How does C++ fit in the “all in the cloud” meme we hear non-stop these days? Are C++ developers staring at a scenario where we need to use other languages just to connect to the “cloud” and consume web services? If you are increasingly staring at this scenario and wondering what options exist out there, then I have some great news for you.
The C++ team is investing in a modern C++ based library for connecting C++ to cloud services. This project, called the C++REST SDK (code-named Casablanca) allows a C++ developer write modern C++ code (C++11) and connect their apps to any REST-based cloud service. More details on C++REST SDK are here and you can get the bits here.
If you are interested in learning how to connect C++ applications to the cloud, I have written an article for MSDN Magazine. In the article, published in the August edition of the magazine, I discuss how to upload a file to Dropbox using C++REST SDK and the Dropbox REST-based endpoint. The sample is a Windows desktop application using MFC and illustrates how one can integrate C++REST SDK with little effort in existing codebases that need to communicate to cloud services.
If this excites you, I must say that is not all. The September edition, due shortly, will show how to integrate C++REST SDK in Windows Store applications.
I am currently exploring options to build a Linux based application and will write an article once I am done with it.
So, what is the big deal in all of this? Well, all of the client code that talks to Dropbox in my samples is written using standard C++ and remains exactly as-is across my samples, barring minor changes. Now, is that not exciting enough to dip your toes in C++REST SDK?
Stay tuned for more!
-Sridhar
Thanks very much for the article in the August edition. We are adding to our software the ability to open from Dropbox and share to Dropbox, and this was a huge help.
I can’t however figure out how to properly format a POST request to Dropbox (to create a new folder).
I’m passing the post parameters into CreateOAuthSignedParameters. Then I’m adding them to the body of my request (I have tried both adding them as json values and as a string). I keep getting a “Bad Request” error. Could you point me in the right direction to find information on this?
Hello Danielle, replied to your mail with a code snippet. Sorry for the late response and let me know if you need further help!
Thanks,
Sridhar