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C++ Windows NT Programming 2nd ed. (uses Visual C++ 4.1) by Mark Andrews Recommended

ISBN: 1 55851 493 7       Publisher: M&T Books       Pages: 735pp+CD       Price: £41-50

Norton Guide to Windows 95/NT4 Programming with MFC by Peter Norton & Rob McGregor Recommended

ISBN: 0 672 30900 9       Publisher: Sams       Pages: 1158pp+CD       Price: £46-95

Categories:   MS Windows     microsoft

Reviewed by Ian Cargill in C Vu 10-2 (Jan 1998)

I started with C++ Windows NT Programming .The first three chapters of this book (about 170 pages) give a good introduction. They start by explaining the general programming model of Windows and the core elements such as controls and messages. There is also a good explanation of using the registry. A big section is devoted to the internal workings of Windows (OS Model, Processes and Threads, Virtual Memory, etc.) which is invaluable for understanding what programs have to cope with. Finally, there is a reasonable introduction to the Win32 API. Not an API reference, but an explanation of how it is structured and how you should use it. After this, the gradient starts to get a bit steep. Subsequent chapters launch into OLE, Processes, Multithreading, DLLs. Interprocess Communication and Networking and, finally, NT Graphics. At this point, I felt I was getting in too deep too quickly, so I went back and started at the beginning of the other book, Norton Guide to Windows 95/NT4 Programming with MFC.

The first part of this book introduces the basic concepts, such as the anatomy of a Windows program, Windows programming issues and memory management. As a first introduction to the principles of Windows programming, I found it a bit light and was glad that I had read the introduction in C++ Windows NT Programming first. After this, however, the book improved greatly. The Norton Guide ramps up the technical skill level much more slowly. It takes a lot more time (and paper) to cover the more basic area such as MFC, Controls, Resources, Dialogues and File I/O. This is all covered in a lot of detail and pretty well explained. It is only towards the back of the book that you start to get onto more high level features such as Multi-threading, Sockets and OLE Automation.

If you are only in the market for one book, which one should you buy? Both are quite well written but if, like me, you are a real beginner, go for the Norton Book. The introductory material isn't quite so good, but the bulk of the book is at the right level of complexity for a beginner. If you want a really good explanation of the theory of Windows programming or if you want a lot of detail on the more advanced aspects such as multithreading, OLE Automation, Networking, etc., then go for C++ Windows NT Programming. Personally, I was glad to have both and am happy to recommend either.

By the way, the Norton Book covers up to MFC 4.2, C++ Windows NT Programming only to MFC 4.1

McGregor
Simple C by Jim McGregor & Richard McGregor & Alan Watt [Not Recommended]  (Reviewed Nov 1997)

Norton
Peter Norton's Guide to Delphi 2 by John Mueller & Peter Norton  (Reviewed Mar 1997)
Peter Norton's Guide to Java Programming by Norton & Stanek  (Reviewed Sep 1997)
Tales of the Sword Coast by Douglas Avery & Matthew Norton  (Reviewed Jan 2000)