Visual C++ 2005 Programming guide v1.5

NOTE: This also works in Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise now, too!

Opening the IDE
 Start > All Programs > Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 > Visual C++ 6.0
 Start > All Programs > Microsoft Visual Studio 2005

Making a new project
 File > New... > Project
  (or press Control + Shift + N)
 Project types > Visual C++ > Win32 > Win32 Console Application
 Enter a name for the project ("guide" is used here)
 Press OK > Press Next
  Use the following settings:
   Application type - Console application
   Additional options - Precompiled header
 Press Finish

Editing the project for defaults
 Erase the comments (//text) from the top of the file and add your own
  Describe the beginning and end date, revision and / or version number
   and other important information.
 Change "int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])" to:
  "int main(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])"

Including standard libraries
 Add these at the beginning of your program to get extra functions:
  "stdafx.h"	- Visual Studio requires this.
  <iostream>	- Allows use of cout and cin. You probably want these.
  <cmath>	 	- Math. What else?
  <cstdlib>	 	- Lets you use things like strings. You probably want this.
  <string>	 	- Lets you use strings with cin.
  "windows.h"	- Windows-specific stuff, like beeps and bloops or time garbage.
  <time.h>		- Useful for getting system time and random numbers.

Including extra freebies
 Add these at the beginning of your program (after the includes) to get extra stuff:
  Pause function - Waits for user input.
  Requires	<iostream>
  Use		pause(option);
   void pause(int option)
   {
    char pauseVariable;
	if(option==0)
	 system("PAUSE");
	if(option==1)
	 system("PAUSE>NUL");
	if(option==2){
	 cout<<"Press any key and enter to continue..."<<endl;
	 cin>>pauseVariable;
	}
	return;
   }
  Linebreak function - Inserts the specified number of lines.
  Requires	<iostream>
  Use		brk(<number of lines>);
   void brk(int lines)
   {
    for(int i=0;i<lines;i++)
    {
     cout<<endl;
    }
   }
  Output animation function - Animates the string on output.
  Requires	<iostream>, "windows.h"
  Use		disp(<string>,<delay between characters(in ms)>)
   void disp(char text[16],short delay)
   {
    for(int i=0;i<16;i++)
    {
     cout<<text[i];
     Sleep(delay);
    }
    cout<<endl;
   }
  Random number generator - Returns a random integer.
  Requires "windows.h", <time.h>
  Use		<variable name>=rng(<number of sides>);
   int rng(int sides)
   {
	int out=rand()%sides+1;
	return out;
   }
  Clearscreen - Clears the terminal
  Requires "windows.h"
  Use		cls();
   void cls()
   {
    system("cls");
   }

Useful keyboard shortcuts
 Pressing Control + S saves the current project
 Pressing Control + Shift + S saves all open projects
 Pressing F5 will run the program in debug mode
 Pressing Shift + F5 will run the program without debug mode
 Pressing F7 will build the current project
 Pressing Control + Alternate + F7 will rebuild the current project
 Pressing Control + N will add a new source file to the project
 Pressing Control + Shift + N will make a new project
 Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 also supports editing commands:
  Control + Z - Undo
  Control + Y - Redo
  Control + X - Cut
  Control + V - Paste
  Control + C - Copy
  Control + A - Select All

Actually learning to program
 After creating a new project, import the appropriate libraries for the program you
  want to write. These are described above.
 Use the command:
  #include (put library here)
  to include libraries in your program. Ensure it is at the beginning.
 Below your include commands, called declarations, add the following line:
  using namespace std;
  This will tell VC++ that you want to use the standard namespace.
 After changing the details of main() as described earlier, open the loop (using the
  curly braces { and }) and insert your program here.

Some instructions and their syntax
 Common output
  Using the default C++ libraries you can use the following command to write text to
   the terminal:
   printf("Text");
    Printf supports the following formatting commands:
	 \a - System bell character (beep)
	 \n - Linebreak
  Using <iostream>, you can use the following command to write text to the terminal:
   cout<<"Text";
    Cout supports the following formatting commands:
	 endl - Linebreak
 You can't use some symbols without escape codes.
  The following characters are affected:
   \, ', ", ?
  To print these characters:
   \\, \', \". \?
 Formatting commands:
  \t	Horizontal tab
  \f	Form feed
  \v	Vertical tab
  \r	Carriage return (no new line)
  \b	Backspace

Variable initialization
 Variable types
  Static
   Does not change, program will not write to it.
   Define as static <variable type> <variable name>;
  Volatile
   Can change at random, whether in the program or outside of it.
    You shouldn't use this often, it's supposed to be reserved for things the hardware
	 can change, like the date and time or the amount of system memory free for use.
   Define as volatile <variable type> <variable name>;
  Normal
   Program can read and write to it.
 Variable values
  Boolean			True / False
   Initialize as bool <variable name>;
   True or false only using boolean logic.
  Floating Point	3.141592653589...
   Initialize as float <variable name>;
   Integers with a decimal that can move.
  Double Precision 4.99
   Initialize as double <variable name>;
   Integers with a fixed decimal to the hundredths position.
  Short Integer	16384
   Initialize as short <variable name>;
   Integers between -16384 and 16384.
  Long Integer		4294967296
   Initialize as long <variable name>;
   Integers between -4294967296 and 4294967296.
  Integer			72
   Initialize as int <variable name>;
   Integers that have varying values.
  Character		A
   Initialize as char <variable name>;
   A single character (0-9, A-Z, etc.)
  String			Hello, World!
   Initialize as char[<length>] <variable name>;
   A string of characters.
  Void
   Initialize as void <variable name>;
   Absolutely nothing.
  Array			ABCDXYZ
   Initialize as <variable type>[<length>] <variable name>;
   Holds an array of values.
  Matrix		1: ABC	2: XYZ
   Initialize as <variable type>[<width>][<length>] <variable name>;
   Holds multiple arrays of values.

Defining functions
 NOTE: Return type *cannot* be array or matrix!
 Use the following format:
 <return type> <function name>(<input variable type> <input variable name>,<same thing again>)
 {
 }
 For example:
 int add(int a,int b)
 {
  int c;
  c=a+b;
  return c;
 }
 Calling the function as such:
 d=add(1,2);
 Would result in D being 3.
 Another exmaple:
 float div(int a,int b)
 {
  int c;
  c=a/b;
  return c;
 }
 Calling the function as such:
 d=div(7,2);
 Would result in D being 3.5.
 Functions that return a void value do not need to return anything.
 For example:
 void brk()
 {
  cout<<endl;
 }
 When the function reaches the end, rather than returning a value it simply returns
  to the calling point in the program.
 In this case, calling the function like this:
 brk();
 Would result in a linebreak on the terminal.
 If you need to exit a void function early, you can use one of the following:
  return;	Just don't add a value.
  break;	If you want to be fancy and risk your program stopping entirely.

Logical operators
 !	NOT
	Inverts the boolean value of a statement
	!<statement>
 &&	AND
	Is only true it both are true
	<statement> && <statement>
 ||	OR
	Is true if one or the other are
	<statement> || <statement>

Mathmatical operators
 ++		Increment
		Adds 1 to a variable
		<variable name>++;
 --		Decrement
		Subtracts 1 from a variable
		<variable name>--;
 sqrt()	Square root
		Gets the square root of a value
		<variable name>=sqrt(<variable name>);
	
Conditional statements
 Conditional statements only run when a statement is true.
  This can be a single variable or a full statement.
 Types of conditional statements
  while		While any static statement is true, it will loop.
  do		Will always loop regardless.
  for		Will loop until the statement is no longer true.
  if		Will do something once if a statement is true.
  switch	Will do something only in a certain case.
 Syntax of conditional statements
  Do loop
   do
   {
   }
  While loop
   while(<statement>)
   {
   }
  If statement
   if(<statement>)
   {
   }
  For loop
   for(<variable type> <variable name>=<start value>,<statement>,<variable name> <operator>)
   {
   }
  Switch statement
   switch(<variable name>)
   {
   case <case>:
    break;
   default:
    break;
   }
  Examples:
   do
   {
    cout<<"Hello, world!"<<endl;
   }
   while(!taskDone)
   {
    cout<<"Task is not done"<<endl;
   }
   if(a=16)
   {
    cout<<"A is 16"<<endl;
   }
   for(int i=0,i<16,i++)
   {
    cout<<"This will print 16 times"<<endl;
   }
   switch(key)
   {
    case('a'):
	 cout<<"Letter A"<<endl;
	 break;
	default:
	 cout<<"Something else"<<endl;
	 break;
   }

Common input
 With <iostream> included, use cin
 cin>><variablename>;
 cin>>a;
 
Beeps and bloops
 Import windows.h
 Call Beep(); with the following syntax
 Beep(<frequency>,<duration in milliseconds>);
 Example:
  Beep(440,500);
  Would play a perfect A note for half a second.
 
Instruction comparison
 ECHO Hello, world!		cout<<"Hello, world!"<<endl;
 ECHO.					cout<<endl;
 ECHO %VARIABLE%		cout<<variable<<endl;
 SET /A VAR=1			int var=1;
 SET /P VAR=-			cin>>var;
 GOTO LABEL				label();
 TITLE Test Program		SetConsoleTitle(TEXT("Test Program");
  No equiv.				Sleep(500);
  No equiv.				cout<<"\a";
  No equiv.				Beep(440,500);
 :INIT					void init()
 PAUSE					cin>>pauseVariable;
 EXIT					exit;
  No equiv.				return;
  No equiv.				break;
 COLOR 9F				 See below...
 CLS					cls();
 IF %A%==4 GOTO LABEL	if(a=4)

Colors in the C++ terminal
 Colors are possible!
 Requires "windows.h"
 Use		system("COLOR 9F");
 However!
 This only can change the colors of entire terminal window.
 No changing single characters in the window!

Setting variables
 Most variables
  <variable name> = <data>;
 Some variables have multiple pieces of data.
 Arrays
  <variable name>[item ID] = <data>;
 Matrices
  <variable name>[row][column] = <data>;

BATCH Commands
 Most single-line BATCH commands can be executed with the "system();" command.
 Syntax:
  system("<BATCH command>");

Graphics
 Requires the Borland Graphics Interface (BGI) files to be installed.
 It's best to simply start out using the BGI base files or the latest C++ template file,
  since installing the graphics files can take a bit of work and is more specialized to
  specific projects.

 The Borland Graphics Interface uses devices and viewports. A viewport is the window in
  which graphics are drawn, and is stored on a specific device.
  
 To create a new viewport:
  initwindow(<width>,<height>,<title>);
  Where width and height are the size of the window and title is the name of the window.