Communicating with top level form

[mrhonus]

Using the designer to create the main form for an application generated the following code in the .cpp file: int APIENTRY _tWinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPTSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow) { System::Threading::Thread::CurrentThread->ApartmentState = System::Threading::ApartmentState::STA; Application::Run(new DataForm(lpCmdLine)); return 0; } The DataForm class has a button which generates a new form: linkedForm = new LinkedForm() ; The LinkedForm class exists in the same namespace as the DataForm class. What needs to be done to allow this child form to see public methods in it's parent, since a DataForm ptr cannot be declared globally? Are there any examples of parent/child form communications of this nature? Thanks, MrHonus

[led mike]

See the MVC (Model-View-Controller) design pattern. It is on Wikipedia. Forms are Views and should not be coupled. Views (Forms) should access a "Controller" to initiate action based on UI (User) events. Views subscribe to events exposed from the "Model" to be notified of data and/or "state" changes. Views then obtain the latest data to display from the "Model".

[mrhonus]

Well, since I used the .net designer to create all of the views, it doesn't seem to lend itself to mvc. Are there any examples of how to use mvc with studio/net generated forms? Thanks for the reply

[led mike]

mrhonus wrote:

it doesn't seem to lend itself to mvc.

:confused: That makes no sense.

mrhonus wrote:

Are there any examples of how to use mvc with studio/net generated forms?

Sure the Microsoft UI Composit Application Block[^]

[mrhonus]

I agree, it makes no sense. Well, I am looking for C++ examples. Thanks

[led mike]

mrhonus wrote:

Well, I am looking for C++ examples.

You are using .NET WinForms

mrhonus wrote:

Application::Run(new DataForm(lpCmdLine));

The application block is .NET library so you can use it. If you can't translate C# samples into Managed C++ why are you doing Managed Development in C++?

[mrhonus]

Mainly because so many things which I know about C++ don't seem to apply in the .Net environment. I'm doing Managed Devlopment in C++ because I wasn't allowed to choose the development environment. I would have chosen Java, which is much more straightforward. But since you're now getting snide, I guess you've helped me enough--thanks for your time.

[led mike]

mrhonus wrote:

But since you're now getting snide

Not at all. So many times in message based communications people leave out reasons for things that create gaps in understanding. I was just trying to understand how you arrived in your situation to see if a different view might help. It does not appear so.

mrhonus wrote:

I would have chosen Java, which is much more straightforward.

Much more straight forward than Managed C++ but very similar to C#. Perhaps you could use C# Research apps as a way of learning the .NET libraries you need and then translate your own C# code into managed C++. That would also allow you to apply samples you can find to the C# research application. It's not real pretty but after time you probably won't need the C# step as you would be able to translate the samples directly to C++. Also on the MSDN2 web site many of the .NET Framework Documentation contains short samples in C++.