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I'm looking for a nice and simple GUI Toolkit that I can use with MSVC++ 2008. I need something with simple examples/tutorials and good documentation.

I've already tried wxWidgets, and I had a real headache on trying to compile it. And the Qt tutorials and examples seem way to complicated for me.

I have quite a bit experience in Swing, it's been the only GUI toolkit that I've been able to understand.


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Qt really is very simple, once you get their way of doing things. And the documentation is excellent. Far better than most other toolkits I've worked with. If I were you, I'd definitively invest some more time trying to understand Qt. Once you get it, it's really simple and consistent. –  houbysoft Jul 22 '11 at 20:00
I second the "Qt really is very simple" view. In either case, the best part of Qt for me is that the documentation is remarkably good both in completeness and readability. –  Lex Jul 22 '11 at 20:12
Try the tutorial from Qt 4.4. It's easier for a complete beginner than the later ones. doc.qt.nokia.com/4.4/tutorials-tutorial.html –  Szabolcs Jul 26 '11 at 20:38
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4 Answers

Is there a reason that MFC, the toolkit that ships with MSVC++, is not an option for you? There's tons of example code and it's not particularly difficult to work with.

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+1 on that. Simple and quick. Choose QT/WX later. –  Ajay Jul 23 '11 at 3:32
Programming MFC feels very unlike programming C++. The design pattern isn't suitable for a large group -- that's why M$ develops .net I think. –  Stan Jul 23 '11 at 10:52
We have a fairly large group (30+ people) working on a single MFC application, and it works fine. Can't comment on the feel -- not enough experience with other packages for comparison. –  mwigdahl Jul 25 '11 at 15:05
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Maybe FLTK? I haven't used it that much myself and it's not particularly popular, but it's a relatively simple library with decent documentation. There's also GTKmm, which is quite a bit more complicated, but much more widely used.

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Uh, if Qt looks complicated.. anyway, try fltk.

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If you're using Visual C++ then why not just use the built in MFC widgets? It comes with an extensively-supported visual form designer integrated into the IDE, right? You drag and drop components from a toolbox and set properties from a graphical list; it can't possibly be easier.

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Eh, I don't really like GUI Designers, I find it more fun to type up everything. –  Benjamin Jul 22 '11 at 20:24
I was also about to suggest it as the simplest way. The only thing he needs to get familiarized with is how to call unmanaged C++ code from clr application. –  Gene Bushuyev Jul 22 '11 at 20:26
@Benjamin -- you asked for the simple way, and this is the simplest one. –  Gene Bushuyev Jul 22 '11 at 20:27
@Gene I thought that Visual C++ 2008 (different from Visual Studio 2008) let you design forms on MFC in normal C++ without being in .NET. –  Brian Gordon Jul 22 '11 at 20:42
@Brian -- I didn't notice you suggested MFC. Yes, it's still there, but using built-in designer is even simpler, except one need to remember how to marshal strings to unmanaged code and back. –  Gene Bushuyev Jul 22 '11 at 21:26
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