Programming the MicrosoftŪ WindowsŪ Driver Model, Second Edition (Paperback)

by Walter Oney (Author) "In this chapter, I'll present an overview of the driver writing process..." (more)
Key Phrases: device power state, cancel routine, cancel spin lock, Device Manager, Power Manager, Microsoft Windows (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Written for advanced C/C++ programmers, Walter Oney's Programming the Microsoft Windows Driver Model is a technically astute and clearly presented guide to writing custom Windows 2000 device drivers.

The author's command of the details of the new Windows Driver Model (WDM) standard is what makes this book such a clear success. (Because the WDM is rich in kernel and system services, the trick is often knowing how to use what's available rather than doing everything yourself.) The author presents a solid overview of the WDM architecture and breaks down the process of writing custom device drivers into manageable pieces, from the basics of loading device drivers to creating and processing I/O request packets. The book is very good at exposing kernel system calls, design principles, and programming techniques (such as managing synchronization and handling errors). There are also "nerd alerts" that point out extremely technical material.

This book shows you what you'll need to create WDM drivers that cooperate fully with Windows 2000 (and Windows 98). Features like Plug and Play (PnP), Windows power management, and the new Windows Management Instrumentation (WDM) standard get full attention here. There is plenty of sample code (plus a custom Visual C++ AppWizard that generates skeleton code for a default WDM driver) to get you started. Examples for working with the S5933 PCI chip set (and other simple hardware) let you see WDM drivers in action.

The process of writing device drivers certainly has changed from the early days of DOS. But armed with this handy and thorough book, C/C++ programmers can successfully create drivers for custom hardware that take full advantage of all the features of the powerful new WDM standard. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Windows Driver Model (WDM) overview and driver structure; kernel mode; physical filter, function and bus drivers; loading device drivers (DDs); driver objects; Windows 98 compatibility; kernel mode programming basics; error handling; memory management; synchronization; interrupt request levels, kernel synchronization objects, I/O request packets (IRPs), completion routines, plug and play (PnP) basics, reading and writing data, direct memory access (DMA) transfers, power management, error logging, watchdog timers, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Universal Serial Bus (USB): bulk transfer and isochronous pipes; installing DDs: INF files, property pages, and Registry keys. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Clarifies real-world driver programming issues for Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 98 through extensive practical examples, illustrations, advice, and code samples.

Product Details

• Paperback: 878 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 2nd edition (January 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735618038
• ISBN-13: 978-0735618039
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #129,119 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners, March 22, 2000

By	LO YIP BONG (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming the Microsoft Windows Driver Model (Microsoft Professional Series) (Paperback)

Having read this book half way, I believe it is intended for experienced developers instead of for beginners in device programming. Rather than offering a structural and formal introduction to the subject, it stresses on tricks and hints on selected topics like synchronization, pnp, read/write, etc.

I now go for the DDK documentation for a more fundamental treatment. It cleared up instantly some of the questions built up as I read through the first five chapters of the book, like how a user mode application calls up the kernal mode driver. Nevertheless the author does give an authoritative insight in WDM programming. Incidentally, it is a matter of taste whether you like his informal writing style.

As a beginner at the moment, I rated this book three stars. I might rate it differently when I returned to the book later.

67 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars WDM Newbies Warning: Use this book at your own risk!, June 14, 2002

By	BugBuster "BugBuster" (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming the Microsoft Windows Driver Model (Microsoft Professional Series) (Paperback)

If you already know how to write WDM device drivers, you may or may not need this book.

If you do not know how to write WDM device drivers, you would do yourself
a big favor by avoiding this book. It is so carelessly edited and
organized that I would feel justified in billing Walter Oney and his
publishers back for the time I have wasted dealing with things like this:

From page 184: ..."In fact, sometimes the easiest way to commence a new operation is to store
some state information in your device extension and then fake an
interrupt. Since either of these approaches needs to be carried out under
protection of the same spin lock that protects your ISR..."

"Fake and interrupt?" This term is not defined or explained anywhere in the book that I could
find within an hour's search.

"...the same spin lock that protects your ISR," is explained 121 pages later on page 305,
where it says "...(because the I/O Manager automatically allocates [a spin
lock] for you.)"

There are 26 pages of errata downloadable from Oney's web site. I printed
out the file, and I have to check it every page or two to make sure the
information on the page I am reading is correct.

If you want to spend your time sorting through this mess
while introducing yourself to a topic as arcane as WDM, be my guest.

You have been warned.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard going, March 9, 2003

By	Tim Josling (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Programming the Microsoft Windows Driver Model (Microsoft Professional Series) (Paperback)

This book is written in an extremely hard to read style, with long and convoluted sentences.

The writing style is almost unbearably boring. It you thought Hardy's "Return of the Native" was too fast paced, this is the book for you!

It also tends to explain the micro details without clearly explaining how it all fits together. In this respect, it almost assumes you have read and understood the Device Driver Kits, although the reader will be generally looking for help getting started with the DDKs.

There also seem to be a lot of omissions, in that it does not do a very good job of getting you started. Want to write a winmodem driver? This book gives you no idea where to start.

Having said all that, you probably need this book if you are writing a WDM driver. It does have a lot of useful information and tips. However it assumes you are a guru already.