Newbie Guide to MSDN (key links)

[Gary Beene]

In the last few months, as I've been learning PowerBASIC, I've had to visit MSDN a lot. Unfortunately, finding the good stuff was a lot of trial and error. Folks here told me to "look it up in MSDN" - easier said than done.

So, here's my (hopefully) helpful list of links to the primary MSDN topics that have been of value to me in learning PowerBASIC.

I actually like the MSDN content. It's generally well written and includes background/summary information that is useful to those of us who have not done much SDK-style programming. Finding the right page that addressed my PowerBASIC-related questions was the hard part.

Windows
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms632595(VS.85).aspx

Window Procedures
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms632593(VS.85).aspx

Messages
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms632590(VS.85).aspx

Dialog Boxes
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms632588(VS.85).aspx

Controls
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb773173(VS.85).aspx

Common Controls
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb773169(VS.85).aspx

Subclassing Controls
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb773183(VS.85).aspx

Window Procedure SuperClasssing
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms633569(VS.85).aspx#winproc_superclassing

Menus
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms646977(VS.85).aspx

Keyboard Input
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms645530(VS.85).aspx

Mouse Input
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms645533(VS.85).aspx

Clipboard
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms648709(VS.85).aspx

Cursors
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms646970(VS.85).aspx

If you have suggestions for a missed topic, add it to the thread!

[Cliff Nichols]

Subclassing VS SuperClassing?????


I "Get" subclassing....I don't "Get" superclassing sort of thought

[Gary Beene]

I've only seen a few forum posts on superclassing and don't know if it's barely occasionally useful, or if some folks use it all the time. I've not personally used it at all.

BTW, when I search the forums using "superclassing" I get only this thread. When I search "super classing" I got more useful stuff.

But, here's the MSDN Link and some captured text on superclassing. Perhaps it will help some.

Window Procedure SuperClasssing
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms633569(VS.85).aspx#winproc_superclassing

Superclassing is a technique that allows an application to create a new window class with the basic functionality of the existing class, plus enhancements provided by the application. A superclass is based on an existing window class called the base class. Frequently, the base class is a system global window class such as an edit control, but it can be any window class.

A superclass has its own window procedure, called the superclass procedure. The superclass procedure can take three actions upon receiving a message: It can pass the message to the original window procedure, modify the message and pass it to the original window procedure, or process the message and not pass it to the original window procedure. If the superclass procedure processes a message, it can do so before, after, or both before and after it passes the message to the original window procedure.

Unlike a subclass procedure, a superclass procedure can process window creation messages (WM_NCCREATE, WM_CREATE, and so on), but it must also pass them to the original base-class window procedure so that the base-class window procedure can perform its initialization procedure.