Customer Reviews

Mapi, Sapi, and Tapi: Developer's Guide

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There isn't exactly a wealth of information either in the press, on the Internet or otherwise regarding the subjects covered in this book, so any reference work which tries to cover all three deserves some credit at least. However, I have to say I was disappointed by the author's approach to his subject, TAPI in particular. Rather than tell the user how to actually *do* things with TAPI - like how to initiate a call, then play a WAVE file down it (Mike A. please take note - have you *seen* the number of requests for example code to do this in the newsgroups???!!) - the author is over-fond of pushing the 'free' commercial apps included on the CD-rom. Now don't get me wrong - if you're wanting to produce an application quickly and easily in Visual C++/Visual Basic, there's nothing wrong with using ready-built components. Why reinvent the wheel? - but these are NOT free. They are actually cut-down (significantly so - one has the telephone components removed and only works with a soundcard and microphone for the I/O) versions of commercial products which COST MONEY. Seeing as how this is one of the more pricey reference books I have seen recently, it really ought to be more of a stand-alone guide. Having made my complaints about the TAPI part, I have to say that the MAPI section was much clearer and better. If the book was half the price, I would recommend it just for this. SAPI was similarly well-covered, although it again did not rely enough on example code and tended to push ready-made components. All-in-all, I'd suggest you read a few sections of the book on amundsen.com before buying it. And don't rely on the bulletin board area on amundsen.com to be able to ask for help - there has been a bug on it for well over a year which does not allow you to read most of the posts!

I feel a bit ripped off with this one. It doesn't explain how to to do a simple IVR system like I wanted. A lot of the code just plain doesn't work (at least under VB5), a number of the examples require a C++ compiler, or require you to buy additional custom controls. One of the archives on the CD is faulty and won't decompress. SAMs had no answer - they said the book was 'too old' (2 years!) No response whatsoever from the author Amundsen.

This book is not as much useful as it claims.(No useful example with API functions, all it has is using OCX)

This book did not solve my problems. On the one hand, there is a lot of VB stuff. I wanted to learn how to implement a telephony server with TAPI, but as I said: without success.
There are no practical things in this book, no useful examples, and the rest is not worth the money I payed. Even the MSDN is better...

The book did not solve many of my problems (eg sending a wave file to a line)...

This type of programming is currently at a premium. Good reference material is very difficult to find. I bought and read this book. Personally, I am still looking for a book includes code that doesn't rely on $500 per licence ActiveX controls. Also, web links and other materials are extremely dated.

even though this is an old book, it still has valuable info people want to read and is very informative. a very good book

Sample code is an odd mixture of VB and C++. Most of the advanced samples are only in VB.

Does not go in-depth enough about TAPI or MAPI ( can't speak for SAPI ).

Would have been better covering DAPI than SAPI as it is an API that ties in nicely with MAPI, TAPI and Exchange development and after all, who uses SAPI ??

Until someone else writes a better book about MAPI, TAPI and SAPI, T H I S book is the best you can get! If you need a book that tells you how to program in VB, buy something else !! We think, this book can really help you :))

It's a book awesome, because open my eyes with programming with MAP