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Supplement II.A: Visual C++ 2005 Tutorial
For Introduction to C++ Programming By Y. Daniel Liang
1 Introduction
Visual C++ is a component of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET for developing C++ programs. A free version named Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition is included in the book’s Companion CR-ROM. This section introduces how to create a project, create a program, compile and run the program.
2 Getting Started with Visual C++
Visual C++ is easy to install. If you need help on installation, please refer to V C++ Tutorial in the supplements.
Suppose you have installed Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition. You can launch VC++ from Windows Start button by choosing All Programs , Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition , Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition. The Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition user interface appears, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1
The VC++ user interface is a single window that performs editing, compiling, debugging, and running programs.
3 Creating a Project
To create C++ programs in VC++, you have to first create a project. A project is like a holder that ties all the files together. Here are the steps to create a project:
- Choose File , New , Project to display the New Project window, as shown in Figure 2.
- Choose Win32 in the project types column and Win32 Console Application in the Templates column. Type bookexample in the Name field and c:\smith in the Location field. Click OK to display The Win32 Application Wizard window, as shown in Figure 3.
- Click Next to display the application settings window, as shown in Figure 4.
- Select Console application in the Application type section and check Empty project in the Additional options section. Click Finish to create a project. You will see the project named bookexample in the solution explorer, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 2 You need to create a project before creating programs.
Figure 5 A project is created for C++ console applications.
4 Creating a C++ Program
After you created a project, you can create programs in the project. Here are the steps to create a C++ program for Listing 1.1:
- Choose Add, Add New Item from the context menu of the bookexample project (see Figure 6) to display the Add New Item window, as shown in Figure 7.
- Choose Code in the Categories column and C++ File (.cpp) in the Templates column. Enter Welcome in the Name field and c:\smith\bookexample\bookexample in the Location field. Click Add to create the file, as shown in Figure 8.
- Enter the code for Welcome.cpp exactly from Listing 1.1, as shown in Figure 9.
Solution explorer shows
Figure 6 You can open the Add New Item window from the project’s context menu.
Figure 7 You can specify the file type, name, and location to create a file.
Figure 10 Choose the Compile command to compile the program.
6 Running a C++ Program
To run the program, choose Debug , Start Without Debugging , or press Ctrl+F5. You will see a dialog box, as shown in Figure 11(a). Click Yes to continue. You will see the output is displayed in a DOS window, as shown in Figure 11(b).
(a) (b)
Figure 11 The output is displayed in a DOS window.
NOTE:
The Run command invokes the Compile command if the program is not compiled or was modified after the last compilation.
NOTE: Each project can have only one file that contains a main function. If you need to create another file with a main function, you have two options:
- Remove the current file that contains a main function from the project by choosing Remove from the context menu of the program, as shown in Figure 12. (Note that you can add an existing file to the project by choosing File , Add Existing Item .)
- Create a new project for the new program.
Figure 12 You can remove a file from a project.
***END NOTE
Figure 13
A breakpoint is set in ShowCurrentTime.cpp.
7.2 Starting the Debugger
To start debugging, set a break point at the first line in the main function and choose Debug , Start (or F5). If the program compiles without problems, debugging starts. You will see several small windows appearing at the bottom, as shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14
The debugging windows appear in the IDE.
The window on the left is called the variable window with three tabs at the bottom (Autos, Locals, and Watch). (If these windows do not appear, choose Debug , Windows to open these windows.)
- The Autos tab displays variables and expressions from the current line of code, and the preceding line of code. See Figure 15.
- The Locals tab (see Figure 16) displays all local variables in the current block of code. If you are inside of a function, the locals tab will display the function parameters and locally defined variables.
- The Watch tab (see Figure 17) display a variable state until you explicitly remove it from the window. You can add a variable to the watch window by right clicking a variable and selecting “Add Watch”.
Figure 16
The Locals window displays all variables in the block.
Figure 17
The Watchs window displays the variables you want to watch for.
7.3 Controlling Program Execution
The program pauses at a line called the current execution point. This line is highlighted and has a yellow arrow to the left. The execution point marks the next line of source code to be executed by the debugger.
When the program pauses at the execution point, you can issue debugging commands to control the execution of the program. You also can inspect or modify the values of variables in the program.
When VC++ is in the debugging mode, the Debug menu contains the debugging commands (see Figure 18). Most of the commands also appear in the toolbar under the message pane. The toolbar contains additional commands that are not in the Run menu. Here are the commands for controlling program execution:
If you need to include a header file from a directory that is different from the program directory, you need to add the directory in the project properties. For example, suppose Test.cpp needs to include Temp.h and Temp.h is in c:\teacher. Follow the steps below to add c:\teacher in the project property dialog box:
- Right-click on Test.cpp in the Solution explorer to display a context dialog box, as shown in Figure 19.
- Choose Properties to display Project Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 20.
- Enter c:\teacher in the Additional Include Directories field.
Figure 19
You can customize project properties in VC++.
Figure 20
C:\teacher is added in the path.
