Session 1

Overview of the IDE, building from the command line, simple Windows application

Session #1

The main topic of this session was to present the IDE environment and show how a minimal windows application is built.

A "bare-bones" Windows application:
Manual1.cppForm1.cpp
#include <vcl.h>
USEFORM("Form1.cpp", theForm);
WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE, HINSTANCE, LPSTR, int)
{
  Application->Initialize();
  Application->CreateForm(__classid(TForm), &theForm);
  Application->Run();
  return 0;
}

#include <vcl.h>
TForm *theForm;







  
Compile (You can compile both at the same time as well):

bcc32 -c Manual1.cpp
bcc32 -c Form1.cpp



Link (all on one line):

ilink32 -x -L"C:\Program Files (x86)\Borland\BDS\4.0\lib\debug;C:\Program Files (x86)\Borland\BDS\4.0\lib;C:\Program Files (x86)\Borland\BDS\4.0\lib\obj" 
c0w32.obj Manual1.obj Form1.obj,Manual1.exe,,rtl.lib vcl.lib import32.lib cp32mt.lib,, 





The application at runtime: (Exciting, eh?)






There are batch files to build everything and to just link the program. You can
download all of the files in this zip.










A slightly more complicated application. It demonstrates deriving a form from the base class TForm and creating components (objects) at runtime in the constructor.






Manual2.cppMyForm2.cpp





#include <vcl.h>
USEFORM("MyForm2.cpp", MyForm2);
WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE, HINSTANCE, LPSTR, int)
{
  Application->Initialize();
  Application->CreateForm(__classid(TMyForm2), &MyForm2);
  Application->Run();
  return 0;
}






#include <vcl.h>
#include "MyForm2.h"
#pragma resource "*.dfm"

TMyForm2 *MyForm2;

__fastcall TMyForm2::TMyForm2(TComponent* Owner) : TForm(Owner)
{
  AddText = new TButton(this);
  AddText->Parent = this;
  AddText->Left = 20;
  AddText->Top = 20;
  AddText->Caption = "Add text";

  Edit = new TEdit(this);
  Edit->Parent = this;
  Edit->Left = AddText->Left + AddText->Width + 5;
  Edit->Top = AddText->Top;
  Edit->Width = 150;

  ListBox = new TListBox(this);
  ListBox->Parent = this;
  ListBox->Left = AddText->Left;
  ListBox->Top = AddText->Top + AddText->Height + 5;
  ListBox->Width = AddText->Width + Edit->Width + 5;
  ListBox->Height = 100;

  AddText->OnClick = ClickButton;
}

void __fastcall TMyForm2::ClickButton(TObject *)
{
  ListBox->Items->Add(Edit->Text);
}







MyForm2.dfm (Resource file)





object MyForm2: TMyForm2
end






MyForm2.h





class TMyForm2 : public TForm
{
  private:
    TButton *AddText;
    TEdit *Edit;
    TListBox *ListBox;
  public:
    __fastcall TMyForm2(TComponent* Owner);
    void __fastcall ClickButton(TObject *);
};










	
The application at runtime:






You can download all of the files in this zip.












Another slightly more complicated application. It demonstrates creating components in the resource file 
(and handled in the __published section of the class).






Manual3.cppMyForm3.cpp





#include <vcl.h>
USEFORM("MyForm3.cpp", MyForm3);
WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE, HINSTANCE, LPSTR, int)
{
  Application->Initialize();
  Application->CreateForm(__classid(TMyForm3), &MyForm3);
  Application->Run();
  return 0;
}






#include <vcl.h>
#include "MyForm.h"
#pragma resource "*.dfm"

TMyForm3 *MyForm3;

__fastcall TMyForm3::TMyForm3(TComponent* Owner) : TForm(Owner)
{
  AddText = new TButton(this);
  AddText->Parent = this;
  AddText->Left = 20;
  AddText->Top = 20;
  AddText->Caption = "Add text";

  Edit = new TEdit(this);
  Edit->Parent = this;
  Edit->Left = AddText->Left + AddText->Width + 5;
  Edit->Top = AddText->Top;
  Edit->Width = 150;

  ListBox = new TListBox(this);
  ListBox->Parent = this;
  ListBox->Left = AddText->Left;
  ListBox->Top = AddText->Top + AddText->Height + 5;
  ListBox->Width = AddText->Width + Edit->Width + 5;
  ListBox->Height = 100;

  AddText->OnClick = ClickButton;
}

void __fastcall TMyForm3::ClickButton(TObject *)
{
  ListBox->Items->Add(Edit->Text);
}







MyForm3.dfm (Resource file)





object MyForm3: TMyForm3
  object Button: TButton
    Caption = 'Hello'
    Left = 200
    Top = 180
  end
  object Scroll: TScrollBar
    Kind = sbVertical
    Align = alRight
    Width = 16
  end
end






MyForm3.h





class TMyForm3 : public TForm
{
  __published:
    TButton *Button;
    TScrollBar *Scroll;
  private:
    TButton *AddText;
    TEdit *Edit;
    TListBox *ListBox;
  public:
    __fastcall TMyForm3(TComponent* Owner);
    void __fastcall ClickButton(TObject *);
};










	
The application at runtime:







You can download all of the files in this zip.






Exercises





    

  1. Try these examples on your own. This will tell you if you have installed the IDE correctly on 
	your computer.

  2. I spent some time during the presentation talking about all of the things that are
	wrong (from a usability perspective) with this very simple application that copies the text from the edit box (TEdit) into the 
	list box (TListBox) when the user clicks the button (TButton). 
	I then discussed various ways that these usability problems could be solved and implemented some of them.
	

    

    

    

    









    

    
	
Re-create this application and solve some of the problems any way you see fit. (Note: This is a little challenging since I
haven't really talked a lot about how to work in the IDE yet. However, some of you might be up for the challenge.) Reminder: Some of the
issues are that I mentioned:

      

    1. You can only copy the text to the list box using the mouse and clicking the button. (Should be able to do it with the keyboard)
      2. 

    2. Text persists in the edit box after being copied. (Clear it? Highlight it? Something else?)
      3. 

    3. The focus is on the button when the application first starts. (Should be in the edit box)
      4. 

    4. Allows empty lines to be copied. (Should this be allowed? Also, think about leading/trailing spaces and if they are desirable.)
      5. 

    5. Maybe disable (grey-out) the button when the edit box is empty and enable it if there are characters present.
(Hint: look at the OnChange event of the edit box)
      6. 

    6. Make sure the edit box and list box get properly resized when the window is resized.
      7. 

    7. Other things as you see fit...