Book Review
Developing Windows 3.1 Applications with Microsoft C/C++ by Brent E Rector
Recommended
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| ISBN: 0-672-30166-0
Publisher: Sams
Pages: 1330pp & disk
Price: £31-95
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| Categories: microsoft
MS Windows
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| Reviewed by
Ian Cargill
in C Vu 6-1 (Nov 1993) |
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Windows programming is a huge subject, so it is no surprise that
books on it also tend to be huge. At over 1300 pages, this one is no
exception. I am new to Windows, so I was pleased to find a compact, but
comprehensive, chapter on 'Introduction to Windows Concepts' right at the
start. Windows contains many concepts that are new to the 'conventional'
programmer. Other concepts, such as memory management, need a fresh
perspective. In about forty pages, Rector gives a very good overview of many
of these. It covers such things as input facilities, memory management, the
conceptual model, operating modes, message queues, DLLs, handles and the
infamous windows header file. This chapter got me off to a good start. (If
nothing else, it will give you enough to bluff your way at the next party you
go to!)
The second chapter provides a skeletal Windows application. This program is
intended as a basis for any program you may wish to write; a generic
framework, if you will. It includes code to implement all the basic features
of Windows. At the end of the chapter, you have a fully functioning Windows
program which doesn't do anything. The rest of the book is then spent using
various techniques to build useful features into this program.
I have concentrated on the first two chapters, as these are what will be
most important to someone (like me) new to Windows. From that point of view,
it is an excellent book. The remainder of the book gets down to the real
business of learning Windows' features. It is extremely comprehensive and
the parts I have read in detail are clear and well explained. There is a
very good index (about 80 pages) which greatly adds to the value of this book
as a programming reference.
One puzzling point is the reference to Microsoft C/C++ in the title. In
fact, it is not MS specific at all, a point he makes quite clear in the
Intro-duction. Why the publisher should deliberately want to restrict the
potential audience is not clear. Like many books I have seen lately, the
code disk is included with the book. Publishers finally seem to be waking
up. If you want to learn Windows programming from scratch, or need a good
reference, I can recommend this book.
Other
Authors with the same surname
Rector
ATL Internals by Brent Rector & Chris Sells (Reviewed Jul 2000)
Developing Windows 3 Applications with Microsoft SDK by Brent Rector (Reviewed May 1993)
Win32 Programming by Joseph Newcomer & Brent Rector [Recommended] (Reviewed May 1997)
Last Update - 13 May 2001.
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