Get Those Keywords?
Rating:
Kate Gregory - 03/01/2004
Do you ever get jealous when you're reading code in other managed languages? Code that uses keywords such as Property and Delegate and using. Have you ever wondered whether you could use those in your C++ applications? You can, but it's not always obvious how to do so.

Arranging Custom Marshaling With P/Invoke
Rating:
Kate Gregory - 10/30/2003
Learn how to arrange custom marshaling for function parameter when using P/Invoke to access a legacy function from Visual C++.

Marshaling and Conversion with P/Invoke
Rating: none
Kate Gregory - 10/21/2003
Learn why you need P/Invoke if you would like to control the marshaling or conversions associated with a call to a function where data types may need to be converted.

Head-Spinning Continued: The Managed Wrapper
Rating: none
Kate Gregory - 09/30/2003
Yes, you can leave your legacy C++ class as native code and still use it from C# or Visual Basic .NET.

Head-Spinning Continued: The XCopy Port
Rating: none
Kate Gregory - 09/26/2003
Make that old legacy C++ code available to managed code  It's a lot less work than you might expect!

Head-Spinning Continued: Who needs P/Invoke?
Rating: none
Kate Gregory - 08/29/2003
Is P/Invoke needed when working with DLLs in C++? Discover the answer as well as the It Just Works feature of Visual C++ .NET.

Head-Spinning Continued: P/Invoke
Rating: none
Kate Gregory - 08/26/2003
Learn how to wrap your legacy code into a DLL and then call it from both managed and unmanaged code.

Interop: A Look at Managed C++
Rating: none
Jason Clark - 12/05/2002
Interop features allow managed .NET code to interface with legacy unmanaged code. Now is your chance to learn about the forms of interop built into the .NET Framework Common Language Runtime.

Moving from Unmanaged

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Visual C++ 2008 Feature Pack: MFC Enhancements
Rating:
Nick Wienholt - 04/07/2008
Hot on the heels of the significant MFC updates that were delivered with the release of Visual Studio 2008, the Visual C++ 2008 Feature Pack significantly boosts the ability of MFC to deliver modern-looking user interfaces that will be familiar to Windows and Office users. Look at these new controls and see how MFC developers can significantly improve their application's look and feel.

Speeding Up .NET
Rating:
Bill Hatfield - 07/31/2007
.NET programmers can become a little lazy when it comes to performance optimization. Discover a few easy tips to keep performance at a peak!

Breaking Changes in Visual C++ 2005
Rating:
Bradley Jones - 03/30/2005
There are a number of changes in Visual C++ 2005 that can break your existing programs. The Visual C++ product team has identified some of the changes most likely to impact you.

Converting Between Native and Managed Types
Rating:
darwen - 08/30/2004
Learn how to convert memory and strings between native C++ and managed C++.NET.

What is Shadowing, and Is It True that C++ Does It?
Rating:
Kate Gregory - 03/01/2004
If I have a method in my base class that takes an integer, and I write an overload of that method in a derived class that takes something different, can I still call the original method that was inherited from the base class? The answer might surprise you.

Head-Spinning Interoperability between Managed and Native C++
Rating:
Kate Gregory - 07/22/2003
Chances are, if you are using C++ and moving to .NET, you won't want to rewrite all your existing C++ code. Kate begins a series of articles on the various ways you can reuse old C++ code in new Managed C++ projects.

Processes & Threads

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A Fast Version of Conway's Game of Life with Thread and DirectX Draw
Rating: none
JerryJiang - 04/14/2009
Sample code for a fast version of Conway's Game of Life with thread and DirectX draw.

[Updated] Creating a C++ Thread Class
Rating:
Walter Capers - 11/16/2007
Learn how to create a simple platform-independent C++ thread class.

Build a Maintenance Application with the XmlTextWriter/XmlTextReader Classes
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 05/27/2005
Tom Archer presents a step-by-step tutorial for building an application that uses the .NET XML classes to read and write video information to an XML file.

Managed C++: Authenticating Users via Hash Codes
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 01/27/2005
For situations when a company doesn't want the responsibility of maintaining a user password file, Tom Archer presents a mechanism that stores and uses the hash codes of passwords instead of the actual passwords to validate users.

Managed C++: Working with Windows Event Logs
Rating: none
Tom Archer - MSFT - 12/23/2004
Learn how to enumerate local and remote event logs, instantiate an EventLog object for a specific event log, create a custom event log specific to your application, and delete an event log.

Managed Extensions: Using GDI+ Brushes to Draw Text
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 10/19/2004
Tom Archer illustrates how the combination of Managed Extensions and GDI+ enable you to draw gradient and hatched text with only a few lines of C++ code.

Managed Extensions: Tracking User Idle Time Without Hooks
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 10/04/2004
Hooks aren't always your best option for tracking user idle time. Not only are they often difficult to write, but they also must be loaded into every desktop process and they can trigger some anti-spyware software. Tom Archer offers a more efficient technique.

Process Spectator: View All Running Processes with Modules and Thread Details
Rating:
Ajay Vijayvargiya - 08/13/2003
View detailed information on processes, threads, and modules using .NET Framework classes in an MFC application. Allows you to kill/close processes as well.

Templates

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Partial Template Specialization with Visual C++ .NET 2003
Rating:
Kate Gregory - 06/04/2003
C++ templates are like a secret weapon for developers. Those who never got around to learning C++ because "it's really complicated" and "it has all kinds of funky features no one would ever use" have no idea what we can do with templates. Now to learn about templates and the dramatic improvements in Visual C++ .NET!

Visual Studio .NET 2003

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Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 Now Available!
Bradley L. Jones - 04/17/2005
Beta 2 of Visual Studio 2005 is now available for download for MSDN subscribers. Learn how you can get it too.

Using Regular Expressions to Parse for E-Mail Addresses
Rating:
Tom Archer - MSFT - 04/12/2005
The final installment of Tom Archer's series on using the .NET regular expression classes from Managed C++ presents several complex patterns that allow you to locate almost any valid e-mail address from a body of text.

Visual C++: Protecting Against Buffer Overruns with the /GS Switch
Rating:
Nick Wienholt - 10/06/2004
Visual C++.NET supports the automatic detection of stack-based buffer overruns through the use of the /GS compiler switch. Learn why stack-based buffer overruns are so serious, and how /GS and other Visual C++ settings can combat them.

A C++ Macro to Stub Interface Methods
Rating:
Kate Gregory - 05/17/2004
Learn about a macro for use with a class that implements one or more interfaces. When you run the macro, it adds empty function bodies for all the functions in the interface.

Visual Studio .NET 2003, aka Everett, for the C++ Programmer
Rating: none
Kate Gregory - 12/18/2002
Visual Studio .NET 2003 is of special interest to Visual C++ programmers, who get all kinds of neat stuff that was missing from the current released version.