Microsoft Visual C++ version 5.0 includes the following new features and tools:
For information on features that have been added or changed since ATL version 1.1, see What's New in ATL 2.1.
These libraries now conform to the ANSI C++ (X3J16) Working Paper dated September 24, 1996, ANSI Doc No. X3J16/96-0178 WG21/N0996. This paper was produced by the Stockholm meeting of July 1996.
OLE DB is a set of OLE interfaces that provide applications with uniform access to data stored in diverse information sources. These interfaces support the amount of database functionality appropriate to the data source, enabling it to share its data.
The OLE DB Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of software components, tools, and documentation designed to help you in developing OLE DB consumers and providers for the Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems.
This utility enables you look up system error messages, including OLE HRESULTs, by their value. You can drag and drop error values from the debugger, or copy and paste, or type them in. You can enter values in hexadecimal or decimal format. The error message text that ERRLOOK returns can be copied and pasted to other applications. ERRLOOK has context-sensitive help that describes how to use the utility.
Visual C++ 5.0 ships with several new samples. For more information, see the Samples home page.
These features are supported only in Visual C++ Enterprise Edition. For more information, see Visual C++ Editions.
Microsoft Visual C++ version 5.0 Enterprise Edition provides the following new features and tools for developing and validating enterprise applications:
Note In version 5.0, the shell for Visual C++ was called Developer Studio.
Developer Studio includes the following new features:
Use Visual Basic Script to automate routine or repetitive tasks. Macro recording allows quick authoring. You can manipulate Developer Studio and its components as objects. This means you can automate tasks that include opening, editing, or closing documents, or sizing windows. You can also create integrated add-ins using Developer Studio's object model.
You can create new classes using MFC, ATL, or your own classes. You can use folders to organize classes the way you want in ClassView.
ClassView also now provides the ability to view and edit interfaces for COM objects implemented in MFC or ATL.
You can customize toolbars and menus with greater flexibility, to fit the way you work. For example, you can:
You can connect to running applications and debug them, and use macro language support to automate the debugger.
Workspace files now have the extension .dsw (formerly .mdp). Project files now have the extension .dsp (formerly .mak).
Build files have been separated into two types: internal (.dsp) and external (.mak). Internal build files are created when you create a new project within the development environment or when you convert a project from a previous version. Internal build files are not compatible with NMAKE. You can create an external build file, compatible with NMAKE, by clicking Export Makefile on the Project menu.
The process for creating new workspaces and files is easier: you use the same dialog box to create a workspace, a project, or a file, and you can create a new item and insert it into a project or workspace at the same time.
Your projects can contain active documents, such as spreadsheets and Word document files, and you can edit them without leaving the development environment.
The file workspacename.dsw, created when you create a workspace, is a new extension. The workspace file no longer includes data specific to your local computer. Now you can:
Use the WizardBar with dialog boxes to hook up code to the visual elements of your program.
The Accelerator, Binary, Dialog, and String editors support searching with the Find command to locate accelerator keys, ASCII strings, hexadecimal bytes, control IDs or labels, and specific strings.
If you are working on accelerators, dialog boxes, menus, or strings, and you need to make the same change to multiple items, you can do so by selecting all of the items you want to change and then clicking Properties on the View menu. When you have multiple items selected, the Properties command displays a Multiple Selection property page. The changes you make on this page apply to each item, and if you need to undo a change, you need to choose the Undo command only once.
The editor can color extensionless header files with the proper syntax coloring. For more information, see Setting Syntax Coloring.
If you want to distinguish clearly between the control and text areas of a source window, customize the color of the selection margin. This is especially useful when editing source files without much vertical alignment of elements, such as HTML.
The Find in Files command supports two separate output panes. This feature allows you to retain the output from a previous search.
What's This Help is contextual, specific Help for controls in dialog boxes and windows. To use this form of Help, click the What's This button, which appears as a ? in the upper-right corner of a dialog box or window. The cursor changes to a question mark and you can then click any control on a dialog box or window to display a short help topic about the control.
There are new wizards that you can use to create files, controls, and new types of projects.