Win32 Programming (Addison-Wesley Advanced Windows Series)(2 Vol set) [Paperback]

Brent E. Rector (Author), Joseph M. Newcomer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201634929 | ISBN-13: 978-0201634921 | Publication Date: January 16, 1997

Windows developers: a thorough understanding of the Windows API will enable you to create applications that are elegant, efficient, and powerful. You will find comprehensive information on all aspects of Windows GUI programming, such as: *Windows Controls, including the common controls *GDI, including new features like transformations and geometric pens *Printing, including a reusable print engine *Common dialogs, including customization *Background processing, including synchronization In addition, the book covers such important advanced topics as creation of Dynamic Link Libraries, storage management, windows subclassing, the Multiple Document Interface (MDI), and threads and their synchronization. More than just an introductory book, Win32 Programming is a reference to many of the more obscure and sometimes incomprehensible advanced features of the user interface and graphics subsystems. It is useful not only for C programmers but also for C++/MFC programmers because the API forms the basis for most MFC methods.The book's extensive and comprehensive index means you will never again have to search through pages of examples to find the example of the API function you want to see. This book is designed both to teach basic Windows programming and to be a useful companion for years to come. 0201634929B04062001

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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.

From the Back Cover

Windows developers: a thorough understanding of the Windows API will enable you to create applications that are elegant, efficient, and powerful.

You will find comprehensive information on all aspects of Windows GUI programming, such as:

• Windows Controls, including the common controls
• GDI, including new features like transformations and geometric pens
• Printing, including a reusable print engine
• Common dialogs, including customization
• Background processing, including synchronization

In addition, the book covers such important advanced topics as creation of Dynamic Link Libraries, storage management, windows subclassing, the Multiple Document Interface (MDI), and threads and their synchronization.

More than just an introductory book, Win32 Programming is a reference to many of the more obscure and sometimes incomprehensible advanced features of the user interface and graphics subsystems. It is useful not only for C programmers but also for C++/MFC programmers because the API forms the basis for most MFC methods. The book's extensive and comprehensive index means you will never again have to search through pages of examples to find the example of the API function you want to see. This book is designed both to teach basic Windows programming and to be a useful companion for years to come.

 

This book comes in two volumes they both have the same ISBN.

0201634929B04062001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1568 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (January 16, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201634929
• ISBN-13: 978-0201634921
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 3.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #802,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent explanation of the core Win32 API for GUI apps, December 14, 2000

By 

Richard Thomson "legalize" (Salt Lake City, UT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Win32 Programming (Addison-Wesley Advanced Windows Series)(2 Vol set) (Paperback)

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 <tchar.h>, 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.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A definitve and exhaustive reference and learning source, November 4, 1998

By 

James H. Fink (Lincoln, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Win32 Programming (Addison-Wesley Advanced Windows Series)(2 Vol set) (Paperback)

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)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any Win32 Programmer's Collection, October 11, 1999

By 

"webgeekinc" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Win32 Programming (Addison-Wesley Advanced Windows Series)(2 Vol set) (Paperback)

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).