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1.1     ! root        1: =======================================================================
        !             2:                    MICROSOFT (R) FOUNDATION CLASSES
        !             3: =======================================================================
        !             4: 
        !             5: ***********************************************************************
        !             6: ***               for Microsoft Windows (R) NT (tm)                 ***
        !             7: ***********************************************************************
        !             8: 
        !             9:                           BETA RELEASE 1
        !            10: 
        !            11: This is the Beta Release of the Microsoft (R) Foundation Classes for
        !            12: Microsoft Windows NT.  ENJOY!  Release notes can be found at
        !            13: the end of this file.
        !            14: 
        !            15: 
        !            16: -----------------------------------------------------------------------
        !            17: 
        !            18: This subdirectory contains the source code and example code for
        !            19: the Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) C++ library.  The MFC library is
        !            20: a C++ Application Framework designed primarily for use in developing 
        !            21: applications for Microsoft Windows.  The MFC library is used in
        !            22: conjunction with the tools provided with the NT beta release.
        !            23: 
        !            24: The MFC library consists of two groups of classes.  One set is
        !            25: designed for use with Microsoft Windows and includes classes
        !            26: tailored for GUI application programming, such as classes for
        !            27: windows, dialogs, controls, and menus.  The other classes
        !            28: are a set of lower level, non-graphical, general purpose classes
        !            29: designed to make it easier to write the part of your application 
        !            30: that is independent of the user interface, and includes classes 
        !            31: supporting collections, files, memory management, and 
        !            32: runtime support.  The Windows classes take advantage of the
        !            33: features provided by these general purpose classes.
        !            34: 
        !            35: The MFC library is designed to be efficient in both space
        !            36: and time.  There is a minimal execution time overhead, and
        !            37: the entire library, all 60 classes, is under 39K of executable code.
        !            38: 
        !            39: A complete introduction to the MFC library can be found in the
        !            40: Overview section of the "Class Reference" book.
        !            41: 
        !            42: 
        !            43: Windows Classes
        !            44: ---------------
        !            45: Microsoft Windows and C++ are "object-oriented" and the MFC
        !            46: library exploits the Windows operating environment.  The Windows
        !            47: C++ classes offer the following features:
        !            48: 
        !            49:     o  Robust Application Framework for Windows
        !            50:     o  Tight coupling to the Windows API
        !            51:     o  Significant reduction in API "surface area"
        !            52:     o  Complete classes for nearly all Windows objects
        !            53:     o  Efficient processing of Windows messages with message maps
        !            54:     o  Customizable window classes using C++ inheritance
        !            55:     o  Utility classes to make Windows programming easier
        !            56: 
        !            57: The Windows classes can be used in conjunction with all the standard
        !            58: Windows APIs and can easily incorporate existing Windows code.  In
        !            59: addition, the MFC Windows classes provide a seamless migration to
        !            60: the forthcoming 32-bit Windows API.
        !            61: 
        !            62: 
        !            63: General Purpose Classes
        !            64: -----------------------
        !            65: The general purpose classes are useful both with and without Windows.
        !            66: If you are writing a program that does not use Windows, you can
        !            67: still take advantage of the MFC library for your application's
        !            68: user interface independent code.  All of the features are optional
        !            69: and will incur no runtime overhead if you choose not to use them.  The
        !            70: general purpose C++ classes include the following features:
        !            71: 
        !            72:     o  Common base class for many classes
        !            73:     o  Runtime type and metaclass support
        !            74:     o  Persistent objects
        !            75:     o  Collection classes based on ANSI C++ template syntax
        !            76:     o  String class
        !            77:     o  Time and Date classes
        !            78:     o  File classes
        !            79:     o  Exception handling based on ANSI C++ syntax
        !            80:     o  Diagnostic and debugging support
        !            81: 
        !            82: 
        !            83: Support for Windows 3.1 features
        !            84: --------------------------------
        !            85:      The Microsoft Foundation classes provide support for the
        !            86:      enhancements provided in Windows version 3.1. The following
        !            87:      features are described in technical notes in the
        !            88:      \NT\MSTOOLS\MFC\DOC directory and demonstrated in sample programs in
        !            89:      \NT\MSTOOLS\MFC\SAMPLES. These API functions are documented only in
        !            90:      the Help system. The following list describes the enhancements 
        !            91:      that can be used to develop applications for both Windows 3.0 
        !            92:      and Windows 3.1.
        !            93: 
        !            94:      o The development and use of custom controls is supported. In
        !            95:        addition, owner draw controls and bitmap buttons are provided. 
        !            96:        See TN014.TXT and the sample application CTRLTEST.
        !            97: 
        !            98:      o To improve robustness, the Microsoft Foundation Class Library 
        !            99:        fully supports the STRICT data types defined in the Windows 3.1 
        !           100:        interface file, WINDOWS.H.
        !           101: 
        !           102:      o Common dialog operations are now supported with easily
        !           103:        customized classes including CFileDialog (for both File Open
        !           104:        and File Save As), CFindReplaceDialog (to implement modeless
        !           105:        find and replace), CColorDialog (for color selection),
        !           106:        CPrintDialog (for both print setup and print), and
        !           107:        CFontDialog (for font selection). These new dialogs are
        !           108:        described in TN013.TXT.
        !           109: 
        !           110:      o Dialog boxes now feature a gray background which is easily 
        !           111:        customized.
        !           112: 
        !           113:      o OLE servers now register themselves at startup so that
        !           114:        users do not need to use REGEDIT.EXE.
        !           115:     
        !           116:      o Using multiple inheritance with Microsoft Foundation
        !           117:        classes is demonstrated in the sample application MINSVRMI,
        !           118:        a small OLE server that uses multiple inheritance.
        !           119: 
        !           120:      o For applications that target Windows 3.1 only, the Microsoft 
        !           121:        Foundation Class Library supports the most useful new Windows 
        !           122:        3.1 API functions and messages.
        !           123: 
        !           124: 
        !           125: Why use the Microsoft Foundation library instead of C and the SDK?
        !           126: ------------------------------------------------------------------
        !           127: The MFC library has many advantages over using the traditional
        !           128: C techniques in the Microsoft Software Development Kit for Windows.
        !           129: Some of these advantages include:
        !           130: 
        !           131:     o  MFC decreases the API surface area; the SDK is a catalog of
        !           132:     hundreds of functions, whereas the MFC library takes advantage
        !           133:     of the inheritance and polymorphism supported by C++ to organize
        !           134:     the Windows APIs in a logical and manageable manner.
        !           135: 
        !           136:     o  MFC provides a standard Windows application startup; the
        !           137:     MFC class CWinApp implements the functionality normally provided
        !           138:     in WinMain.
        !           139: 
        !           140:     o  MFC encapsulates Windows behavior; the class structure
        !           141:     and data encapsulation supported by C++ safely hides many
        !           142:     of the details that programmers need not concern themselves
        !           143:     with.
        !           144: 
        !           145:     o  MFC handles many details of Windows programming;  gone are
        !           146:     the days of registering Window classes or MakeProcInstance.
        !           147: 
        !           148:     o  MFC provides a object-oriented mechanism for routing
        !           149:     Windows messages;  the message map supported by each window
        !           150:     C++ class provides a cleaner and less error prone mechanism for
        !           151:     handling the mapping of Windows messages to member functions.
        !           152:     Messages, commands, and notifications can be handled in this
        !           153:     object-oriented manner.
        !           154: 
        !           155:     o  MFC taps the power of C++.  C++ supports many features that
        !           156:     make writing programs easier, such as type safety, encapsulation,
        !           157:     inheritance, and polymorphism, that when used in conjunction with
        !           158:     MFC provides the best technique for writing Windows programs
        !           159:     in C++.
        !           160: 
        !           161: 
        !           162: Usage
        !           163: -----
        !           164: Source code is provided so that you can build the library target
        !           165: that you require.  The file SRC\README.TXT contains instructions for
        !           166: building the library.
        !           167: 
        !           168: Before using the MFC library in your own code be sure that the
        !           169: MFC\INCLUDE subdirectory is in your INCLUDE environment variable.
        !           170: 
        !           171: 
        !           172: Subdirectories
        !           173: --------------
        !           174: The MFC subdirectory contains several subdirectories.  Nearly every
        !           175: subdirectory contains a README.TXT file that describes the
        !           176: directory's contents.  The following subdirectories are present:
        !           177: 
        !           178:     DOC\        - MFC technical notes describing implementation details.
        !           179:     INCLUDE\    - MFC header files.
        !           180:     SRC\        - MFC source files and instructions for building a library.
        !           181:     LIB\        - MFC libraries in binary form.
        !           182:     SAMPLES\    - MFC sample applications.
        !           183: 
        !           184: 
        !           185: Documentation
        !           186: -------------
        !           187: The NT release of the MFC library ships with both on-line Quickhelp
        !           188: documentation only. No MFC printed documentation is available with this
        !           189: release, but the printed MFC documentation provided with the Microsoft
        !           190: C/C++ 7.0 compiler can be used 'as-is'.
        !           191: 
        !           192: If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the Microsoft
        !           193: Foundation Classes, please let Microsoft know through the beta program
        !           194: liaison.
        !           195: 
        !           196: 
        !           197: NOTE
        !           198: ----
        !           199: 
        !           200: The Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) library source code is
        !           201: shipped "as is" and is designed for your own use and modification.
        !           202: Microsoft Product Support can only offer limited support regarding
        !           203: the MFC source code because of this benefit. 
        !           204: 
        !           205: Microsoft grants you a non-exclusive royalty-free right to use and 
        !           206: modify the source code contained in any Microsoft Foundation Classes 
        !           207: source code file for purposes of creating a software product.  
        !           208: However, you may not include this code in source form (or 
        !           209: any modified version of it) within any software product.   
        !           210: 
        !           211: Notwithstanding the Microsoft End User License Agreement, THIS SOURCE 
        !           212: CODE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.  YOU AGREE THAT 
        !           213: NEITHER MICROSOFT NOR ANYONE ELSE INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR 
        !           214: DELIVERING THE SOURCE CODE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, 
        !           215: CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES RELATING TO THE SOURCE CODE.
        !           216: 
        !           217: 
        !           218: Windows NT Release Notes:
        !           219: -------------------------
        !           220: 
        !           221: -- This beta release is a strict superset of the Microsoft C/C++ 7.0 release
        !           222:    of MFC.  Any applications written for the MFC C++ Windows API will
        !           223:    need only be recompiled using the 32 bit tools in this release in order
        !           224:    to run in full 32 bit mode.  For those familiar with MFC, you will
        !           225:    note that the sample applications included in this release are 
        !           226:    unchanged from the 16 bit release.  This release of MFC can be used
        !           227:    interchangeably with the Microsoft C/C++ 7.0 release.
        !           228: 
        !           229: -- In order to build the MFC sample applications you should have your
        !           230:    environment set as follows:
        !           231:         set NTMFC=1
        !           232:        set LIB=c:\mstools\lib   (note this is not a ';' list)
        !           233:        set INCLUDE=c:\mstools\mfc\include;c:\mstools\h
        !           234:    These may also be set on the NMAKE command lines if you wish.  If your
        !           235:    installation is on another drive or in another directory, then you
        !           236:    should change c:\nt\mstools accordingly.
        !           237: 
        !           238:    NOTE: THE INCLUDE PATH ESTABLISHED BY THE NT SDK SETUP PROGRAM WILL
        !           239:    NOT WORK FOR MFC COMPILES.  BEFORE COMPILING MFC CODE YOU MUST CHANGE
        !           240:    THE INCLUDE PATH AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.
        !           241: 
        !           242: -- The MFC\INCLUDE directory for this release contains copies of the
        !           243:    Windows NT header files.  The copies have several modifications made
        !           244:    in order to make them more consistent with C++ and the Windows 3.1
        !           245:    header files.  This is only for this beta release and these changes
        !           246:    will be folded into the header files in MSTOOLS\H for the next release.
        !           247:    You must use these in order to successfully build the MFC library or
        !           248:    any MFC sample applications.
        !           249: 
        !           250: -- Your PATH must include the Windows SDK Tools and Microsoft C/C++.
        !           251: 
        !           252: -- Online documentation is available via QuickHelp (QH.EXE).  The .HLP
        !           253:    files are located on the CD-ROM in MSTOOLS\HELP\QH. You must copy
        !           254:    the help files and the QuickHelp application (QH.EXE) from the CD-ROM
        !           255:    to your target hard disk yourself -- the NT SDK setup program will not
        !           256:    install Quickhelp documentation.
        !           257: 
        !           258:    Windows WinHelp files for MFC are not currently available.
        !           259: 
        !           260: -- This beta release of MFC does not include DLL support.
        !           261: 
        !           262: -- Do not use the /Zp switch for MFC applications.  If you do some system
        !           263:    calls may not work (such as COMMDLG).
        !           264: 
        !           265: -- The COFF linker emits a warning when it does not extract any modules
        !           266:    from a .LIB.  The MFC sample applications will emit this warning which can
        !           267:    be ignored.
        !           268: 
        !           269: -- You may experience problems printing with the sample applications that
        !           270:    print.
        !           271: 
        !           272: -- The CHART sample application currently has several low level compiler
        !           273:    warnings that can be ignored.  These will be addressed.
        !           274: 
        !           275: -- The MULTIPAD sample application currently has an inconsistency with the
        !           276:    way it maintains the file MRU menu items.  This will be fixed.
        !           277: 
        !           278: -- The retail version of the MULTIPAD sample may fault on exit.        This
        !           279:    will be fixed in a future release.
        !           280: 
        !           281: -- The "self-draw" control functionality for custom menu items (demonstated
        !           282:    in the CTRLTEST sample application) currently behaves inconsistently.
        !           283:    This will be fixed.
        !           284: 
        !           285: -- The MINSVRMI sample application may fault.  This will be fixed.
        !           286: 
        !           287: -- CListBox::FindStringExact and CComboBox::FindStringExact do not
        !           288:    work correctly.  This will be fixed.
        !           289: 
        !           290: -- Debugging C++ applications is quite "challenging" with this release.  We
        !           291:    recommend the liberal use of trace statements and { _asm int 3 } lines
        !           292:    in your code.  The NTSD debugger does not currently permit the setting
        !           293:    of breakpoints on C++ member functions.  If you have global functions
        !           294:    that are not overloaded, then using the extern "C" construct will prevent
        !           295:    name decoration and permit the setting of breakpoints.  If all else fails,
        !           296:    you can always debug your MFC application using C/C++ 7.0 
        !           297:    on a machine running CodeView 4.0 and Windows 3.1.  The C++ expression
        !           298:    evaluator for WinDebug will be made available as soon as practical.

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