Re: True standard Windows app in Python?

From: David Bolen (db3l_at_fitlinxx.com)
Date: 12/31/03 

Date: 30 Dec 2003 19:00:21 -0500

alan.gauld@btinternet.com (Alan Gauld) writes:

> No, there are several things that you can do using the Win32 API
> that you can't do with MFC. Also winall doesn't expose all of MFC
> (last time I looked, although it does do the 80%(95%!) that you
> need most.
>
> This is especially true when you start to get into controlling
> strange peripheral devices etc. MFC is great for standard
> business type apps but it is not 100% complete win32 coverage.

This was also addressed in some of the other responses, but I had to
mention that I found it interesting that it would appear that your
past experience yields a perspective that Windows programming is MFC,
with the Win32 API being a really low layer interface. Anything
outside of MFC support is a "strange peripheral device"? :-)

>From my perspective, MFC is a particular high level GUI package that
you might or might not use, but the Win32 API is definitely the way to
program for Windows. I've rarely ended up using MFC (and never since
moving to Python/wxPython), but I did and still do use the Win32 API
all of the time (whether from Python or other languages). True, Win32
is lower level than MFC, but to me, it's the normal level, rather than
a low level (low level on Windows would be the kernel or device driver
interfaces).

And since I can get to the Win32 API in general (even if not wrapped
with win32all, there's the older calldll and the newer ctypes), I
always figured there was very little that that Python couldn't do
under Windows if I needed it. But again, that's thinking of the Win32
API and ignoring MFC entirely.

Anyway, I just found it interesting how past experience (and the sorts
of apps we've probably worked on) can bias a viewpoint to what it
means to program for a specific system.

For the obligatory in-context comment, for me, I cover true standard
Windows apps with Python+wxPython+installer+InnoSetup.

-- David

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Binding MFC dll onto .Net VC code because .net class never support
    ... ..NET *Compact* Framework is used on Windows Mobile and Windows CE devices, ... if you think about it; how big is the .NET Framework? ... Most of the Win32 API on Windows CE matches the Win32 API on the desktop. ... There's no way to 'bind MFC to managed code' and MFC is not a model for ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsce.embedded.vc)
  • Re: VCL
    ... MFC and VCL were designed with quite different goals in mind. ... Because VCL is quite a thick wrapper around the underlying Win32 API one ... > programmers or at least programmers new to OOP. ...
    (microsoft.public.vc.mfc)
  • Re: Cryptogram Comment
    ... What MFC did was to provide a single ... > Win32 API, but there's a lot that it makes considerably easier. ... C and Perl being ... >> Well then you would be for SP2 disabling pirated WinXP installs? ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: What s the difference between win32 app and MFC
    ... A Win32 Windows application can be written entirely in the Win32 API, ... I just wonder is it possible to mix both use win32 API and MFC in a win32 ... > Windows application. ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.vc)
  • Re: What to learn?
    ... > MFC. ... what is a good source for learning the windows programming ... If you want to stick with C++, you can learn Win32 API ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.general)