Building Tablet PC Applications (Pro-Developer) [Paperback]

Rob Jarrett (Author), Philip Su (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735617236 | ISBN-13: 978-0735617230 | Publication Date: October 25, 2002

Many pen-based software platforms have been introduced in the last decade, but only recently has the introduction of faster processors and hardware enabled mainstream introduction of tablet-sized pen-based PCs. This book tackles the challenge of writing compelling Tablet PC software on two fronts. First, it distills decades of usability research into pen-based computing to present an authoritative discussion of the optimal design of pen-based user interfaces. Second, it provides an in-depth exposition of the Tablet PC Ink SDK, complete with tips and tricks on how developers can produce the most powerful and natural “ink-aware” applications.

• Distills decades of usability research into pen-based software to present an authoritative discussion of the optimal design of pen-based user interfaces
• Provides an in-depth exposition of the TabletPC Ink SDK, complete with tips and tricks on how developers can produce the most powerful and natural pen-based, “ink-aware” applications
• Co-written by the lead software developer on the Microsoft TabletPC team

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (October 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735617236
• ISBN-13: 978-0735617230
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,956,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-have if you want to write .NET Tablet PC Apps, April 5, 2003

By 

Markus Egger "www.MarkusEgger.com/blog" (Spring, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Building Tablet PC Applications (Pro-Developer) (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for everyone who wants to start programming Tablet PC applications using C#. (Or even any other .NET language as the examples really aren't that hard to translate...). The book is well organized and readable and guides the reader through all the aspects of writing the typical Tablet PC application.

Of course, this whole subject is extensive, and the book can not discuss it all. For advanced topics such as writing ink recognizers from scratch, you will have to find another source. But I really wouldn't expect a book like this to cover all the advanced topics.

Note that this book does NOT cover COM-based or non-managed (non .NET) APIs. If you want to write your Tablet PC app with VB6, you will get some good fundamental information here, but no specifics. Again, I wouldn't hold this against the author, but it is good to know.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want my Tablet PC!, January 6, 2003

By 

Martin L. Shoemaker (Ann Arbor, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Tablet PC Applications (Pro-Developer) (Paperback)

The most frustrating part about this book is that I got it two months ago, and I won't get my Tablet PC until next week (this week if I'm REALLY lucky). This book makes programming the Tablet PC so clear and simple, I'm eager to get started. (The book does note that you can use the Tablet PC SDK with a regular Window XP machine and a range of digitizing tablets, but warns that there will be things that don't work well. I'll wait.) The code examples are clear, readable, and easy to comprehend (if a bit repetitive, since they include code for creating and populating a WinForm every single time). Normally, I just skim over code examples, since they're usually wordy and cluttered, and the key points are usually summarized in the main text. Well, these examples ARE summarized in the main text, which is always good; but the examples are very simple to follow (especially if you skip the WinForm stuff).

There are only two things I wish this book had covered:

* Speech. A Tablet PC is supposed to be fully speech-enabled, but no one's talking about that right now (so to speak). (Sorry for the double pun.) The ink management itself is such a large topic, no one seems to have time for the speech features. And this book is no better. It's just too large as it is, so I understand; but I hope someone soon does a similar book about the Speech API.

* Custom Recognizers. Now for this oversight, I do fault the authors and MS Press. The authors claim this is a large, obscure topic, and they refer you to the SDK. Well, I agree that it's large; but I don't think it's obscure at all. Most of the Killer App ideas I have for the Tablet PC will require custom recognizers. (I can use the built-in recognizers, but the results won't be perfect in a couple of areas.)

But those are small quibbles. This book has been great fun to read, and I'm counting the days until I can apply it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting, December 12, 2002

By 

James E Aldridge (Addison, tx United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Tablet PC Applications (Pro-Developer) (Paperback)

This text is well written and very approachable. Basically, it covers how to handle script input on the new Tablet PC platform. There are many examples of programs that accept script directly. There is little mention of the Tablet PC Input Panel and how to use it.

While overall the book is good, all of the example code is in C#. It would have been better to see the examples in straight C/C++ or even VB.