Win32 Programming (Addison-Wesley Advanced Windows Series)

Brent E. Rector | Joseph M. Newcomer

Win32 Programming, by Brent E. Rector and John M. Newcomer is a massive, 1,500-page guide to Win32 C programming, something of a lost art these days. Although even the authors admit they use C++ and MFC in their own work, this text, as a one volume document of the powerful Win32 API programming, is truly comprehensive and can replace any number of texts on a programmer's bookshelf. Win32 Programming examines the basics of programming in Windows: from a minimal skeleton program to aspects of the Win32 API, from graphics, menus, user interface components (including the Windows 95 common controls) to more advanced topics like memory management, multithreaded programming, and synchronization objects. (These last topics are useful in that system programmers--or those who write device drivers--may need access to the C API directly.) In addition to presenting reference material (including all the API calls themselves), the authors explain the ideas of how to program in a clearly written style. Though some of the material feels dated (from 16-bit Windows 3.x programming), by and large, the authors do a good job of updating this to Windows 95 and Windows NT. Sections and tips that apply only to one API or operating system are clearly marked. The CD-ROM also includes over 140,000 lines of source code to experiment with, truly a historical treasure trove for the Win32 C programmer. Developers who need to use C calls, or prefer to have printed documentation instead of online help in their compiler, should consider making space on the bookshelf for this enormous title.

1 Good, but needs editting
Very good on the level of detail, and incredible on the pitfalls and specific problems they found when actually writing the code for the examples. Be careful, though - a number of the tables (and even some of the printed code samples) contain typos and other minor errors (like missing headings, making one table pretty useless!). You can figure out what's wrong, but if you just use this as a reference and happen to hit a section with an error you might not catch it without reading the accompanying text. I read it through, rather than as a reference, and it was clear which parts of the text had only been lightly checked for the latest edition.

Again, 95+% of this book is really great! And the anecdotes and clear detail on where MS documentation is "flawed" are of terrific value - I definitely am glad to have purchased it, but I also want to point out that if something in it doesn't make sense - you're probably not crazy. It's quite likely to be a typo...

Oh - one more thing. The "Explorer" samples they include were a fabulous idea, and have really helped me figure out what the heck some of the various style (and other) flags really meant. Extra credit for the CD! :-)

2 Excellent reference, not for beginners
If you are an experienced Win32 programmer looking for a good reference, or you learned MFC but want to know what's going on under the hood, this is the book for you. If you are a beginner looking for a book to teach you how to program Windows, do not get this book. Lots of tables, just the right amount of code examples, lots of real-world advice, and a 200-page index. This book does not cover MFC.

3 CD loaded with lots of good code examples
The book has a very good foundation for the development of Win32 applications and system programming. I found the book to have many well established examples and definitely could be used as a reference. The CD provided with the book is loaded with lots of good code examples.
This book is not for the newcomer, in order to get good information from the book you should have some good experience in both software programming and some experience with operating systems in general. The book is highly technical and may require the reader to sometimes re-read items in order to totally understand them. The book listings and explanations through tables and figures were very helpful, I must admit that without those tables and figures it would have been much more difficult for me to understand many of the technical items conveyed in the book.
I had the chance to try a few of the book examples (too many to try all) and found that they all were working fine. I did find the book a bit hard to navigate through; It may be due to the quantity of information or what I felt was a very small font size which made the book feel a bit crowded. -- Review by Michael S.

4 MSVC Biased
At first glance, this book seems excellent because it describes Win32 with a lot of details. The biggest problem is that, the code in the book and the one on the CD-ROM are not the same. For example, while the book describes raw Win32 wonderfully, all of the code on the CD-ROM is 100% Microsoft Visual C++ biased. Just to start, all classes use the MSVC naming convention; of course, that's not a big deal. The real problem is that ALL examples were written using MFC. For example, the combo boxes, list boxes, edit, property sheets, etc, use MFC objects and their code is not transferrable.
This book was supposed to let people using any Windows compatible compiler to use its code. But the code doesn't work. All the manipulations of controls highly rely on how MFC implements them. Therefore, if you are using MSVC and are a Microsoft fanatic, like the authors, this is a good book. If you are using another compiler, you will be extremely disappointed. What a shame? There are not enough books on the subject. The only one I can recommend is Windows 98 Programming (which is out of print, unfortunately).

5 Not for beginners
If your looking for a book to get you started programming windows, then dont buy this book.
Its not a "How To Book", it a reference book.

A waste of money if your a beginner.

6 Excellent Book with one caveat
This is one of the most comprehensive books for learning Win32 programming , no doubt . The book has no leftovers from the win16 era and it points out differences between them wherever it deems appropriate. The range and depth of the material is amazing .Now let me get to the bottom line . This is region specific .In some countries like India this book is published without the associated CDROM. Since the book relies heavily on the source code on the CDROM I am wondering how to make most out of the book In short , the book with CDROM is 5 stars and without CDROM is 3 stars . So buyers , if you get the book without the CDROM please reconsider your options .

7 Excellent explanation of the core Win32 API for GUI apps
I am an experienced software engineer with a Unix/X Window System background and needed to get up to speed on the Win32 API without being coddled like a child or taught how to program. I looked at Win32 books for several months before I found this book on the shelf.

I like the organization of the book which starts with the core of a well-behaved Win32 application and moves on to bigger and better things with each chapter. I learned many good Win32 programming habits, such as the proper use of Unicode and , proper message loop structuring, and so-on from this book. These lessons in Win32 programming were learned the hard way (from the school of hard knocks also called "experience") by the authors so that I didn't have to suffer the same torturous fate.

The authors start with the core of a Win32 application and then move through the core GDI objects: device contexts, fonts, windows, etc. Then they proceed to examine all the common controls one by one with an exhaustive reference of all their messages.

Along the way, the authors point out places where porting from Win16 to Win32 might be a problem, as well as pointing out known bugs in the MSDN documentation and the Win32 implementation, referencing knowledge base articles for more detail. I also found the advice for those transitioning from a unix background helpful.

This might not be the best book for a beginner that has never written a GUI application before, but if you're familiar with the basics of event driven GUI applications from other window systems (AmigaOS, BeOS, MacOS or X Window System), then this book will teach you what you need to know about Win32 without wasting your time explaining things that you already know and understand.

If you are a complete beginner, you might be better off with a different book to start with, but still might enjoy this book as a reference once you've got the basics down. When I asked around on usenet about Win32 books, many people suggested Richter's book. I looked at Richter's book many times but it just didn't move me to buy it because I wanted a book that was a more exhaustive reference and one that didn't assume I was a beginner programmer.

Several people said "Yeah, I learned from Richter, but /Win32 Programming/ is the book I keep on the shelf. Once I read through Richter, I didn't use it anymore." Another factor is that /Win32 Programming/ is hardback, which makes it stand up to lots of use on a day-to-day basis.

8 This book is so good
This is the best book for window programming and almost couldn't be better.

9 Great authors great book
I have just started reading this book. This is my first venture into windows programming other then a really bad dialog based app I threw together for a class in a night after purusing a chapter of a game programming book (chapter on win), and a on-line tutor. So far I have found this book great. I had a problem with compilation, that was cuased by some changes in msvc from the 4.2 it was written in to msvc 6 I am using. Commented out 2 macros from extension.h.. then found a updated on Newcomer's (one of the authors) website. Still had some problems, and I decided to e-mail him, not expecting a responce.. and got one the same day! Some changes where made in the link settings from msvc 4.2 to 6. Also need to add comctl32.dll and version.dll to the link list for the setting's. After that it compiled fine. The ppl who where having problems compiling might want to try those 2 things. A excellent book, and I'm not even through chapter 3 yet! Only thing I would like is projects at the end of chapters. -John PS. The author will be adding the full source for the example programs, msvc 6 compatible to his website in the near future.

10 This book is well worth every penny!
This is a great book to own! I continuously refer to it, and occasionally sit down with it to learn new topics. It also gives a great description of how owner-draw items work (menus, etc.) and their differences between straight-Win32 and MFC. Great coverage on bitmaps and how to use the device context for drawing, with excellent straight-forward examples!

11 A must have for any Win32 Programmer's Collection
My only criticism of this book is the title "Win32 Programming" which encompasses far more than just GUI programming. This book does not cover many important sections of the Win32 API (no single book can), it focuses primarily on GUI programming.

If you are writing Win32 applications with a GUI interface, this book is a must. No other book is as comprehensive and I found the text as well as the code easy to follow (and I'm not a C/C++ programmer).

12 The single best reference to beginning Windows Programming
This book is KEY. By that I mean that regardless if you choose to use MFC or not (and I do a lot of stuff that does not, being a graphics person) this book offers insight into programming, the mess that is Win32, and how to deal with it. If offers help regarding the various versions of Windows and the associated history and language conventions, the most correct and incorrect ways to deal with typing issues that some compilers would let you get around but would hamstring you later in porting your code, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, it is readable. It isnt very often you get a programming book you can take somewhere and read it, comprehend it, come back to the compiler and run the sample code later and still retain comprehension. You can do that with this book. Code is good, the explorer progs are better, but the text is first rate. I would buy this and Petzold, and your choice of MFC book, and you should be well on your way.

13 This book sits on my desk, not the book shelf.
This is the best SDK book I have ever read, I have read all of Petzold's books and they are also very good, but this one gets into the details like no other book I have read. The programming style and structure of the book is first class, it makes an excellent learning tool and reference.

I have found that when a book gets only five stars or one star what we have here is a great book that is beyond the understanding of a few people. If you like watered down how to's with out detailed explanation then this book is not for you. But if you are looking to be a first class programmer with all the information you can get on the subject then this is a must have book.

I had no problem compiling the programs, you need to know your compiler and adjust the make file but that takes a bit if thinking that some people just don't have. If you can not figure out a simple problem like compiling a program with out having your hand held then you are in the wrong field.

14 First Class solid intro to Win32
This book provides an excellent, unbiased treatment of the Win32 API. Everything for the application programmer is well explained, and the examples on the CD-ROM provide a wealth of hands on information. However, I did not buy the book simply to reuse somebody else's code, and I assume those '1 star' reviews are from people who missed the point and strength of the book.

15 can't open the door
I bought two books at same time:One is Petzold's book(the best one),the other is this book(bad one). Petzold's book explain very well how to compile the code.It also has very good example.But in this book, I don't know how to compile the example.I tried to see Make file because I already have experience with make file in Petzold's book.But I was surprised at the size of make file in CD-ROM. I also tried to read some page about VC++ envirnment in this book,still nothing.Again I load the examples in VC++ envirnment and tried to compile using VC++ envirnment,but it failed.

I think that the author assume the reader know how to compile his example. That is not true.

Even if your room has diamond,if you can't open your door,it is nothing.Maybe this book has good example.But I can't open the door. How can I compile codes after I changed them???

16 Excellent and thorough book for non-Windows programmers.
This is a great explaination of how to program in MS-Windows if you have not done it before. It's a lot to read, but then, there's a lot to programming in windows. The sample code ties in well with the text. It's pricey, but worth it. Stay away from the paperbacks and buy this book instead.

17 Topics are covered well, but some topics are missing
I've found the basic WIN32 topic well covered. However, I've been looking for a good discussion of the List View and other common controls. Most of them are basically ignored in this book.

18 This book has no equal in Win32 Api
I love this book. It is my bible. The structure of the book is clear and well organized. I learned more about the windows enviroment more through this book than any other. If you are an experienced windows programmer, you will definitely want this book as a reference. Even new programmers to windows can use this book as a reference and tutorial due to the manageable pace in which the book progresses. Finally, its the only programming book in my library that is hardcover! I wish that all books were hardcover like this!

19 A useless book
This book is BAD. I could not compile the sample codes (maybe they are obsolete). Among the 4 books I have on Windows API, this is the only one I don't like.

20 A definitve and exhaustive reference and learning source
Anyone who currently programs in the Win32 environment or wants to learn how to do so needs this book. It exhaustively details the thousands of widgets (i.e. functions, manifest constants, structures, etc) that make up Win32, and provides detailed intellegent discussions of the concepts behind those widgets. These discussions are conducted in excellent English. The examples are mostly in 'C' with some 'C++'.

As a consequence this book is not for beginners. You must have a firm grasp of 'C' in order to follow the thread of the model program which is developed in the book. Since this is some of the most difficult programming imaginable, it is not a good place to start learning 'C'.

Some of the conceptual discussions are outstanding. I particularly liked the section on coordinate transformations. I had orginally consulted Windows "Help" and Petzold trying to get a handle on this elusive and difficult subject. I found that the explanation in this book was by far the most accessable and exhaustive.

The index is particularly well arranged and useful, and add immeasurably to the utility of the book.

This book is unique in its structure, in that it serves as both a reference and a teaching guide simultaneously. If one merely needs to refresh the memory or one encounters a new concept that need elaboration, this book will almost certainly fill the bill in the most efficient way possible.

I will use this book for many years to come, and wish that I had known about it earlier as it would have saved me an enormous amount of labor.

It is one of those rare computer books that is written for the ages, rather than the current release of the software.

(the author of this review is a software engineer of over 30 years experience, most of it non-Windows)

21 The most comprehensive single windows book available
Get ready for a glowing recommendation. This is absolutely the most informative single book on Windows programming I have ever read. Covers a massive array of windows API funtions and objects.

An absolute must for both beginners and experienced programmers due to it's excellent index. You can look just about any term up in the index making the book much easier to digest.

Furthermore, the book starts with a skeleton windows application upon which the reader builds more complexity throughout the book. Excellent approach to learning a programming environment. Reminds me of the massive old documentation with comprehensive indexes you would get in the old days. Also comes with a CD containing examples used in the book. Imagine a book you can use for both reference and learning. What a concept!

22 Excellent Reference
Win32 Programming is probably the best programming reference book I own. The authors of this book do something that most writers of programming books fail to do - EXPLAIN the subject matter (not just give examples). I only wish that all of my books were this well done.

23 Excellent reference
A superbly comprehensive and detailed win32 reference- invaluable for anyone serious about writing Windows 95/NT applications.

24 To be honest, the book is useless, and here is why :
Because it contains so huge examples, that it's impossible to follow the code.
With almost every example, you can find a sentence like this :
"Don't worry about what does it mean", or "You really don't have to know that".
I think, you got the picture.Although, there are over 1500 pages, explanations are very bad, and incomplete.
The book is probably usefull to highly experienced win programmers, but again
Do they need a book about creating windows ? I guess not.
If you are new to windows programming, you won't learn anything from it.
In the matther-of-fact,you could give up after a while (while = few months), like I did.