How to quickly get started with Visual C++?

Question

I have just a few days to see if I can figure out how integrate with a third-party C++ API. While I've coded C++ once before, it was on linux using vim. This third-party API is windows-specific, and the minimal documentation available assumes the use of Visual C++.

I installed Visual Studio 2005 and created a new project, but I'm getting stuck on basics such as including a third-party dll.

Can anyone suggest a book or online tutorial that will get me up to par on Visual C++ as quickly as possible? Note that I'm not looking to learn the C++ language, but rather how to use Visual Studio as an IDE and how to code C++ on Windows.

Answer 1

I recommend starting with MSDN's Getting Started section for Visual C++. There are walkthroughs, examples, and other samples there that I'm sure will be useful. The link is for Visual Studio 2005, but there is also an equivalent for Visual Studio 2008 here.

However, the best way to get up-to-speed on something is often to try solving a problem using it. Therefore, I recommend having a mini-project to accomplish using Visual C++ and use that to learn it. Something simple like a Notepad replacement is not such a bad place to start.

Answer 2

you can start with this tutorial (it is old but good for startup)

Also this Visual C++ forum is very helpful

Finally check these tutorials

Answer 3

This is not a simple task. But if you know Java, it could be faster (and cooler) to learn C#. If it is a COM API, you can in fact use it with any .NET languages (well, most of the time).

Answer 4

Take a look at codeproject. It has a wealth of articles on all levels, covering almost every possible topic in Windows programming. And, being written by programmers and for programmers, they are usually very useful. Try their advance search to narrow down the options given the exact nature of your task. For starters, take a look at Step by Step: Calling C++ DLLs from VC++ and VB (VC6 is used and it's somewhat different in VC2005, but it's a good start).