Programming

I've had Visual Basic 4.0 for several years now, but I only started to get serious about programming in the language at the begginning of 1998. I obtained a copy of VB5 over the internet, but mainly so I could view all the source code for apps written in Visual Basic (everyone's using VB5 now). I'm also learning C++. Mainly, it's been just learning the new syntax for concepts that I pretty much already knew - but then those pointers and references, sheesh!
Really, I think I'll probably still use both languages, depending on the type of application I'm writing.



Programming Tools for Windows 95:

• DLLView, FileMon & RegMon. These three freeware tools let you see what DLLs, Files, and which parts of the registry are being used.
• GKSetup
  GKSetup lets you create setup programs for your programs.

C++

I'm learning to program in C++ using Borland's C/C++ compiler version 3.1. At the same time I'm trying to learn to program normal Windows applications (with a nize GUI) in Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0. Emphasis on "trying". I still haven't figured out where to start coding. "In time, Luke, you too will learn the ways of Visual C++... "

DirectX

Another project of mine is trying to learn DirectX (mainly to use Direct3D) so I can program my own games - my "models" are Relentless and Twinsen's Odyssey. I probably need to get a DirectX book, and the DirectX SDK. From what I understand, to use DirectDraw you must:

1. Declare, then create a DirectDraw object (an instance of DDraw).
2. Declare, then create a DDraw surface, with an attached, invisible surface (the Back Buffer).
3. Load your background, overlay, sprites. etc. into video memory.
4. Blit your bitmaps, overlay, and sprites from memory onto the Back Buffer.
5. Flip the surfaces so that the current Primary surface is the previous Back Buffer, and the current Back Buffer is the previous Primary Surface.
6. Repeat from step 4.