Features

Features of OWLNext

These are the most prominent features of OWLNext:

• A migration path to modern C++ for legacy OWL applications written in Borland C++.
• Support for modern C++ and compilers from Embarcadero and Microsoft (see Supported Compilers).
• Corrections and improvements to the original OWL API for more robust code.
• New features, such as Dialog Data Transfer and Safe Transfer Buffers.
• 32-bit and 64-bit targets for Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10/11.
• Additional extension libraries (OCFNext, OWLExt and CoolPrj).

OWLNext is an open-source project based on contributions and directions from its community.

For the functional features of OWLNext, see the online API documentation, and for background information see The History of OWLNext.

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Who should use OWLNext?

OWLNext is recommended for anyone with legacy OWL code. The primary purpose of OWLNext is to support the maintenance of legacy OWL applications by providing compatibility with the most recent versions of the Windows operating system and the compilers from Embarcadero and Microsoft, as well as providing new features and support for modern C++ and programming style.

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Who shouldn't use OWLNext?

OWLNext is not recommended unless you need to maintain a legacy OWL application. For native Windows application development there are today better alternatives, e.g. native libraries from compiler vendors, such as MFC, ATL and VCL, as well as popular open-source libraries, such as WTL, Qt, GTK+ and wxWidgets. For non-native programming languages, such as C++/CLI, C# and Java, there are frameworks with extensive GUI and RAD support.

While many of the alternatives just mentioned support cross-platform development and deployment, OWLNext is, very much like MFC, closely tied to the Windows API. Cross-platform support is limited to running on a 3rd-party Windows API implementation, such as Wine.

Use of OWLNext requires a proprietary OWL license and may therefore be unsuitable for open-source projects.