c++ gui with db connect

[sde]

when i first started learning php, i was pretty lost before i could connect to a db. once i learned how to connect to a db, it was all over. my progresss went from 1 to 100 mph.

i've taken a c++ class, but we never got past programming command line programs. on top of that, we never connected to a database.

i would like to know if anyone knows of a tutorial that will explain how to make a program with the following parameters:

1. open up a gui
2. have a search field
3. search submitted text from a database ( really cool if the db could be mysql.. i know mysql makes a c++ module )
4. returns results into the gui

that is all i want to learn. i think with that, i can experiment and start learning c++ a lot quicker. this is because once i can do that, i can think of so many ways to go with that code. with each way i will learn new things.

anyhow, please let me know if there's a place i can find a tutorial on this.

thanks

[sdeming]

The problem with C++ and connecting to a database is that there isn't a really good free database API available. Good being the key word.

Which platform are you targetting? If windows, then I may be able to help you a bit with using the CLI (ODBC Call Level Interface) which will allow you to talk to any database you have an ODBC driver for. Using CLI directly is a very painful experience, but if you were to build your own DB class library wrapping the CLI you would benefit a great deal in experience gained and the many lessons you'll learn doing this. I know, because I recently did such a thing and built nearly a mirror image of the Java JDBC API in C++, using CLI.

Of course, if you are using Windows with VS.NET then you can use of the CLR framework which provides just about everything you can imagine, from talking to a database to to building a full featured web application. The .NET framework is kind of like the Java API, except you don't have to use Java.

[sde]

have you ever checked out mysql ++ ? http://www.mysql.com/downloads/index.html

if i could create applications that could interface with mysql, the flexibility would be incredible as far as web integration with existing mysql databases.

yes, i am targeting the windows platform. i have vc++ 6 ( student edition ) , and vc++.net .

would the .net software be better to learn with?

[sdeming]

I'm not likely to ever use VC++ 6 again since I've started using the .NET version. As for learning, I am not sure there is a better environment out there than what you get with Visual C++. I do all of my C++ development in VC++, even the stuff that is targetted for Solaris. Building the makefile to build C++ code on Solaris is fairly simple from the VC++ project files.

I've never looked at the MySQL C++ API, simply because I hate using proprietary software. We started out using a crude Informix C++ API, I hated it. So I spent long nights rebuilding the Java JDBC API in C++ using ODBC/CLI and never looked back.

One thing though, if you use VS.NET and MC++ (managed) you'll have no troubles talking with any database since the ADODB stuff is exposed automatically. .NET is incredible. Depending on your goals as a software developer, you may want to stick with just that. Maybe learn C# as well.

C++, all told, takes about 2 years of 40 hour weeks and fairly constant development to fully understand.