Programming Windows 95 (Microsoft Programming Series) [Paperback]

Charles Petzold (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1556156766 | ISBN-13: 978-1556156762 | Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | Edition: 4th

This is the best-known, most widely praised, and most widely used how-to programming book on the planet. It is the one book that no aspiring or experienced developer can afford to be without. Updated for Windows 95, this bestseller is now a 32-bit book with 32-bit programs neatly tucked into a CD. Charles Petzold covers the new Windows 95 concerns such as multithreading, GDI and OLE enhancements, and preemptive multitasking. A guaranteed bestseller. (Operating Systems)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In brief, this is one of the few must-have books for anyone who wants to write applications for Windows 95. Need we say more?

From the Back Cover

Updated for the 32-bit world of Windows 95, this Charles Petzold bestseller is the best-known, most widely praised, and most widely used how-to programming book on the planet. For a generation of C programmers, "look it up in Petzold" has been the final word on questions about programming for Windows. In this thorough revision, Petzold reveals many valuable new insights, augmented by key contributions from programming expert Paul Yao. Still the comprehensive reference and tutorial to the core areas of programming for Windows, PROGRAMMING WINDOWS 95 is now a 32-bit book with 32-bit programs on CD-ROM, covering new Windows 95 topics such as multithreading; GDI and OLE enhancements; preemptive multitasking; printing and memory (both completely revamped); and the new user interface.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1100 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 4th edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556156766
• ISBN-13: 978-1556156762
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best intro on the market, September 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Programming Windows 95 (Microsoft Programming Series) (Paperback)

Even though this edition has been 'out there' for about 3 1/2 years, it's still the best intro to Windows C programming on the market. Why? Simple. Petzold is a gifted writer/teacher that knows the Windows API like the back of his hand. He writes VERY clearly (without ambiguity) and, unlike most authors on the subject, never uses terminology or skills that he hasn't already covered. Petzold almost anticipates your questions and confusions and addresses them succinctly. Any programmer familiar with C can learn Windows programming from this book alone. I have many books on Windows programming but I'd trade them all for this one.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for people wanting to learn Windows programming, September 23, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Windows 95 (Microsoft Programming Series) (Paperback)

This is a great book for people wanting to get into programming windows. I must warn you though that knowledge of C is required. If you're a beginner I recommend getting a good C or C++ book before trying to tackle this book, but if you already have a good grasp of C or C++ buying any other book on Windows programming would be a mistake.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It has it's uses., September 24, 2004

By 

Solsund (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Windows 95 (Microsoft Programming Series) (Paperback)

For those people who are interested in just cranking out quick programs, I wouldn't bother with this book and would instead pick up something on MFC, or heaven forbid, Visual Basic.

However, when using DirectX for game programming, you are not interested in clogging up the system with the irrelevant code that MFC can bog the system down with, you need a clean interface that you can work with.

This book helps work with that interface, by not forcing you into classes and whole library routines for everything, but instead lets you get at the system behind those libraries.

Yes, it is harder to work with than MFC but as any game programmer can tell you harder means that you have more control over things, which leads to the chance to make things run faster.

I still have to go to my bookshelf and drag this volume off of it from time to time to refresh myself in how to do things manually, such as building a dialog box or menu from a resource script, rather than using a WYSIWYG editor.

If you have need for the control that you can get by working with windows directly, this is a book to check out.