Windows 2000 Programming from the Ground Up

Schildt, Herbert

ISBN 10: 0072121890 / ISBN 13: 9780072121896

Published by McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2000

About this Item

Seller Inventory # Abebooks33932

Bibliographic Details

Title: Windows 2000 Programming from the Ground Up

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media

Publication Date: 2000

Binding: Paperback

Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis:

-- Begin as a Novice Finish as a Pro. Windows 2000 Programming from the Ground Up is a "heavy-weight" book that provides in-depth coverage and a thorough explanation of the complex Windows 2000 programming environment. In the typical Ground Up approach, the book provides accelerated coverage of fundamentals and gets programmers productive fast.-- Useful real-world content is the key to the Ground Up series including: -- Inside front- and back-cover syntax references for easy look-up.-- In-depth boxes for advanced coverage of difficult programming techniques.-- Portability tips that highlight differences between programming in Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000.-- Complete, working code examples downloadable from Osborne web site.

Review:

Here is a massive volume that documents Windows 2000, the new high end 32-bit operating system, in the most practical way for a programmer. Rather than discussing the structure and theory behind Windows 2000, it immediately gets down to the urgent task of communicating the system's effect on a program, and how a program can exploit it in order to get things done neatly and efficiently.

The cover asserts that you will "open this book as a novice and finish it as a pro": a bold claim, but manifestly justifiable. The author has previously written a volume called MFC Programming from the Ground Up which can be seen as a companion to this volume. Where MFC Programming concentrates on using the MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) C++ class library, this volume focuses on using the Windows 2000 API (Application Program Interface) directly. This has two chief advantages: it allows the programmer to become better acquainted with the spectrum of services available within the interface, and it is readily adaptable to use by other languages than C++.

There are plenty of diagrams, and the material is excellently divided into a score of chapters, covering topics such as help, printers, registry and menus. The text and numerous examples are shaped around C++, and a knowledge of at least C is a prerequisite; but in most respects this book is kind and informative to the complete novice. Even though it is tutorial in its structure, the book will be a useful addition to any shelf of technical books on Windows, and will continue for some time to supply viable ideas and routines to be incorporated into Windows programs.--Wilf Hey