Assuming I am only using them for "normal" GUI programs (no COM, no ActiveX, nothing fancy), what is the fundamental difference I will see between ATL and MFC, to help me figure out which one to use?
I've done some searches on the web, but ultimately none of the answers really answered my question:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bk8ytxz5(v=vs.80).aspx:
"ATL is a fast, easy way to both create a COM component in C++ and maintain a small footprint. Use ATL to create a control if you don't need all of the built-in functionality that MFC automatically provides."
Doesn't really answer my question, because:
I'm not working with COM.
Does this imply MFC isn't fast? Why/how?
"MFC allows you to create full applications, ActiveX controls, and active documents. If you have already created a control with MFC, you may want to continue development in MFC. When creating a new control, consider using ATL if you don't need all of MFC's built-in functionality."
Also doesn't answer my question, because:
I don't really even know what ActiveX is in the first place.
It looks as though Microsoft is discouraging the use of MFC, but I can't figure out why.
What exactly is MFC's "built-in functionality" that ATL doesn't provide?
In general, this doesn't answer my question because it doesn't explain the downsides and the reasons behind them.
because directly or indirectly, everything seems to link back to the previous page: