Windows via C/C++ 5th Edition

So, don't get me wrong: this is a GREAT book. It goes really deep into stuff. The reason for it getting four stars is because there AREN'T EXAMPLES! My last programming book (C++ Without Fear 2nd Edition by Brian Overland) had an example every 3 pages and it really helped me. In this case, however, there are ZERO. Sure, there are tables and pictures of little functions, but not examples of how you can use the code. It could be because Windows programs often have a lot more code in them, but still... Anyway, I have had a lot of trouble trying the code out in my computer, because I am not actually seeing how it is used. That, and you have to define a lot of the macros in Windows programming, and that is no piece of cake. Anyway, here is my complete synopsis of the book (so far):

Author:
Okay, this is 5/5 stars. Jeffrey Richter definitely knows what he is talking about. He has been doing windows for years and he is really good at explaining it on paper (sadly, not many authors can do this).

Content:
READ: This book does NOT cover UI. This isn't a let down for me though. If you need to know UI, I HIGHLY recommend Forgers Win32 Tutorial. Download the PDF, because the website is utterly useless to me. [...] The content this book covers is excellent. About 900 pages of all essential stuff, such as Processes, Jobs, Threads, Memory, etc.. But, like I said before, it does not have examples. You could call this book a textbook though, it really seems like it. 4.5/5 stars here.

Target Audience:
This book is NOT for beginners. Repeat: NOT for beginners. The book assumes you generally know most of the stuff by know, so... just warning you. If you are thinking, "Oh, this is a Windows book, and I want to learn it. But, what is windows programming even look like?" then this is not for you. I recommend Forgers Win32 again for a start point. I can't really rate this, so... moving on.

Quality:
Really good book. Very professional, in fact, when I got it in the mail I literally thought I just bought a textbook, because my school has textbooks that look just like this actually. Unlike a lot of other Windows books, it covers 64 bit programming, which, in this day and age, is urgent. Also: when you start reading it, it will seem out of date because he mentions Windows Vista a lot and Windows Server 2008. Well, programming languages don't change that often, so you will be fine here. 5/5 stars here.

Conclusion:
I really wish there were examples, but, I have complained about that enough. It still explains macros and the "whys" of each function. I would actually give it a 4.5/5, but Amazon doesn't allow that. I just don't think this book deserves a perfect score. Just know that if you are getting into Windows programming, you won't learn all the basics of it within several months like you can in, say, C++ or Java. And you most CERTAINLY master it as quickly as you can master html. It's the commands to entire OS, and really, no one knows how the entire systems works by heart except for Bill Gates, the one who made it himself. Pros and Cons below:

Pros:
1. Very professional
2. Extremely helpful. Explains a LOT.
3. A lot of content, so you are not getting ripped off for 42 dollars.

Cons:
1. No examples

One of the greatest programming book I have ever read. Although topics it covers are rather advanced, Jeffrey's style makes everything so easy to follow. The greatest thing about book is that authors don't follow 'how-to', but 'why' approach. After reading each chapter you know the subject not becasue you know how-to do it, but because you understand how is it (threads, kernel objects, virtual memory) working. This approach is essential when you want to master technology, find hard-to-find bugs and design better SW.

12-13 years ago I read previous edition of this book. That time I was just inexperienced student, but I was able to understand nearly everything.
Today after 10 years of professional career this book was like piece of (delicious) cake.

For every server-side native Windows programmer this book is 'must'. I also recommend Joe Duffy's Concurrent Programming on Windows which gives you some other ideas about multithreading development.

By the way Richter also wrote CLR via C# (Pro-Developer) which is absolutely 'must' for every .NET developer. Also highly recommended.

I have been programming for over 10 years, but my Windows specific C++ programming is relatively weak due to inexperience with it. Note that if you are in the same boat, you will need additional resources (web based, help files, other books) on top of this book as this book assumes you are already proficient in creating Windows apps.
They make no attempt to tell you otherwise, it is an expert level book - but even if you already know C++ well, there is much Windows specific details that this assumes you know.

Great book and very useful, just not entry level, so know that going in.

If you want to do any serious development in Window, this is the book to get. Once you read and understand the basic C++ books, and want to get beyond simple applications, you need this book. This is not a beginner text, but a grown-up book on what is happening inside windows and how to use it in your application. I found this book invaluable in building multithreading, port i/o, virtual array management in my application. The author really knows his stuff and presents it in a very readable fashion. The source code for the examples in this book are well-commented and I have found it easy to take code fragments from then to use in my applications.

This book is a keeper.

This book is a must have if you ask me. It is probably the best book on modern win32 c/c++ that I have seen. I own just about every win32/c/windows programming book you can buy. This one is by far my favorite. It is fairly easy to read and the code examples just show the interesting parts so you don't have to read 20 pages of unrelated win32 gui code. This book is a must have.