Libraries Shared Across Languages
When you write managed C++, you have access to all of the
managed code libraries that come with the .NET Framework: the Base
Class Libraries, ADO.NET, ASP.NET, and so on. These libraries are
modern and powerful. They provide services, such as XML processing,
that weren't even thought of when older libraries such as MFC and
ATL were first written.
In sharp contrast to the historical capabilities of C++ and
Visual Basic, on the .NET Framework these two languages share the
same class libraries. Every library class and method that's
available from Visual Basic is available from managed C++ and from
C#. Every library class and method that's available from C# is
available from Visual Basic and Managed C++.
The advantages of a shared class library are many. They
include
-
Reduced learning time when moving from one .NET-supported
language to another
-
A larger body of samples and documentation, because these do not
need to be language specific
-
Better communication between programmers who work in different
.NET-supported languages
THE C++ ADVANTAGE
C++ can use the same class libraries as C# and VB.NET. Does it
work the other way around? No. There are libraries of unmanaged
code available from managed C++ that cannot be called from Visual
Basic or C#ATL and MFC are just two examples. However, it's
unlikely
that a Visual Basic or C# programmer would want to use
those libraries, because their functionality is provided elsewhere;
the capability to call them from managed C++ helps simplify a port
from unmanaged to managed C++.
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SHOP TALK: WORKING IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES
I have a small consulting firm, and often our
clients
specify
the programming language we are to use for a project. When several
projects are on the go at once, I might switch languages several
times in the course of a single day, as I help my
associates
with
problems or track down the last few
bugs
in systems that are almost
finished.
Before I starting using the .NET Framework, about once a month
I'd suffer a "brain freeze" and for a moment or two forget how to
perform some really simple task, like determining whether a string
contains a particular character, in the language of the moment.
Usually at those times my fingers would start typing the method or
operator in
randomly
chosen
other languages or libraries: Perl,
Visual Basic, MFC, STL, Javaanything except the one I wanted. Now,
with a common set of libraries across languages, I don't have to
"context switch" nearly as oftenand I avoid those "deer in the
headlights" moments.
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In the past, just because you knew how to perform a specific
task, such as writing some text to a file in Visual C++, didn't
mean you knew how to do that same task in Visual Basic. A great
tutorial you found on database access in Visual Basic wasn't much
help if you wanted to write your database application in Visual
C++. Now, as long as you're working in managed C++, the
walkthroughs, tutorials, and samples you find for any managed
languageand you'll find plenty for Visual Basic and C#are equally
applicable
to Visual C++. You'll have to translate the actual
language elements, of course, but an explanation of a particular
class or a method of that class is valid no matter which .NET
supported language you intend to use.
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