1

Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series:

Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Objectives
• To understand the relationship between C++ and
Visual C++.
• To be able to use Visual C++ to create, compile and
execute C++ console applications.
• To understand and be able to use the Microsoft’s
Visual Studio 6 integrated development environment.
• To be able to search Microsoft’s online
documentation effectively.
• To be able to use the debugger to locate program logic
errors.

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2 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Outline
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Installation of Visual C++ Introductory Edition
1.3 Integrated Development Environment Overview: Visual C++
1.4 Online Visual C++ Documentation
1.5 Creating and Executing a C++ Application
1.6 Compiling Programs with Multiple Source Files
1.7 Debugger
1.7.1 Debugging an Application

1.1 Introduction
Welcome to the Visual C++® 6 Integrated Development Environment (part of the Mi-
crosoft Visual Studio® 6 suite of development tools). In this chapter you will learn how to
create, compile, execute and debug C++ programs using the powerful C++ development
environment from Microsoft—Visual C++ 6. When you complete this tutorial, you will be
able to use Visual C++ to begin building applications.
This guide does not teach C++; rather, it is intended to be used as a companion to our
textbook C++ How To Program, Fourth Edition or any other ANSI/ISO C++ textbook.
C++ How To Program, Fourth Edition does not teach GUI programming simply because
ANSI/ISO C++ does not provide any libraries for creating GUIs. Compiler vendors such
as Microsoft, Borland and Symantec normally provide their own libraries that support cre-
ation of applications with GUIs. Our readers asked us to use the same “live-code” approach
with outputs that we employ in all our How to Program Series textbooks.
Before proceeding with this tutorial, you should be familiar with the topics in Chapter
1, “Introduction to Computers and C++ Programming,” and Chapter 2, “Control Struc-
tures,” of C++ How to Program, Fourth Edition. A few of the examples in this guide make
reference to functions. For these examples, you should be familiar with the material through
Section 3.5 of Chapter 3, “Functions,” in C++ How to Program, Fourth Edition. For the
programs in Section 3.6 of this guide, you should be familiar with the material in Chapter
6, “Classes and Data Abstraction,” in C++ How to Program, Fourth Edition.
We hope you enjoy learning about the Visual C++ 6 integrated development environ-
ment.

1.2 Installation of Visual C++ Introductory Edition

This section will guide the user through the installation process for Visual C++ Introducto-
ry Edition. Visual C++ Introductory Edition is included on the CD accompanying C++
How to Program, Fourth Edition. To install this programming environment perform the
following steps:
1. Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive. A dialog will pop up and display three but-
tons. Selecting the Welcome button will take you to another page containing in-
stallation information, license agreement as well as technical support. Selecting
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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 3

the Examples button will allow you to view all the examples from C++ How to
Program, Fourth Edition. Selecting the Links button will direct you to the extra
resources available on the World Wide Web.

Fig. 1.1 Welcome screen

2. From the taskbar click Start, select Run…, enter the following path into the
Open: textfield, E:\VCB600ENU1\SETUP.EXE and click OK. [Note: we
are assuming that E is the letter of the CD-ROM drive.]

Fig. 1.2 Executing SETUP.EXE

3. This displays the Installation Wizard for Visual C++ 6.0 Introductory Edi-
tion. Click Next > to continue with the installation.

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4 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Fig. 1.3 Installation wizard

4. Read the license agreement to understand the terms and conditions for using the
software. If you agree to the license, select I accept the agreement and click
Next >.
5. You will be prompted to enter your name and your company’s name. Since this is
an introductory edition, you do not have to provide a Product Number. Click
Next > to continue.

Fig. 1.4 Product Number and User ID

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 5

6. The Choose Common Install Folder screen will appear. Here you can specify
a directory to store files common among Visual Studio 6.0. Specify a new location
or click Next > to accept the default directory.
7. The Visual C++ 6.0 Introductory Setup screen appears. Click Continue to
begin the setup. You are presented a Product ID number, write this number
down, it will be important if you need to contact Microsoft. Click OK.

Fig. 1.5 Setup screen

8. Choose the installation type and folder to install Visual C++ 6.0 Introductory Edi-
tion. Choosing Typical installation will install all the basic tools needed to run
Visual C++ 6.0. Choosing Custom installation allows you to specify which com-
ponents are to be installed. Accept the default installation directory and select the
Typical installation button.

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6 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Fig. 1.6 Choosing installation type

9. The Select Environment Variables screen allow the option to register enri-
vornment variables so Visual C++ can be used from the command line. Decide if
you want to enable this, then click OK to continue with the installation.

Fig. 1.7 Setting Environment Variables

10. The Windows NT Debug Symbols screen will notify the user to install a sub-
set of system symbols for the debugger to function properly. Click OK to ac-
knowledge this and click OK again to complete the Visual C++ 6.0
Introductory Setup.
11. You will now be prompted to install the MSDN Library. Click Next > to proceed.
Follow the same procedures (starting at step 7) to complete the installation.

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 7

Fig. 1.8 Install documentation

12. Click Finish to complete the installation.

Fig. 1.9 Installation is complete

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8 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

1.3 Integrated Development Environment Overview: Visual

C++
Figure 1.10 shows the initial screen image of the Microsoft Visual C++ Integrated Devel-
opment Environment (IDE). This environment contains everything you need to create C++
programs—an editor (for typing and correcting your C++ programs), a compiler (for trans-
lating your C++ programs into machine language code), a debugger (for finding logic er-
rors in your C++ programs after they are compiled) and much more. The environment
contains many buttons, menus and other graphical user interface (GUI) elements you will
use while editing, compiling and debugging your C++ applications.

Fig. 1.10 Visual C++ IDE

1.4 Online Visual C++ Documentation

Visual C++ 6.0 uses the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN™) documentation, which is
accessible by selecting Contents from the Help menu. Microsoft has combined the doc-
umentation for all their development tools into MSDN just as they have combined the de-
velopment tools (e.g., Visual Basic®, Visual C++, Visual J++®, etc.) into one product suite
called Visual Studio®. Selecting Contents displays the MSDN Library Visual C++ di-
alog (Fig. 1.11). The online documentation for a C++ term is also displayed by clicking the
word in an editor window and pressing the F1 key.
The Visual C++ documentation is also accessible via the World Wide Web at the
Microsoft Developer Network Web site
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 9

Fig. 1.11 Microsoft Developer Network on-line documentation.

If you have not already registered for the Microsoft Developer Network there, you will be
asked to register. There is no charge for registering at the Web site. The documentation is
arranged hierarchically. You can find the Visual C++ documentation under

Microsoft Developer Network Library

Visual Studio 6.0 Documentation
Visual C++ Documentation

Information about all aspects of Visual C++ is available. Topics range from the Stan-
dard C++ Library to the Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC). Topics are displayed in
tree-view format (see the leftmost portion of Fig. 1.12). Clicking the left mouse button on
the plus (+) sign next to a topic expands its subtopics. [Note: For the rest of this chapter,
we refer to “clicking the left mouse button” simply as clicking.]
The toolbar (the row of icons near the top of the window in Fig. 1.12) is used to navi-
gate through the on-line documentation in a manner similar to viewing pages in a Web
browser. In fact, a modified version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser is
used to view the documentation. Clicking the left and right arrows on this toolbar move
back and forward, respectively, through any previously viewed pages. The Stop button
causes the program to stop loading the current topic. The Refresh button reloads the cur-
rent topic from the document’s source. The toolbar also provides a Home button that dis-
plays the Visual C++ page (Fig. 1.11).
In the left panel, the user can control the display in the right panel by selecting the
Active Subset of the MSDN Library to use and selecting a tab for viewing the Con-
tents, Index, Search or Favorites. The Contents tab displays the table of contents.

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10 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

The Index tab displays a list of key terms from which to select a topic. The Search tab
allows a programmer to search the entire on-line documentation contents for a word or
phrase. The Favorites tab lets the user save links to interesting topics and later return to
them.
Online information is divided into categories. Each category is preceded by a book
icon. The Visual C++ Start Page is the starting point for navigating the online documen-
tation. The Visual C++ Documentation Map outlines the various sections of the Visual
C++ documentation by category. The What’s New in Visual C++ 6.0 topic explains the
newest features introduced in Visual C++ 6.0.
Getting Started with Visual C++ 6.0 contains links to various topics in the docu-
mentation, including Beginning your Program, Porting and Upgrading, Visual
C++ Tutorials, What’s New for Visual C++ 6.0, Getting Help and Visual C++
Home Page. These topics cover a broad range of subjects such that a programmer new to
Visual C++, regardless of programming background, can find something of interest.
The Using Visual C++ category is composed of four subcategories—Visual C++
Tutorials, which contains tutorials on how to develop applications that use advanced lan-
guage features (e.g., OLE server, OLE containers, ActiveX controls, etc.); Visual C++
Programmers Guide, which contains information on various programming topics (e.g.,
portability issues, debugging, errors, etc.); Visual C++ User’s Guide, which contains
information about the Visual C++ IDE (e.g., projects, classes, editors, utilities, etc.); and a
Glossary, which contains acknowledgments and terminology.

Fig. 1.12 Expanding the Visual C++ topics.

The Reference category contains two subcategories—Microsoft Foundation

Class Library and Templates and C/C++ Language and C++ Libraries. The

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 11

Microsoft Foundation Class Library and Templates category contains information

about the Active Template Library (ATL)—a set of C++ class templates used to develop dis-
tributed applications (i.e., programs that communicate with each other over a network to
perform a task). The category also includes sample programs, technical notes, a hierarchy
chart (showing the relationships among the MFC classes) and a class library reference. The
C/C++ Language and C++ Libraries category contains information about the Stan-
dard Template Library (STL) (a set of reusable C++ template components that make pro-
gramming easier), the C++ language, the C language and the standard C++ libraries. The
text in a topic is hyperlinked to related text via the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
technique of highlighting a term with color and underlining it to indicate which words can
be clicked to display a definition or other details about a term.
The Visual C++ Samples category provides subcategories with example programs
for some of the most important features in Visual C++.

1.5 Creating and Executing a C++ Application

You are now ready to begin using the Visual C++ IDE to create a C++ program. In this
guide, we do not create Windows applications that use graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
with menus, buttons, etc. Rather, we create Win32 console applications. When executed,
Win32 console applications get input from and display data to a console window (a text-
only display that predates Windows). This type of application is used for the example and
exercise programs in C++ How to Program, Fourth Edition.
Program files in Visual C++ are grouped into projects. A project is a text file that con-
tains the names and locations of all its program files. Project file names end with the .dsp
(describe project) extension. Before writing any C++ code, you should create a project.
Clicking the File menu’s New... menu item displays the New dialog of Fig. 1.13. The
New dialog lists the available Visual C++ project types. Note that your New dialog may
display different project types depending on which Microsoft development tools are
installed on your system. When you create a project, you can create a new workspace (a
folder and control file that act as a container for project files) or combine multiple projects
in one workspace. A workspace is represented by a .dsw (describe workspace) file. The
examples in this book have one project per workspace.

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12 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Fig. 1.13 New dialog displaying a list of available project types.

Starting with the New window, a series of dialog windows guides the user through the
process of creating a project and adding files to the project. The IDE creates the folders and
control files necessary to represent the project.
From the list of project types, select Win32 Console Application. The Project
name field (in the upper-right corner of the dialog) is where you specify the name of the
project. Click in the Project name field and type Welcome for the project name.
The Location field is where you specify the location on disk where you want your
project to be saved. If you click in the Location field and scroll through it using the right
arrow key, you will notice that the project name you typed (Welcome) is at the end of the
directory path. If you do not modify this directory path, Visual C++ stores your projects in
this directory. Pressing OK closes the New dialog and displays the Win32 Console
Application - Step 1 of 1 dialog (Fig. 1.14).

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 13

Fig. 1.14 Win32 Console Application - Step 1 or 1 dialog.

The Win32 Console Application - Step 1 of 1 dialog displays four choices.

Selecting An empty project creates a project that does not contain any files. The pro-
grammer must add source code files to the project. A simple application creates a .cpp
file (i.e., a file—called a C++ source file into which the programmer writes C++ code) and
a few support files. Selecting A “Hello, World” application creates a .cpp file (which
contains the code to print Hello World) and a few support files. Selecting An applica-
tion that supports MFC creates several files which add support for Visual C++’s Win-
dows programming library called MFC. At this point, you should select An empty
project and click Finish to display the New Project Information dialog (Fig. 1.15). If
you selected the wrong project type (i.e., a type other than Win32 Console Application)
in the New dialog and do not see the choices in Fig. 1.14, click <Back to view the New
dialog.
The New Project Information dialog provides a summary of the project about to be
created. For our Win32 Console Application, the dialog specifies that the project is
empty (i.e., no additional files were created). This dialog also specifies in the lower-left
corner the location on disk for this project. Clicking OK closes the dialog and creates the
project. If you created the wrong project type, click Cancel to go back to the Win32 Con-
sole Application - Step 1 of 1 dialog.

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14 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Fig. 1.15 New Project Information dialog.

Figure 1.16 shows the Visual C++ IDE after creating an empty Win32 Console
Application. The IDE displays the project name (i.e., Welcome) in the title bar, and
shows the workspace pane and the output pane. If the output pane is not visible, select
Output from the View menu to display the output pane. The output pane displays various
information, such as the status of your compilation and compiler error messages when they
occur.

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 15

Fig. 1.16 Visual C++ IDE displaying an empty project.

At the bottom of the workspace pane are two tabs, ClassView and FileView.
Clicking ClassView displays classes and class members (discussed in Chapter 6 of C++
How To Program, Fourth Edition), and functions (discussed in Chapter 3 of C++ How To
Program, Fourth Edition) in your project. FileView displays the names of the files that
make up the project. FileView initially displays the project name followed by the word
files (e.g., Welcome files). Clicking the plus sign, +, to the left of Welcome files dis-
plays three empty folders: Source Files, Header Files and Resource Files. Source
Files displays C++ source files (i.e., .cpp files), Header Files displays header files (i.e.,
.h files) and Resource Files displays resource files (i.e., .rc files that define window
layouts). For this example we only use the Source Files folder.
The next step is to add a C++ file to the project. Selecting New... from the File menu
displays the New dialog (Fig. 1.17). When a project is already open, the New dialog dis-
plays the Files tab containing a list of file types. The file types will vary based on the
Microsoft development tools installed on your system.

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16 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Fig. 1.17 New dialog displaying the Files tab.

Select C++ Source File for a C++ file. The File name field is where you specify
the name of the C++ file. Enter Welcome in the File name field. You do not have to enter
the file name suffix “.cpp” because it is implied when you select the file type. Do not
modify the Location text box. When checked, Add to Project adds the file to the project.
If Add to Project is not checked, check it. Click OK to close the dialog. The C++ file is
now saved to disk and added to the project. In our example, the file welcome.cpp is
saved to the location C:\Welcome (the combination of the Location field and the project
name). Figure 1.18, shows the IDE after adding Welcome.cpp to the project. In
Figure 1.18 we clicked the + character next to Source Files to see that the C++ source
file is indeed part of the project. The plus + becomes a minus -, and vice versa, when
clicked.

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 17

Fig. 1.18 A newly created Welcome project

Common Programming Error 1.1

Forgetting to add a C++ source file that is part of a program to the project for that program
prevents the program from compiling correctly. 1.1

We are now ready to write a C++ program. Type the following sample program into
the source code window. [Note: The code examples for this book are available at the Deitel
& Associates, Inc. Web site (www.deitel.com). Click the “downloads” link to go to our
downloads page.]

1 // Welcome.cpp
2
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 using std::cout;
6 using std::endl;
7
8 int main()
9 {
10 cout << "Welcome to C++!" << endl;
11
12 return 0; // indicates successful termination
13
14 } // end main

Fig. 1.19 Code for Welcome.cpp

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18 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Testing and Debugging Tip 1.1

Click in front of a brace (i.e., [ or {) or a parenthesis (i.e., () and press Ctrl + ] to find the
matching brace or parenthesis. 1.1

The Visual C++ IDE has a highlighting scheme called syntax coloring for the key-
words and comments in a C++ source file—you may have noticed this while you were
typing the program. Syntax color highlighting is applied as you type your code and is
applied to all source files opened in Visual C++. By default, keywords appear in blue, com-
ments in green and other text in black, but you can set your own color preferences.
Testing and Debugging Tip 1.2
Visual C++’s syntax highlighting helps the programmer avoid using keywords accidentally
as variable names. If a name appears blue (or whatever color you have selected for key-
words), it is a keyword and you should not use it as a variable name or other identifier. 1.2

Another useful editor feature is IntelliSense®. When typing certain language elements, In-
telliSense displays help automatically to let the programmer select a symbol from a list of
names that can appear in the current context in the program; this saves typing time as well
as the time it might otherwise take the programmer to look up options.
Figure 1.20 demonstrate the use of IntelliSense. When function srand’s opening
parenthesis is typed, Visual C++ automatically displays its function header as a tip.

Fig. 1.20 Demonstrating intelliSense.

Testing and Debugging Tip 1.3

IntelliSense helps the programmer type a correct program. 1.3

After you have typed the program, click Save (in the File menu) or click the save
button (the one that resembles a floppy disk) on the tool bar to save the file.
Before executing a program, you must eliminate all syntax errors (also called compi-
lation errors) and create an executable file. A syntax error indicates that code in the pro-
gram violates the syntax (i.e., the grammatical rules) of C++.
To compile the C++ file into an executable, click the Build menu’s Build Wel-
come.exe command or press the F7 key. Compiler messages and errors appear in the
output pane’s Build tab. If there are no errors when compilation is complete, the Output

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 19

pane should appear in the Build tab as shown in Fig. 1.21 (this is sometimes called the
“happy window”).

Fig. 1.21 Output pane showing a successful build.

If an error message appears in the Output pane’s Build tab, double-clicking any-
where on the error message displays the source file and places a blue arrow marker in the
margin indicator bar (i.e., the gray strip to the left of the source code), indicating the
offending line as shown in Fig. 1.22. The error in this particular case is that the ending
quote around the string "Welcome to C++!" is missing (an illegal change).

Fig. 1.22 Blue marker indicating that a line contains a syntax error.

Error messages are often longer than the output pane’s width. The complete error mes-
sage can be viewed either by using the horizontal scrollbar to the right of the tabs at the
bottom of the screen (e.g. Build, Debug) or by reading the status pane. The status pane
displays only the selected error message.

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20 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

If you do not understand the error message, highlight the error message number by
dragging the mouse over the number, then press the F1 key. This displays a help file that
provides information about the error and some helpful hints as to the cause of the error.
Please keep in mind that C++ compilers may mark a line as having an error when, in fact,
the error occurs on a previous line of code.
After fixing the error(s), recompile the program. C++ compilers often list more errors
than actually occur in the program. For example, a C++ compiler may locate a syntax error
in your program (e.g., a missing semicolon). That error may cause the compiler to report
other errors in the program when, in fact, there may not be any other errors.
Testing and Debugging Tip 1.4
When a syntax error on a particular line is reported by the compiler, check that line for the
syntax error. If the error is not on that line, check the preceding few lines of code for the
cause of the syntax error. 1.4

Testing and Debugging Tip 1.5

After fixing one error, recompile your program. You may observe that the number of overall
errors perceived by the compiler is significantly reduced. 1.5

Once the program compiles without errors, you can execute the program by clicking
Execute Welcome.exe in the Build menu. The Visual C++ 6 Introductory Edition dis-
plays the message as in Fig. 1.23.

Fig. 1.23 Notice produced by Visual C++ 6 Introductory Edition.

The program is executed in a console window as shown in Fig. 1.24. [Note: The console
window is referred to as the Command Prompt for Windows 2000, if you are using a
different version of Windows then the console might be referred to as the MS-DOS
Prompt.] Pressing any key closes the console window.

Fig. 1.24 Output for Welcome.cpp

To create another application, follow the same steps outlined in this section using a dif-
ferent project name and directory. Before starting a new project you should close the cur-
rent project by selecting the File menu’s Close Workspace option. If a dialog appears
© Copyright 1992–2002 by Deitel & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 21

asking if all document windows should be closed or if a file should be saved, click Yes.
You are now ready to create a new project for your next application or open an existing
project. To open an existing project, in the File menu you can select the Recent Work-
spaces option to select a recent workspace or you can select Open... to see an Open
Workspace dialog and select a workspace (.dsw file) to open.

1.6 Compiling Programs with Multiple Source Files

More complex programs often consist of multiple C++ source files. We introduce this con-
cept called multiple source files in Chapter 6 of C++ How to Program, Fourth Edition. This
section explains how to compile a program with multiple source files using Visual C++ 6.
Compiling a program that has two or more source files will be demonstrated using the
Time class (Fig. 6.5–Fig. 6.7 from Chapter 6 of C++ How to Program, Fourth Edition),
shown in Figure 1.25–Figure 1.27.

1 // Fig. 6.5: time1.h

2 // Declaration of class Time.
3 // Member functions are defined in time1.cpp
4
5 // prevent multiple inclusions of header file
6 #ifndef TIME1_H
7 #define TIME1_H
8
9 // Time abstract data type definition
10 class Time {
11
12 public:
13 Time(); // constructor
14 void setTime( int, int, int ); // set hour, minute, second
15 void printUniversal(); // print universal-time format
16 void printStandard(); // print standard-time format
17
18 private:
19 int hour; // 0 - 23 (24-hour clock format)
20 int minute; // 0 - 59
21 int second; // 0 - 59
22
23 }; // end class Time
24
25 #endif

Fig. 1.25 Time class header file.

1 // Fig. 6.6: time1.cpp

2 // Member-function definitions for class Time.
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 using std::cout;
6
Fig. 1.26 Time class definitions.

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22 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

7 #include <iomanip>
8
9 using std::setfill;
10 using std::setw;
11
12 // include definition of class Time from time1.h
13 #include "time1.h"
14
15 // Time constructor initializes each data member to zero.
16 // Ensures all Time objects start in a consistent state.
17 Time::Time()
18 {
19 hour = minute = second = 0;
20
21 } // end Time constructor
22
23 // Set new Time value using universal time. Perform validity
24 // checks on the data values. Set invalid values to zero.
25 void Time::setTime( int h, int m, int s )
26 {
27 hour = ( h >= 0 && h < 24 ) ? h : 0;
28 minute = ( m >= 0 && m < 60 ) ? m : 0;
29 second = ( s >= 0 && s < 60 ) ? s : 0;
30
31 } // end function setTime
32
33 // print Time in universal format
34 void Time::printUniversal()
35 {
36 cout << setfill( '0' ) << setw( 2 ) << hour << ":"
37 << setw( 2 ) << minute << ":"
38 << setw( 2 ) << second;
39
40 } // end function printUniversal
41
42 // print Time in standard format
43 void Time::printStandard()
44 {
45 cout << ( ( hour == 0 || hour == 12 ) ? 12 : hour % 12 )
46 << ":" << setfill( '0' ) << setw( 2 ) << minute
47 << ":" << setw( 2 ) << second
48 << ( hour < 12 ? " AM" : " PM" );
49
50 } // end function printStandard

Fig. 1.26 Time class definitions.

1 // Fig. 6.7: fig06_07.cpp

2 // Program to test class Time.
3 // NOTE: This file must be compiled with time1.cpp.
4 #include <iostream>
5
6 using std::cout;
Fig. 1.27 Main entry point for application

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 23

7 using std::endl;
8
9 // include definition of class Time from time1.h
10 #include "time1.h"
11
12 int main()
13 {
14 Time t; // instantiate object t of class Time
15
16 // output Time object t's initial values
17 cout << "The initial universal time is ";
18 t.printUniversal(); // 00:00:00
19 cout << "\nThe initial standard time is ";
20 t.printStandard(); // 12:00:00 AM
21
22 t.setTime( 13, 27, 6 ); // change time
23
24 // output Time object t's new values
25 cout << "\n\nUniversal time after setTime is ";
26 t.printUniversal(); // 13:27:06
27 cout << "\nStandard time after setTime is ";
28 t.printStandard(); // 1:27:06 PM
29
30 t.setTime( 99, 99, 99 ); // attempt invalid settings
31
32 // output t's values after specifying invalid values
33 cout << "\n\nAfter attempting invalid settings:"
34 << "\nUniversal time: ";
35 t.printUniversal(); // 00:00:00
36 cout << "\nStandard time: ";
37 t.printStandard(); // 12:00:00 AM
38 cout << endl;
39
40 return 0;
41
42 } // end main

Fig. 1.27 Main entry point for application

1. The first step to compiling multiple source files is to create a project. Follow the
steps in Section 1.5 of this guide to create a project.
2. Next, create the .cpp source files using the same method described in
Section 1.5.
3. To create a .h header file, follow the same steps for creating a .cpp source file,
but select C/C++ Header File under the Files tab, shown in Figure 1.28.

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24 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Fig. 1.28 Creating a header file.

4. Next, use the method described in Section 1.5 to compile and run the program.
Figure 1.29 shows the output for the Time class example.

Fig. 1.29 Output for Time class example.

1.7 Debugger
The Visual C++ IDE provides a debugger tool to help the programmer find run-time logic
errors in programs that compile and link successfully but do not produce expected results.
The debugger lets the programmer view the executing program and its data as the program
runs either one step at a time or at full speed. The program stops on a selected line of code
or upon a fatal run-time error. When the programmer does not understand how incorrect
results are produced by a program, running the program one statement at a time and mon-
itoring the intermediate results can help the programmer isolate the cause of the error. The
programmer can correct the code.
To use the debugger, set one or more breakpoints. A breakpoint is a marker set at a
specified line of code that causes the debugger to suspend execution of the program upon
reaching that line of code. Breakpoints help the programmer verify that a program is exe-
© Copyright 1992–2002 by Deitel & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 25

cuting correctly. A breakpoint can be set in two ways. You can set a breakpoint by clicking
the line in the program where the breakpoint is to be placed and clicking the Insert/
Remove Breakpoint button in the Build MiniBar or by pressing the F9 key. The
Insert/Remove Breakpoint button is grayed (disabled) unless the C++ code window is
the active window (clicking in a window makes it active). When a breakpoint is set, a solid
red circle appears in the margin indicator bar to the left of the line (Fig. 1.30). Breakpoints
are removed using the same method as adding a breakpoint.

Fig. 1.30 Setting a breakpoint.

Selecting the Go command (in the Build menu’s Start Debug submenu) starts the
debugging process. Because we have chosen to debug a console application, the console
window (i.e., command prompt) that contains our application appears. All program inter-
action (input and output) is performed in this window. Program execution suspends for
input and at breakpoints. You may need to manually switch between the IDE and the con-
sole window to perform input. To switch between windows you can use Alt + Tab or click
your program’s panel on the Windows taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

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26 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Fig. 1.31 Execution suspended at a breakpoint.

The yellow arrow to the left of a statement indicates that execution is suspended at this
line. This statement will be the next statement executed (Fig. 1.31). Note in the IDE that
the Build menu is replaced with the Debug menu and that the title bar displays [break]
to indicate that the IDE is in debug mode.
Testing and Debugging Tip 1.6
Loops that iterate many times can be executed in full (without stopping every time through
the loop) by placing a breakpoint after the loop and selecting Go from the Debug menu. 1.6

The bottom portion of the IDE is divided into two windows—the Variables window
(i.e., the left window) and the Watch window (i.e., the right window). The Variables
window contains a list of the program’s variables. Note that different variables can be
viewed at different times, by clicking either the Auto, Locals or this tabs. The Auto tab
displays the name and value of the variables or objects (discussed in Chapter 6 of C++ How
To Program, Fourth Edition) used in both the previous statement and the current statement.
The Locals tab displays the name and current value for all the local variables or objects in
the current function’s scope. The this tab displays data for the object to which the exe-
cuting function belongs.
The variable values listed in the Variables window can be modified by the user for
testing purposes. To modify a variable’s value, click the Value field and enter a new value.

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 27

Any modified value is colored red to indicate that it was changed during the debugging ses-
sion by the programmer.
Often certain variables are monitored by the programmer during the debugging pro-
cess—a process known as setting a watch. The Watch window allows the user to watch
variables as their values change. Changes are displayed in the Watch window.
Variables can be typed directly into the Watch window or dragged with the mouse
from either the Variables window or the source code window and dropped into the Watch
window. A variable can be deleted from the Watch window by selecting the variable name
and pressing the Delete key. The four tabs at the bottom of the Watch window are used by
the programmer to group variables.
Like the Variables window, variable values can be modified in the Watch window
by editing the Value field. Changed values are colored red. The current value of a variable
during the process of debugging can also be viewed by resting the mouse cursor over the
name of that variable in the source code window (Fig. 1.32).

Fig. 1.32 The Variables and Watch windows

The Debug toolbar contains buttons that control the debugging process. These buttons
perform the same actions as the Debug menu items. The Debug toolbar can be displayed
by positioning the mouse pointer over an empty region of the main menu or any toolbar,
right-clicking the mouse and selecting the Debug option in the popup menu.
The Restart button restarts the application, stopping at the beginning of the program
to allow the programmer to set breakpoints before starting to execute the code. The Stop

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28 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Debugging button ends the debugging session to let the programmer edit and rebuild the
program before running another test.
Break Execution suspends program execution at the current location. Apply Code
Changes allows the programmer to modify the source code while in debug mode. [Refer
to the on-line documentation for limitations on this feature.] Show Next Statement
places the cursor on the same line as the yellow arrow that indicates the next statement to
execute. Show Next Statement is useful to reposition the cursor to the same line as the
yellow arrow when viewing the source code during debugging.

Fig. 1.33 The Debug toolbar.

The Step Into button executes program statements, one per click, including code in
functions that are called, allowing the programmer to confirm the proper execution of the
function, line-by-line. Functions that can be stepped into include programmer-defined
functions and C++ library functions. If you want to step into a C++ library function, Visual
C++ may ask you to specify the location of that library.
Testing and Debugging Tip 1.7
The debugger allows you to “step into” a C++ library function to see how it uses your func-
tion call arguments to produce the value returned to your program. 1.7

The Step Over button executes the next executable line of code and advances the
yellow arrow to the following executable line in the program. If the line of code contains a
function call, the function is executed in its entirety as one step. This allows the user to exe-
cute the program one line at a time and examine the execution of the program without
seeing the details of every function that is called. This is especially useful at cin and cout
statements.
The Step Out button allows the user to step out of the current function and return con-
trol back to the line that called the function. If you Step In to a function that you do not
need to examine, click Step Out to return to the caller.
Click the mouse on a line of code after a number of lines of code you do not wish to
step through, then click the Run to Cursor button to execute all code up to the line where
the cursor is positioned. This technique is useful for executing loops or functions without
having to enter the loop or function.
Testing and Debugging Tip 1.8
Loops that iterate many times can be executed in full by placing the cursor after the loop in
the source code window and clicking the Run to Cursor button. 1.8

Testing and Debugging Tip 1.9

If you accidently step into a C++ library function, click Step Out to return to your code. 1.9

The QuickWatch button displays the QuickWatch dialog (Fig. 1.34), which is
useful for monitoring expression values and variable values. The QuickWatch dialog pro-
© Copyright 1992–2002 by Deitel & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 29

vides a “snapshot” of one or more variable values at a point in time during the program’s
execution. To watch a variable, enter the variable name or expression into the Expression
field and press Enter. As with the Variables window and Watch window, values can be
edited in the Value field, but changed values are not color coded red. Clicking Recalcu-
late is the same as pressing Enter.

Fig. 1.34 The QuickWatch dialog.

To maintain a longer watch, click the Add Watch button to add the variable to the
Watch window. When the QuickWatch dialog is dismissed by clicking Close, variables
in the dialog are not preserved. The next time the QuickWatch dialog is displayed, the
Name and Value fields are empty. The QuickWatch window can also be used to eval-
uate expressions such as arithmetic calculations (e.g., a + b - 9, etc.) and variable assign-
ments (e.g., x = 20, etc.) by typing the expression into the Expression field.
The Watch button displays the Watch window. The Variables button displays the
Variables window.
The Memory button displays the Memory window and the Registers button dis-
plays the Registers window (these buttons are beyond the scope of this book).
The Call Stack button displays a window containing the program’s function call
stack. A function call stack is a list of the functions that were called to get to the current line
in the program. This helps the programmer see the flow of control that led to the current
function being called.
The Disassembly button displays the Disassembly window. Analyzing a program
that has been disassembled is a complex process likely to be used by only the most
advanced programmers. We do not discuss the Disassembly window in this book.
Each of the buttons (e.g., Variables, Watch, Memory, Registers, Call Stack and
Disassembly) act as toggle buttons—clicking them hides the window (if it is visible) or
displays the window (if it is invisible). Debug windows (e.g., Variables, etc.) can also be
displayed during the debugging session by selecting the appropriate debug window from
the View menu’s submenu Debug Windows.
When a project is closed and reopened, any breakpoints set during a previous debug-
ging session are still set. Breakpoints are persistent. You can gather information about
breakpoints by selecting the Edit menu’s Breakpoints… menu item. When selected, the
Breakpoints… menu item displays the Breakpoints dialog (Fig. 1.35).
© Copyright 1992–2002 by Deitel & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
30 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

Fig. 1.35 The Breakpoint dialog box.

The Breakpoints dialog displays all the breakpoints currently set for the program. A
checkbox appears next to each breakpoint. If the breakpoint is active, the checkbox con-
tains a check. If the breakpoint is disabled, the checkbox is empty. A disabled breakpoint
will not cause the debugger to stop but may be re-enabled at a later time. Clicking the
checkbox allows the user to toggle the breakpoint on (checked) or off (unchecked). Addi-
tional breakpoints can be added by entering the desired line number into the Break at field.
Note that when entering the line number in the Break at field, precede the line number
with a period. For example, to set a breakpoint at line 13 we enter .13 in the Break at field.
Visual C++ also allows breakpoints to be enabled when certain conditions are true. The
programmer specifies the line number in the Break at field and presses the Condition...
button to display the Breakpoint Condition dialog. A condition is specified in the Enter
the expression to be evaluated field and OK is pressed to set the condition.

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 31

Fig. 1.36 Disabled breakpoint.

Figure 1.36 shows the debugging environment with a disabled breakpoint. Notice that
the disabled breakpoint is still visible but it appears as a white circle. To make the break-
point active, click the empty checkbox next to the breakpoint in the Breakpoints dialog.
Testing and Debugging Tip 1.10
Disabled breakpoints allow the programmer to maintain breakpoints in key locations in the
program so they can be used again when needed. Disabled breakpoints are always visible.1.10

Testing and Debugging Tip 1.11

When using the debugger to run a program at full speed, certain problems such as infinite
loops can usually be interrupted by selecting Break from the Debug menu. 1.11

When you have finished your debugging session, click the Stop Debugging button
on the Debug toolbar. The environment changes back to the pre-debugging setup. Refer
to the on-line documentation for additional debugger features.

1.7.1 Debugging an Application

This section guides the programmer through the debugging process for a simple C++ ap-
plication, Debug.cpp (Fig. 1.37). This application obtains a number from the user and
counts from 1 to that number.

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32 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

1 // Debug.cpp
2
3 #include <iostream>
4
5 using std::cout;
6 using std::cin;
7 using std::endl;
8
9 // function return number entered by user
10 int getNumber()
11 {
12 int number;
13
14 cout << "Enter an integer: ";
15 cin >> number;
16
17 return number;
18
19 } // end function getNumber
20
21 // funtion main begins program execution
22 int main()
23 {
24 // call function getNumber
25 // store result in int variable number
26 int number = getNumber();
27
28 if ( number <= 0 )
29 return 0;
30
31 else
32 for ( int i = 1; i <= number; i++ )
33 cout << i << endl; // print from 1 to the number
34
35 return 0; // indicate that program ended successfully
36
37 } // end main

Fig. 1.37 Code for Debug.cpp

1. In order to debug the code, Debug.cpp needs to be compiled into an executable

file. Create a project for Debug.cpp as described in Section 1.5. Next, compile
the program into an executable file.
2. In the window that contains the source code, add a breakpoint to line 26 by click-
ing the line in the program and pressing the F9 key. The red circle that appears in-
dicates that a breakpoint has been set at that line.
3. Repeat step 2, only this time set breakpoints at lines 29, 32 and 35. When complete
the window should appear as shown (Fig. 1.38).

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Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6 33

Fig. 1.38 Breakpoints set in a program.

4. Click Go (in the Start Debug submenu from the Build menu) to start the debug-
ger. Because we have chosen to debug a console application, the console window
(i.e., command prompt) appears. Program execution suspends for input and at
breakpoints. The program suspends execution at line 26. The yellow arrow to the
left of the statement

int number = getNumber();

indicates that execution is suspended at this line.

5. To add a watch, type the number into the name field of the Watch1 tab located
at the bottom of the IDE. Notice that the value for number is its memory address
because it has not been given a value.
6. Click Go again. At this point, the program is executing and the console window
is displayed. Enter 10 into the console and hit Enter. The program briefly resumes
execution and then suspends. Add another watch for variable i. This watch can
only be added when within the scope of i, meaning inside the for loop. If the
program is not within the scope of i, an error will be displayed for the value of i
in the Watch 1 pane. The Watch 1 pane now displays information about the in-
teger number and the variable i. number is used to store the number entered
by the user, therefore it always maintains its original value. Figure 1.39 shows
watches set for number and i.

Fig. 1.39 Watches set for number and i.

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34 Deitel® Dive-Into™ Series: Dive Into Microsoft Visual C++ 6

7. Clicking Step Over would execute the individual steps of the loop each time the
loop is executed. Clicking Step Out or Go would perform the whole loop in one
step.
8. Once the for loop has completed, program execution suspends at line 35. The
main window indicates that the debugger has completed and the count from 1 to
10 is displayed in the output window (Fig. 1.40). Even though a breakpoint was
set on line 29, the program never suspended on that line because the code on line
29 never executed. The code on lines 29 and 35 either end the program or display
the numbers to the outut window, depending on the number entered by the user.
Start the debugger again, by clicking Restart in the Debug menu, but enter a
non-positive number for the value into the console window and observe how the
debugger operates.

Fig. 1.40 Output for Debug.cpp

9. When you have finished your debugging session, click the Stop Debugging
button on the Debug toolbar. The environment returns to the pre-debugging lay-
out. Refer to the online documentation for additional debugger features.

© Copyright 1992–2002 by Deitel & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.