Chapter 2. Hello, Windows Forms

The programs shown in the previous chapter were not, of course, Windows programs. Those programs didn't create their own windows, didn't draw any graphics, and knew nothing about the mouse. All the user input and output came through a class named Console. It's time to move on. For the remainder of this book, the Console class won't be entirely forgotten, but it will be relegated to relatively mundane chores such as logging and primitive debugging.

Which raises the question: What exactly is the difference between a console application and a Windows application? Interestingly enough, the distinction isn't quite as clear-cut as it used to be. A single application can have elements of both. It can start out as a console application and then become a Windows application, and go back to being a console application again. A Windows application can also display console output with impunity. A console application can display a Windows message box to report a problem and then resume console output when the user dismisses that message box.