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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Introduction to DirectX 10 Programming, November 5, 2008
As the title says, this book is an excellent introduction to Direct X 10 programming.
If you are new to DirectX programming, this book is pretty much what you should start with. I have tried several others, but Frank's books seem to still be the best and this third incarnation is no different.
With this in mind, there are some necessary pre-requisites before you read this book.
First, you should have some prior knowledge in matrix algebra. Frank does dedicate a section to this, but you definitely should have taken a course prior.
Secondly, you must be familiar with basic C++ concepts. If you are unfamiliar with classes, structures and pointers this book is not for you. Get a good book on C++ programming before hand.
Finally, although it is not strictly necessary, you should have some knowledge in WIN32 programming.
This is definitely a good beginner book, and I highly recommend it.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Oasis in a DX10 Desert, February 8, 2009
Having some experience with DX9, I wanted a text that clearly explained the capabilities of DX10. I previously had purchased and used Wendy Jones' and Peter Walsh's books on DX10. I was disappointed in them because they never bothered to take on the topic of window resizing. Why?
Frank Luna's latest is a welcome treat. I would have liked to have seen it sooner, but better late than never.
Those readers fearful of vector and matrix arithmetic and algebra will undoubtedly stiffen up because Luna starts with these prerequisites. Such readers should try to tough it out. It will be worth it. Luna's treatment is thorough. Get through it, but with thorough understanding.
I've been through Chapters 1-6, and every paragraph and example program has been worthwhile. Good work, Frank.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic, May 9, 2010
While I am only halfway through this book, I must say it is superb. I had no previous knowledge on DirectX and it is being a great introduction. The text is clear, the code is neat, and the examples at the end of every chapter are complete and entertaining. What I like the most is the author's verbosity on the maths; he explains how and why everything works, from projection matrices to lighting calculations. This provides a better understanding of the subject and makes coding easier afterward. For those not too used to vector and matrix algebra, the introductory chapters cover just that. Also, even though Win32 programming knowledge is assumed, the author has included a brief tutorial in appendix A which covers the topics he touches during the first chapters.
Another aspect to point out is the way the chapters are laid out. Every chapter so far starts off by shooting you with some theory and providing ad-hoc code snippets. This gives you the chance to put everything together yourself and then compare your work with the author's. In my opinion this is the best approach the author could have taken. By the way, the author's code actually works, so you won't have to spend any time reverse engineering faulty sample code.
In conclusion, this is a must read for anyone getting started on dx10!
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