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Microsoft Releases WTL To SourceForge
prostoalex writes "Microsoft's WTL (Windows Template Library) toolkit source code has been released to SourceForge.net [also part of OSDN, like Slashdot.] InternetNews explains that the toolkit allows a Windows developer to create quick GUIs in C++. According to the project page, WTL extends ATL (Active Template Library) and provides a set of classes for controls, dialogs, frame windows, GDI objects, and more. WTL is licensed under CPL, which is the license Microsoft chose for the SourceForge release of the WiX installer."
they may have opened the source, but it is not anywhere near what you OSS developers like.
they will almost certainly NOT accept source from other people; (although they may take suggestions, i'm sure).
the purpose of this is not to make their product better by allowing the community to help, but rather to allow people to customize their own toolkits or to at least better understand what they're using.
I started Win32 programming with WTL. No MFC experience at all.
.NET seeps deeper into the Windows Platform, I am afraid that MS is going to try to root out such a quick and painless way to whip out applications in unmanaged code. There's life in C++ yet, I just don't know if MS believes that.
For those of you who may be curious about this technology, here are a couple of points:
WTL is a collection of header files with the source inlined in. Personally I find the source reasonably understandable. I have had not much trouble stepping through and debugging WTL calls.
It's a light wrapper around the Win32 API. Some people commented on the lack of documentation regarding the WTL. The truth is, MSDN's API and common controls documentation pretty much covers what you need to know. For most cases the library does little fudging between your app and the API behavior.
For the application I am coding, I use strictly STL strings, containers, and various Boost libraries. With WTL, I don't feel that I am paying for things I am not using like CStrings and such. For non-UI OS calls, I use ATL. In short, WTL, STL, & ATL let me produce efficient code without worrying about reinventing solutions.
One thing I am worried about is the future of WTL. Open-sourcing is great, but I don't know what direction the Windows API is heading. As
I assume that Microsoft has twice chosen Sourceforge to host their OSS projects because of the visibility and credibility it lends their open source steps. However, MS certainly doesn't need SF's resources. Does anyone know if MS has made any donation -- monetary or otherwise -- to SF?