by Odis Wooten, Peter Vanvliet, Bobby Schaffer, and Karim Shaikh
The C SIG has evolved over the years along with the “C” language. Although the language and the operating system have changed over the years, the SIG continues to focus on demonstrating how the language can be used to develop the latest whiz-bangs for the personal computer.
Odis Wooten started the original “C” SIG in 1983 and continues to be the leader. In the early days sometime only one person would attend the meeting. Back then the “C” language was associated mainly with the UNIX operating system, with the “C” compilers for MS-DOS having very little support for manipulating the personal computer. For example, the compiler’s library had no routines for erasing the screen or changing the screen to blue with white text.
The early meetings consisted of presentations by members or invited guests who would discuss some application that they had developed using “C”. For example, one topic was by the fellow who created “Sideways”, a utility to print spreadsheets sideways on an Epson dot matrix printer. Other meetings would showcase new products that developers could use along with the “C” compilers to more effectively create applications, such as “Vermont Views”.
The members would also spend time discussing some of the more profound philosophical implications of “C” coding, such as why all other programming languages (save assembler) were for “quiche-eaters”, and whether Microsoft or Borland made the better compiler.
Over the years the SIG changed to accommodate the two major changes in “C”: the switch in the language from “C” to “C++”, and the acceptance of the “Windows” operating system. Both of these influences were based on the notion of “Object Oriented Programming”, with the creation of “classes” of objects (such as “windows”) using “messages” sent between class members to create the desired functionality.
We also bid adieu to the classroom at St. Thomas and began meeting at the consolidated HAL-PC headquarters.
In 1994 the “C” SIG became the “C++” SIG. By then the prominent compiler makers had mutated their products from “C” to “C++” and had begun offering tools for developing Windows applications. While the language and operating system had evolved, the SIG still focused on demonstrating how to use the available tools to create applications with the professional features users had come to expect.
In 1994 Peter Vanvliet joined Odis in leading the C++ SIG. Peter and Odis have focused the SIG on using the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler and its development tools. Some of the meetings in the last year have included co-hosting Microsoft’s Houston stop of its development tools tour, demonstrating how to write applications to talk over the Internet or how to write your own spreadsheet. We also had members discuss the weaknesses of the C++ language and some of the considerations necessary in developing large-scale applications.
In 1990 the Beginner’s C SIG was formed, which met for an hour before the regular C SIG. When the original leader moved from Houston, Bobby Schaffer took over leadership duties.
His approach was to cover one introductory topic per meeting, with the topics chosen the prior meeting by the attendees. He also used the venerable Borland 3.1 MS-DOS compiler to focus on the structure of C/C++ and avoid the complexities of Windows programming. The beginner’s C++ SIG covered such topics as pointers and structures, classes, inheritance and serial communications, as well as one session on a typical C implementation of a Windows application.
In 1997 Karimulla Shaikh joined Bobby as Leader of the Beginner’s SIG. Karim helped prod Bobby into moving beyond MS-DOS programming with an obsolete compiler.
Thus the “new look” to the Beginner’s C++ SIG began with an in-depth coverage of Windows programming using the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler. So far the SIG has covered how to use the code-generating utilities of the compiler to build the initial versions of an application and to add dialogs and menus.
It has also begun an in-depth discussion of the fundamental C++ classes provided by Microsoft to develop Windows applications. Future meetings will continue the tour of the Microsoft Foundation Classes for building Windows applications; however plans are afoot for alternating the Windows-specific sessions with general topics on C++ programming.
The C++ SIG meets at 7:00 p.m. every 2nd Thursday of the month, with the Beginning C++ SIG meeting at 6:00 p.m. We generally have between 15 and 20 members attend each session.
We host a web site at http://www.nanocorp.com/cppsig/cppsig.htm. Typically the code and/or PowerPoint presentation from the meetings are posted at the site.
To contact us, e-mail Peter at pvanvlie@neosoft.com or Bobby at rebob@hal-pc.org.
E-mail me at webmaster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.