EZWindows with Microsoft Visual C++


Creating an EZWindows project with Microsoft Visual C++

This will be a step by step walk through of the process of creating a simple program with Microsoft Visual C++ and the EZWindows Graphical library.

Introduction

In this tutorial we will walk through the process of setting up a VC++ Workspace to use the EZWindows library. This is accomplished by adding the library to the project and telling the project where to look for header files and library files.

The first four steps is the same as creating a console application. The program we enter will, of course, use ApiMain() instead of a main() function. We'll use this code for our sample:

    #include "ezwin.h"
    #include "square.h"


    SimpleWindow MyWindow("EZWin Tutorial");

    int ApiMain() {
      SquareShape MySquare(MyWindow, Position(2, 2));

      MyWindow.Open();
      MySquare.Draw();
      return 0;
    }

A simple program to draw a square in the default color on a window.

After the code has been entered, we must tell the project to use the Visual C++ version of the EZWindows library and set the path to the header files and library file. Select Project->Settings from the menu. A dialog box should appear:

Settings dialog box

  1. Select the "C/C++" tab.
  2. On the "Category" pulldown menu, select "Preprocessor." Enter the path for the EZWindows header files in the text box labeled "Additional include directories". For the labs, this will be I:\ezwin\include.
    C/C++ Settings tab
  3. Select the "Link" tab.
  4. Under the "Category" pulldown menu, select "Input". At the beginning of the list of "Object/module libraries", enter the name of the EZWindows VC++ library. For the labs, enter "ezwinvc50.lib ". In the text box labeled "Additional library path" enter the path to the EZWindows library. This is I:\ezwin\lib in the labs.
  5. Press OK.
    C/C++ Settings tab

You may now compile, link, and run the program like any other VC++ program.

Our EZWindow!

If you forget to set the include directory, you will receive a message similar to this one:
k:\ms\visualstudio\myprojects\ezwintut\ezwintut.cpp(1) : fatal error C1083: Cannot open include file: 'ezwin.h': No such file or directory

Not putting the library file into the project will result in a message like:
ezwintut.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol "public: __thiscall SimpleWindow::SimpleWindow(char const *,float,float,class Position const &)" (??0SimpleWindow@@QAE@PBDMMABVPosition@@@Z)