Re: C++ Programmer's Goldmine is on line now: http://www.cppgoldmine.comze.com/
"Jonathan Wood" <jwood@softcircuits.com> wrote in message
news:%23yaUkMAeJHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
So, I guess you're saying the controls themselves would have to change to
have docking, expandable, etc. properties, more similar to .NET.
Yup. Like .NET and other modern GUI frameworks.
I understand that, although it could still be accomplished by an MFC
developer. But let me say that I'm VERY glad that MS is providing the
ribbon bar, etc. instead of me buying it from a third-party developer.
In the case of the ribbon, I think the implementation is not very good
compared to CodeJock, so I would still buy CodeJock. Net result for me: 0.
Building block components such as these give us more chance to use them
in many instances of our own apps and is what MS is uniquely capable of
providing. Whereas any reputable component vendor is capable of
delivering quality end-user controls like ribbons. That's why it is
important for MS to deliver these building blocks instead of end user
controls. It also tells me that MS really hasn't invested much in MFC
internals since that is not required for things like the ribbon. Before
saying anything about renewed commitment to MFC, I would expect MS to do
something like re-hire Mike B. to give the MFC internals a thorough
overhaul to once again be able to call MFC a modern GUI framework vs. a
legacy GUI framework.
Of course, one issue with MFC is how widely used it is. Breaking
compatibility with older apps cannot be done lightly.
Adding modern constructs like design-time facilities, properties, delegates,
etc. does not have to break compatibility.
They will definitely have a ribbon designer coming up. They are already
talking about using XML and other things that will lend themselves very
well to just that.
So they say... but it is not promised in Dev10. How many years does it
take? If we have to wait for Dev12 for it... it's not worth talking about.
In the end, it sounds like you'd like something more along the lines of
what Delphi does where you can layout a lot of your window design at
design time. I've wished for this myself. But that's not likely any time
soon.
One of the reasons why MFC is not a modern GUI framework.
And I find MFC is still better for some tasks than any other tool.
I do too, but these tasks are increasingly legacy, and less and less used.
It's very hard to find MFC jobs these days. The great work done up until
the VC6 timeframe is still great today, but the influence is diminishing.
So, yeah, I'm thrilled about Microsoft adding new functionality to MFC and
I expect to see more in future releases.
I think it's a step in the right direction, but it will require more than
rebundling BCGSoft components for me to recognize a renewed commitment to
make MFC more than the legacy framework. As it is, I don't think they would
have done that without the mandate to make the ribbon be everywhere, which
of course is not the same as a mandate to renew commitment to MFC. I'm just
asking that you recognize the difference.
-- David