Books on C++/CLI

  • Thread starter Thread starter _B
  • Start date Start date
 
_B said:
Are there any book covering C++/CLI yet?
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Not sure why you cross-post, but to answer your question, there are no books
that I know of. I wouldn't expect one before the end of this year (before
the C++/CLI ECMA TC has voted on the standard).
For the time being, your only source of information is the public draft of
the standard available from - http://www.plumhall.com/ecma/

Willy.
 
Not sure why you cross-post,
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I've been working mostly in C# over the past couple years. I've found
tons of valuable info on the C# group, including re the inevitable C++
bridges to unmanaged code. That's my main interest in C++/CLI.

Of course, if C++ does get rid of some of the extra baggage, I could
possibly return to C++ programming. <g> I do get a lot more done in
C#, but there's the problem of interfacing to large unmanaged libs.

OTOH, maybe C# will be retrofitted with a more elegant interface
mechanism for unmanaged code. It does represent a huge hole in the
design of the language, at least as far as use in current projects.
but to answer your question, there are no books
that I know of. I wouldn't expect one before the end of this year (before
the C++/CLI ECMA TC has voted on the standard).
For the time being, your only source of information is the public draft of
the standard available from - http://www.plumhall.com/ecma/
Click to expand...

Thanks, Willy. I've been reading bits and pieces here and there. I
was looking for something to connect the dots. Not sure if the spec
is intended to do that, but I'll give it another look. I was hoping
Richard Grimes would write the equivalent of his MS Press book on
unmanaged C++.
 
must read the question properly before jumping in with both feet? Duh!
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Reply appreciated anyway, Joe. I wish MS had thought to call the new
standard by another name. It does get confusing, and it's tougher to
search for info.
 
_B said:
Reply appreciated anyway, Joe. I wish MS had thought to call the new
standard by another name. It does get confusing, and it's tougher to
search for info.
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The ECMA TC is the owner of the standard, don't know if MSFT has proposed
this name. Anyway it's not confusing at all (at least not to me) C++/CLI
means C++ for the CLI and CLI means the Common Language Infrastructure -
both are seperate ECMA standards.

Willy.
 
_B said:
Of course, if C++ does get rid of some of the extra baggage, I could
possibly return to C++ programming. <g>
Click to expand...

Nobody is forcing you to use the "extra baggage" <g>. Some of us
actually like using it, however. It provides language additions which
..NET and C# have not even dreamed about.
 
Nobody is forcing you to use the "extra baggage" <g>.
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Hi Edward,

I was talking about stuff like function prototypes, which I am forced
to use (unless something has changed?). I understand that some see
the merit, but I personally find the multiple edit points distracting
and time-consuming. In general I have a much easier time reading and
maintaining C#. That's probably a very personal choice.
Some of us
actually like using it, however. It provides language additions which
.NET and C# have not even dreamed about.
Click to expand...

You mean in C++/CLI or in the older managed extensions? I'm too well
aware that it's still necessary to use C++ in a lot of places. I've
had to bridge a lot of my C# code with layers of managed/unmanaged C++
cause C# has no elegant provision for dealing with unmanaged code.
It's a time-consuming a bug-prone process, and un-does a lot of the
positives of C#.

In any event, I see merit in both languages, and I've programmed in
VC++/MFC for many years. With the advent of .NET I moved to C#, as I
found I could get programs modelled and running very quickly (with the
major qualification that they never access unmanaged code).

I still love C++ but I've found it relatively difficult for apps that
live entirely in managed-world. If C++/CLI brings a more transparent
syntax *plus* a smooth transition to unmanaged code, that's good
enough for me. I'd also be happy with "C#/CLI" if such a language is
ever proposed. Unmanaged code and legacy DLLs are not going away
soon, so I hope there's a more elegant mechanism in place for C#.
 
The ECMA TC is the owner of the standard, don't know if MSFT has proposed
this name. Anyway it's not confusing at all (at least not to me) C++/CLI
means C++ for the CLI and CLI means the Common Language Infrastructure -
both are seperate ECMA standards.
Click to expand...

Logic understood, Willy, but I think naming a new standard by
concatenating names of two previous standards generates some
confusion. Like Joe, I originally found myself looking thru CLI books
to see if they made any mention of C++ extensions.

On your recommendation, I took another look at the ECMA spec, but at
this point I'm looking more for focal points. I read Stroustrup's C++
spec cover to cover, but only after I had a pretty good understanding
of C++. I'm sure the ECMA C++/CLI spec will be useful later.

I printed out the Lippman docs (thanks). Funny, I've avoided his
books (and site) since trying to get through his original C++ book
years ago. He's obviously brilliant, but I found the rapid launch
into templates confusing. His C++/CLI info seems to be presented very
well though. Writing is tough.

I may be making too much of C++/CLI. After reading through original
managed extensions books I assumed it was going to be difficult. I'm
just trying to make sure I'll get significant milage from C++/CLI
before I bother loading the 2005 beta.
 
_B said:
Another thing...I just found out you can't use C++/CLI as a filename
(ha!) after absent-mindedly trying to bookmark Stan Lippman's upcoming
book: http://www.compman.co.uk/scripts/browse.asp?ref=729013
Due in September. I guess he'll have a pretty good grasp of what will
be in the final draft, even if the language isn't formally released
yet.
Click to expand...

While you are waiting for the book to get published you can start reading
Stan's blog articles http://blogs.msdn.com/slippman/default.aspx and some of
his recent "Pure C++" articles published in msdnmag
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/05/06/PureC/default.aspx.

Willy.
 
While you are waiting for the book to get published you can start reading
Stan's blog articles http://blogs.msdn.com/slippman/default.aspx and some of
his recent "Pure C++" articles published in msdnmag
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/05/06/PureC/default.aspx.

Willy.
Click to expand...

Hi Willy,

I think you already pointed me to Stan Lippman's articles (Thanks).

I have found some very lucid, well-sequenced articles on C++/CLI
on CodeProject. Direct URL is:

http://tinyurl.com/8xgwc

(I tinyurl'd that cause the actual url may have trouble in
translation... The +'s and the / again.)

Anyway, I know that you're already up on this. Posted for the benefit
of anyone listening in. CodeProject.com is a tremendous resource for
everything .net. Worth a look for anyone who hasn't been there.

B
 
Title: Pro Managed C++ and .NET 2.0 Development with Visual Studio .NET 2005
Author: Stephen R.G. Fraser
Publisher: APRESS
ISBN: 1-59059-469-X

Title: C++/CLI Essentials
Author: Stanley B. Lippman
Publisher: ADDISON-WESLEY
ISBN: 0321174054

I've written Addison-Wesley with the information above asking for publishing
dates…, no reply. The ISBN decodes correctly (as far as I can tell it's a
legitimate pattern with Addison-Wesley information). B&N.com originally had
the publish data as 4/29/05. I suspect the delay in SP2 probably made that
erroneous. I've seen references to people being "reviewers" of this book.
So I suspect it's real. But, I can get no confirmation.

Fraser's book title has been frozen for some time. I hope it's changed
before being published. Maybe he too doesn't like C++/CLI as a name.

Hope this is of some value. I know I've spent enough time looking for it.
Maybe we should all get together and write our own book and be done with it.
 
Perhaps the startings of a book would be the monthly tutorial articles
introducing C++/CLI, that Rex Jaeschke has been writing in "C/C++ Users
Journal" since January. They are avilable on-line, for people who subscribe
digitally to CUJ or Dr. Dobbs Journal or a related publication from CMP Media
(I think - I get so many confusing subscription offers from CMP that I'm not
really sure just **what** I subscribe to, except that I get multiple free and
paid copies of both of them, both at home and at work!).
 
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