Win32 System Programming [Hardcover]

Johnson M. Hart (Author)

Book Description

Series: Addison-Wesley Advanced Windows | Publication Date: September 2, 1997

With this book, you can capitalize on your knowledge of high-end operating systems such as UNIX, MVS, and VMS to learn Windows system programming quickly. Written from the perspective of an experienced programmer and instructor, the book presents the core operating system services of Win32, the common API for the Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems. It explains Win32 functions clearly, with numerous comparisons to corresponding UNIX calls, and highlights features unique to Win32.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Not all programming takes place on the client side. For some background on server-side and system programming, take a look at Win32 System Programming. This readable textbook-style guide discusses a subject that traditionally belonged to Unix programmers. Now that Win32 (specifically Windows NT) has emerged as a popular alternative to industrial strength multitasking, system programmers with Unix experience may want to retool their skills for this new platform. That's the idea behind this book, which presents the fundamentals of traditional system programming, but in a Win32 context.

Win32 System Programming begins with file I/O in Windows NT (and Windows 95) and moves on to more advanced topics, such as structured exception handling, memory-mapped files, and security. The author then proceeds to multitasking in Win32, including the basics of creating and managing multiple threads, interprocess communication (through named pipes), and thread synchronization. These latter two topics adopt an older-style client-server approach, but there is a chapter on creating Microsoft ISAPI .DLLs on a Web server that shows how system programming is still a very vital area of programming. The book closes with a discussion of "fibers," which are a quick fix to porting Unix-style applications to Win32, and with a quick look at the Windows Registry. Short programming exercises at the end of each chapter make this book a natural fit for the classroom or for anyone needing a digestible introduction to the parts of Windows programming that users never see.

Review

Read the entire review of this book.

In a world with no shortage of Windows books, Win32 System Programming stands out by focusing exclusively on Windows system programming. It covers the "systems" areas of the Win32 API, barely mentioning Graphical User Interface programming at all.

The book is also directed at UNIX (or VMS) programmers. The ideal reader is familiar with the main components of an operating system, without necessarily having Win16 experience. By directing the book to UNIX exiles interested in moving to Windows NT, the author avoids explaining systems concepts in great detail. This is clearly a boon -- and also a bit of a bane at times.

Each chapter describes the API in a specific Win32 system area; all the functions for Win32 file I/O, or for creating and synchronizing threads and processes, followed by examples using the specific API. The examples are heavily UNIX influenced: Win32 implementations of grep, tail, and pwd, for example. They are all in C and are all Win32 console applications. --Doug Nickerson, Dr. Dobb's Journal -- Dr. Dobb's Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (September 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201634651
• ISBN-13: 978-0201634655
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,470,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been in the software industry for many years, but I'll refrain from boring you with entertaining stories about punch cards or obsolete systems I've known. I'm much more interested in current trends.

This long view does, however, make it particularly exciting to witness the arrival of inexpensive, fast, multicore, 64-bit systems, along with operating system support to exploit the hardware. I've anticipated this development for a long time as it makes it possible to tackle large problems, with lots of data, and get great performance. Here's a recent article that talks about some recent results: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/gg535673.aspx.

While my book, Windows System Programing Edition 4 ("WSP"), shows some of the possibilities using threads, but the book covers the entire "core" API, exclusive of the GUI. Creating 4 editions over a period of 14 years has been a great experience. In particular, I've enjoyed communicating with readers from around the world. Edition 4 is about twice as long as Edition 1, and I've attempted to double the coverage, accuracy, and every other metric. Will there be a fifth edition? That's hard to tell, and we'll have to see if new developments and Windows evolution warrant another edition in 5 years or so.

Recently, I've been working mostly with .NET 4.0, C#, and PLINQ. Detailed Windows API knowledge really helps to understand how .NET works with Windows and helps to identify performance and reliability issues. Even if you work exclusively with .NET, WSP may be helpful, and a couple of the Amazon reviews make this same point.

I also use Linux and UNIX, generally using C++ but occasionally venturing into Java and other languages. When it's all said and done, I've found that Visual Studio is really a superior development environment, and C# 4.0 has some excellent features.

It's not all work and no play, so I'll add a bit of personal information soon. In the meantime, please feel free to visit my web site; there's all sorts of technical stuff there: www.jmhartsoftware.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great *introduction* to non-GUI programming, September 9, 2000

By 

T. Garcia (Sussex, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Win32 System Programming (Hardcover)

I needed an intro to win32 which (a) concentrated on everything but the GUI, for server-side apps (b) wasn't just a part printout of MSDN, Microsoft's not-hugely-elegant-but-at-least-complete documentation on Everything (c) made use of pure win32 calls, not MFC, VB, or equivalent bloat.

This book did the job, going through file access, process and memory management, security, IPC, and threads. It uses a tutorial style, giving you enough to get you understanding the basic concepts before diving into MSDN, with scattered code examples and accompanying CD.

The style is very readable, and my only significant criticism is that it does not introduce enough topics, tailing off with rather a weak discussion of DLLs and ISAPI. Since the book is aimed particularly at Unix systems programmers, with its implementation of Unix commands and drawing of parallels, the reader will probably feel comfortable enough with win32 by the end anyway.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent text, which I have thoroughly enjoyed reading, April 28, 1998

By 

David Poulton ([e-mail]) (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Win32 System Programming (Hardcover)

Mr Hart has produced a detailed and authoritative account of the Win32 subsystem interface. Rather than many texts which simply list the Win32 API, Hart adds considerable value by introducing essential "how-to" design considerations which will simplify the life of any Windows NT/95 developer.

Win32 System Programming tackles many difficult topics, such as synchronization issues, fibers, file handling, asynch I/O and error processing. These are presented in a way that is understandable to both newcomers and more experienced developers. As well as introducing these individual concepts, the reader feels as though the author understands the 'big picture'- there are common links of discussion throughout the text.

I would suggest that all Windows developers would benefit from an understanding of the material this work contains. Experienced readers will appreciate the sound foundations of Operating System and in particular Concurrency theory on which this text is based, whereas beginners will find an essential core reference to support further forrays into the world of Win32 development.

Not all aspects of Win32 are covered, in particular coverage of the GUI is ommitted- however the book is not sold on this basis. I believe that developers armed with the information in Win32 System Programming will have a considerable advantage in approaching many important subjects in the future. For example, there is a very revealing insight into the techniques used in Hart's application server designs and the threading model used in COM.

In short- it contains information that every developer must know if they are to successfully develop reliable and performant applications for the Windows 32 platform. This text may also be relevant to students of Operating Systems. I for one will eagerly await a second edition!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise Introduction to Win32 System Programming, June 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Win32 System Programming (Hardcover)

I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the comparisons with Unix, and I especially liked the conciseness and value for money (too many Windows books are too thick and overpriced).

The web page supporting the book is outstanding and the author is very responsive to feedback.

Having said that I enjoyed the conciseness, I'm looking forward to a second edition with more detail and examples (on I/O completion ports, for instance).

I thoroughly recommend this book as good value for money; I'm sure you'll find the time to read it from cover to cover.