Hey Mr Gates, I'm a big fan of yours :-).

Adobe Photoshop is written in straight C++. Although C++ is an extremely powerfull language, it has a very steep learning curve. C++ has GUI features, consult the links section for some help. When in doubt, google searching works wonders.

Photoshop has an MDI a Multiple Document Interface. This is when multiple windows are open inside one main window.

Because this is computer programming, there are always many ways to write programs. I love Visual Basic.NET, and C#. C# is a new language written from the ground up geared for the .NET framework and ease of use. Its a fusion of Java and c++ with VB ease. Best of all C# and VB.NET are very GUI geared, and have extensive GDI+ support (image manipulation).

Again, be sure to check out the links section. Their is a comprehensive set of links to get you going on your way.

"C++ has GUI features"

Well, strictly speaking, C++ has no GUI features whatsoever. It knows nothing about such things, they're simply not part of the C++ language or standard library. If your compiler has GUI features (as many do) they're a platform specific extension. For instance MS VC++ comes with everything you need to be able to write GUI apps that run under Windows.

..thats what I ment to say :-P

You can create windows applications with pretty much any popular language out there, even Perl. I take it you haven't explored deep enough in the C++ realm to do any Windows programming. Visual Studio comes with premade classes where you can instantiate windows, buttons, controls, etc. You just use them. Simple as that. There is no magic. There are no tricks. You have to know what classes to use, and how they are called, and that means knowing about OOP, pointers, inheritence, and all the good stuff that makes up applications. You can pick up a book on "Windows Programming" or "Visual C++" to learn more.

If you want to go the easy way, you can try Visual Basic. Visual Basic hides a lot of the complexity, so it makes it easier and faster to code Windows applications. GUI development in VB is easier because a lot of it is drag and drop. You can double click on a control and code the events right there.