I tried building an app in MFC after programming in Delphi/Borland C++ Builder. And my reaction was "Nope. ... Nope. Nope."
I was overwhelmed by the feeling that designer of MFC doesn't want me to get anything done but instead wants to take me on neverending tour of the peculiarities of underlying libraries that were built for 16bit ancient windows.
This is spot-on. The university I attended offered a MS MFC certification trail ('97), I politely declined after using Borland C++ Buider during my internship. MFC had so much Win32 cruft percolating out of everywhere! I was amazed the VCL managed to insulate the user from most of it.
I was overwhelmed by the feeling that designer of MFC doesn't want me to get anything done but instead wants to take me on neverending tour of the peculiarities of underlying libraries that were built for 16bit ancient windows.