A FEW OPENING WORDS

The process of learning something new can be challenging, but it can also be fun and deeply rewarding. This chapter provides a broad overview that will enable you to advance to later chapters.

This chapter starts with a quick overview of Visual C++ and the core concepts that go into making a program. Next, it offers a quick dash of history. The chapter then covers some of the capabilities of Visual C++ 2005 Express and where it fits into the Microsoft family of Visual Studio products. After that, it moves into foundational information about .NET. Finally, you experience creating your first Windows application.

As you read this book, don't worry about trying to understand each detail. You might be using commands before you understand what they mean. This might be somewhat confusing at first, but if you focus on the big picture, you'll progress to understanding the details in no time.

Each program you design and build gives you a better understanding of the tools necessary to create Windows applications. You also gain a solid understanding of the code behind these applications and the principles that make up the C++ language.