.Net Framework

• c++, with
• Conversion of types
• Data Structures
• Delete an Object automatically when it goes out of scope
• Dialog
• Exception Handler, Global
• Executing a Process from Code
• GUI Thread, Signaling and passing data to it
• Process, Executing from Code
• Text, URI Encoding
• Type Conversion
• using statement
• WebClient
• XML

Signaling and Passing Data to the GUI Thread

Non GUI Thread

Handler that will be called on GUI thread

Executing a Process from Code

URI Encoding Text

using used to Delete an Object automatically when it goes out of scope

Use the using statement

public void foo() {
    using( Object obj = new Object) {
        obj.DoSomething();
    }
    // obj gets deleted here
}

Type Conversion System.Convert

Global Exception Handler

Uncaught exceptions can be caught by this.

public static void Main()
{
    System.Windows.Forms.Application.ThreadException += System.Thread.ThreadExceptionEventHandler( OnAppException);
}

private static void OnAppException( Object sender, ST.ThreadExceptionEventArgs e)
{
}

WebClient System.Net.WebClient

XML System.XML

XmlDocument

XmlNode

ArrayList System.Collections.ArrayList

• Only contains items of class Object
• Default size is 16 elements
• Doubles capacity if size is exceeded

Array System.Array

Given:
int [] arInts = new int[10];

Queue System.Collections.Queue

• Is circular Object array
• Initial size is 32
• Default growth factor is 2.0 (size is multiplied by this when it needs to grow)

Queue System.Collections.Stack

• Internally is some sort of array (probably an ArrayList)
• Initial size is 10

Hashtable System.Collections.Hashtable

• Expanding the size of the Hashtable is relatively expensive, so if you have a guess as to how many elements will be in it, set its initial size accordingly
• The hash value is based on the key System.Object.GetHash( Object)
• loadfactor is how full the table gets before being resized, you can specify a loadfactor between 0.1 and 1.0, but internally it either (a)max'es out at 0.72 or (b) multiplies the factor times 0.72 - Microsoft decided performance goes down the drain if the loadfactor is less than 0.72
• Size is appoximately doubled when adding a new value past the loadfactor. The next size is actually chosen from a list of prime numbers, since the hash table size vrs an aspect of choosing hash values should be relatively prime to reduce collisions
• On collision an alternate hash value calculation is used to find an empty cell
• Expected number of probes needed when a collision occurs is at most
  1 / (1 - loadfactor)
  which averages out to 3.5 by default

Data Structures

Data Structures

• Array
• ArrayList
• Hashtable
• Queue
• Stack

Generics (like c++ Templates)

Note: Not before .NET 2.0

• System.Collections.Generic
• System.Collections.Generic.List

MSDN Articles

1. An Extensive Examination of Data Structures, Part 1: An Introduction to Data Structures
2. An Extensive Examination of Data Structures, Part 2: The Queue, Stack, and Hashtable
3. An Extensive Examination of Data Structures, Part 3: Binary Trees and BSTs
4. An Extensive Examination of Data Structures, Part 4: Building a Better Binary Search Tree contains information about "Skip Lists"
5. An Extensive Examination of Data Structures, Part 5: From Trees to Graphs
6. An Extensive Examination of Data Structures, Part 6: Efficiently Representing Sets

With C++

Making a C++ .NET Forms project by hand http://www.developer.com/net/net/article.php/1378751 "Building a .NET Windows Forms App in Visual C++ .NET"

Commonly Needed .NET libraries

#using <System.dll>
#using <System.Drawing.dll>
#using <System.Windows.Forms.dll>
#using <System.Data.dll>

Message Box

#using <system.windows.forms.dll>
using namespace System::Windows::Forms;

namespace TestSceneGraphWrapper
{
	public __gc class Wrapper
	{
		void Test() {
			System::Windows::Forms::MessageBox::Show(
				"Message",
				"title",
				MessageBoxButtons::OKCancel,
				MessageBoxIcon::Information
			);
		}
	};
}

Dialog

To open a Form as a modal Dialog, call .ShowDialog() to open it non-modal, call .Show()