class-library-overview.md

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Class Library Overview | Microsoft Docs		11/04/2016			cpp-windows		article	vc.classes.mfc	C++	grouping MFC classes MFC, class library classes [MFC], MFC class libraries, MFC class libraries	9b0e3152-ac39-4f52-91b4-f20aa3a674aa	12	mikeblome	mblome	ghogen

Class Library Overview

This overview categorizes and describes the classes in the Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC) version 9.0. The classes in MFC, taken together, constitute an application framework — the framework of an application written for the Windows API. Your programming task is to fill in the code that is specific to your application.

The library's classes are presented here in the following categories:

• Root Class: CObject

• MFC Application Architecture Classes

  • Application and Thread Support Classes

  • Command Routing Classes

  • Document Classes

  • View Classes (Architecture)

  • Frame Window Classes (Architecture)

  • Document-Template Classes

• Window, Dialog, and Control Classes

  • Frame Window Classes (Windows)

  • View Classes (Windows)

  • Dialog Box Classes

  • Control Classes

  • Control Bar Classes

• Drawing and Printing Classes

  • Output (Device Context) Classes

  • Drawing Tool Classes

• Simple Data Type Classes

• Array, List, and Map Classes

  • Template Classes for Arrays, Lists, and Maps

  • Ready-to-Use Array Classes

  • Ready-to-Use List Classes

  • Ready-to-Use Map Classes

• File and Database Classes

  • File I/O Classes

  • DAO Classes

  • ODBC Classes

  • OLE DB Classes

• Internet and Networking Classes

  • Windows Sockets Classes

  • Win32 Internet Classes

• OLE Classes

  • OLE Container Classes

  • OLE Server Classes

  • OLE Drag-and-Drop and Data Transfer Classes

  • OLE Common Dialog Classes

  • OLE Automation Classes

  • OLE Control Classes

  • Active Document Classes

  • OLE-Related Classes

• Debugging and Exception Classes

  • Debugging Support Classes

  • Exception Classes

The section General Class Design Philosophy explains how the MFC Library was designed.

For an overview of the framework, see Using the Classes to Write Applications for Windows. Some of the classes listed above are general-purpose classes that can be used outside of the framework and provide useful abstractions such as collections, exceptions, files, and strings.

To see the inheritance of a class, use the Class Hierarchy Chart.

In addition to the classes listed in this overview, the MFC Library contains a number of global functions, global variables, and macros. There is an overview and detailed listing of these in the topic MFC Macros and Globals, which follows the alphabetical reference to the MFC classes.

See Also

MFC Desktop Applications