Rating: 
Summary: Shocked....So good..best book EVA!!!
Review: ok where to start...im a 15 year old who had been doing C for awhile now around 4 months...and i thought i would give API a go
so i bouht this book along with another win32 api book.
i had a look at the other one first because it was smaller and i was shocked at how hard it seemed..nearly gave up :( .
so i opened up this book and had a read and this book makes it seem so clear and simple
i would recommend it to any one wanting to learn win32 api.
it is extremely well detailed..has no mistakes yet and is well worth the money
5 stars from me
Rating:
Summary: An excellent reference book.
Review: Petzold's book is exactly what I needed to get into development in C++ on Windows. You need a bit of programming background in C or C++ to get started with the book, but the examples in this book are practical, applicable, and the text is clear on how and why to use them.This book is not a complete reference to Windows programming by itself. Microsoft adds new Windows APIs with every Windows version, and the MSDN CDs (there is a coupon in the back of the book) are essential documentation of the specific APIs. That being said, the MSDN doesn't really provide an in depth understanding or real-world examples that show you _how_ to use the various elements of the Windows APIs, and that is what makes Petzold's book indispensible. This is the book I constantly refer to when I need to know how to do something new with the Windows APIs or I can't find something in the MSDN.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Worth Reading
Review: Programming Windows 5 is well worth reading. I have several years experience in native win32 programming, mostly self taught. This book in combination with the Platform SDK is an excellent way of learning win32. I only wish I had purchased this book 4 or 5 years ago when i started out win32 programming. However i do have a few complaints about the book. Firstly the sections on Common Controls and OLE/DDE have been removed from the Programming Windows 95 (version 4 of this book). I am still try to track down more information about these 3 particular things. Also a complete list of errata is available from http://www.computersciencelab.com/PetzoldErrata.htm rather than from the authors home page. If the sample code in the book read with the attitude of "highlighting a certain feature", rather than "this is production code" it makes for a more enjoyable experience. I highly recommend this book to people who will be programming in win32, and for people who want to better understand the win32 api even though they may be using a higher level programming language such as Visual Basic.
Rating:
Summary: Very good for C Windows API Programming
Review: This book came to me highly recommended, and I went through the first few chapters very quickly, however I quickly found that much of the book is dedicated to the graphics handlers, which do make up most of the API, however I don't have a lot of use for graphics programming in designing pseudo real time controllers and database type programs. The author is amazing, however, and this will always be within my programming library.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect.
Review: This book is definately one of a different crop. It is not so intermediate that the simple beginner would cower before it, yet it is not so basic that it should be a beginner's first read. This book essentially picks right up from a programmer who is comfortable with C (or C++, but the core is C based) and starts the process of introduction to the Win32 API. While gradual enough that those who prefer a slower pace can follow, it is quick enough to keep the attention of the more fluent programmers. The good sides are the fact this text introduces the foundations in a very crisp and clear manner while maintaining the reasoning behind the structure. Each step consitantly builds upon the former. The down side is the fact the latter half pushes more emphasis over the graphical side of the Win32 api, than it does the functionality of Win32. Another point that would be appreciated in a 6th edition would be some kind of chart or quick reference index.
Rating:
Summary: Solid book on windows programming
Review: This book is excellent for learning windows programming. To the reviewer who complains about no c++ examples, the author clearly states in the first few pages of the book that his intention is to give an understanding of windows programming based on C and the underlying win32 API, which is the fundamental knowledge required for windows programming. Other OO architectures such as MFC can be very useful but hide from the programmer many details which can be important for someone trying to learn how windows programs work. Also, the complaint about no asserts in the book .. well, again, the author mentions in the book that he left them out (in most places) because it makes code less readable, and students are less likely to read and understand a long program full of error checking. Be warned, this book is huge, 1500 pages. Its not a book for those looking for a quick introduction to windows programming. Its intended to give an in-depth knowledge of windows programming and it does a very good job at that.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introductory book on the Win32 API
Review: This book is great for anyone who wants to learn Windows programming using its native API. It is very readable and requires only a basic knowledge of C, so it is an excellent tutorial for beginners, but there is enough meat in it that it is quite useful for advanced programmers as well. The author explains everything clearly, thoroughly, and accurately. The numerous example programs he uses to illustrate his concepts are well-written and free of bugs. The book is peppered with occasional historical asides. If you can't stand historical asides, you may be frustrated, but it's understandable that a guy who's been programming Windows for 15 years will have a few stories to tell. The book has excellent, awesome, unbeatable, all-that-almost-anybody-would-ever-need coverage of: window procedures and messages, keyboard and mouse input, fonts and character sets/Unicode, the GDI (including mapping modes and metafiles), dialog boxes and child/MDI windows, palettes and bitmaps of all kinds, menus and resources, timers, and printing. The book has very good coverage, without going into the really advanced details, of: DLLs, multithreading, MIDI and wave audio, Winsock, and internet functions. Notable omissions are: registry functions, file I/O, COM/OLE/ActiveX controls, Setup applications, the Shell (links, namespace extensions, screen savers, WinHelp), and the common controls (toolbars, sliders, tree views, property sheets/wizards, list views and header controls). Despite its omissions, this book is well worth its money for anyone who wants to learn (or learn more) about the Windows API.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST!
Review: This book is simply the best book I've ever picked up on the Windows 32-bit API.
Rating:
Summary: Programming Windows, The Definitive Guide to the Win32 API
Review: This book is the best entry point for any C/C++ console mode or character mode programmer (like myself) to get into Windows programming. For many years, I struggled to learn Windows programming from reading books related to Visual C++. Most of the VC++ books tried to get into graphics, drawings and other advance features using MFC and other fancy approaches. Those books often omit simple things like adding control buttons, dialog box type application for casual progammer like myself who simply wants to add a friendly GUI to their existing console mode program. This book has definitely get me started, I am starting to understand how to program in Windows using API after reading the first 4 chapters of the book. This book has forever changed my life as a programmer!
Rating: 
Summary: outdated
Review: This book will be outdated soon, wait for the 6th edition. There are also much more concise books on the market that teach windows programming.
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