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Rating: 
Summary: Full of information but glosses over basic important issues
Review: Approaching ATL (my Windows C/C++ experience very basic too) for the first time I found this book long on heavy discussions what every COM API chunk of code was doing but short on examples that demonstrate the basics of getting data into and out of an ATL server. This is what I'm interested in as a beginner. This is why I buy Wrox books in general. EXAMPLES!Specifically, there are some very important issues with regard to COM and BSTR data types that were barely mentioned however are absolutely essential to get a server to work C-style functions. I feel that a beginning level book should be long on very simple examples of wide ranging applications. e.g. inputs, COM specific data typing issues, outputs, access from multiple client types. A lot of the discussions of the COM plummbing would be beter left to an intermediate book.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy if you wanna be in a soup
Review: I am a fourth year college student, and I have currently finished chapter 3 of this book (It's over Christmas break, so it's a little slow). I read the Amazon reviews and found some of them rather misleading. Many readers gave this book bad reviews simply because they didn't have the proper experience to read this book. At the back cover of the book, it states that "You should be fairly experienced in C++ and Windows programming." to read this book. Furthermore, it recommends one to read Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 6 before reading this book. Those recommendations are laughable, and led to a great number of people to buy the wrong book. First, if your background is primarily in VB, and your experience of C++ only came from 1 or 2 semesters of C++ lessons from college, you may need to brush up on your OOP skills. The book discusses in detail certain advanced features of C++ such as exception handling mechanisms (global unwinding). It also makes heavy use of C, for example, it uses frequently <static_cast> and <reinterpret_cast>. I thought I was a pretty experienced C++ programmer when I took CS201, but that class does nothing to prepare me for this book. I would suggest anyone who needs to brush up on C++ to read Bjarne Stroustrup's The C++ Programming Language before taking on this book. Secondly, the book suggests that it is geared "primarily at Visual C++ 6 developers". It's terribly vague. The suggested reading of Beginning Visual C++ 6 will not help you much since it primarily covers how to use MFC. The ATL 3 book makes heavy use of Win API 32 function calls, and I would suggest that people read Charles Petzold's Programming Windows for the GUI part, and Jeffrey Richter's Programming Applications for Microsoft Windows before commencing work on this book. If you don't know the material covered by those two suggested readings, you would be very confused by ATL. Finally, it wouldn't hurt if you tried your hands on MFC for a little, but so far (up to chapter 3), I didn't feel that there was a great deal of knowledge needed about MFC. I couldn't recommend any good books for MFC since I haven't read any. By the way, I think Ivor Horton's book on Beginning Visual C++ 6 sucked. He sucked even more in his Beginning Java 2. Oh well, poor guy :( After you have acquired all the proper experiences, the book would appear fairly involved, but not overwhelming. Things are clearly explained when you read them carefully. Like many Wrox books, though, it doesn't discuss some of the finer points twice, but overall, the book should serve as a good primer on ATL for those studious enough to make it.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent enough to cause most readers to struggle
Review: Maybe I can see three and one-half stars. For some, the book may be useful. A practical goal of the book is to develop a full ActiveX control using ATL and various tweaks. For most, getting to that point with this book would prove to be an arduous task unless they already know the subject and do not even need a book, let alone this one. This book cannot be considered good for beginners, that is, those reasonably competent in C++ with maybe some COM rudiments. The book does not stay on a consistent path of explanation. As other reviewers have mentioned, it is full of "by-the-ways" that have nothing to do with the topic at hand and usually refer to a concept that has not been introduced, if ever. It is frustrating. Also, the authors cannot make up their minds about how much ATL code and internals should be presented or what their general level of explanation will be. Time after time the reader is left with code snippets that cannot be well understood because of the poor base established by the authors. The various topics of error handling, automation, aggregation, and connection points are just not covered particularly well. The authors especially botch the topic of connection points with an overly complicated example utilizing several ATL classes that are marginally explained. Also, virtually all COM books, and this one is no exception, do a lousy job of explaining the various types of marshalling, type libraries, proxies, stubs, and the nuances of their interactions and when they apply or should be explicitly used. The fact is that COM itself is complicated - ATL would not exist if that wasn't the case. And ATL, the tool that's supposed to simplify the task, itself is complicated. Coherent, consistent, logical, well-written books are needed by most to understand this topic. Unfortunately, the computer gurus and nerds seemed to have weighed in on these topics ( of course they created COM & ATL ) much to the suffering of most of us who have to wade through their tortured books. There are some exceptions. Armstrong's "Active Template Library" was a pleasure to read. Troelsen's "Developer's Workshop" looks promising at first glance. Early on "Inside COM" and the Eddons' "Inside DCOM" were quite good. I fault the publishers as much as the authors, assuming they are not one and the same. Books should be proofread by at least some in the target audience instead of fellow 24-7 computer geeks.
Rating:
Summary: Does not flow well, poor introduction to COM
Review: This book doesn't flow well, for example: the chapter on COM Architecture is too deep in. Each chapter reads like it's own mini-book leaving the reader to wonder if there was any editing and reviewing at all. The subject is not dished out at beginners level (you might as well spend the extra $ and get Professional ATL), if you already have a background on COM and you work hard you'll find this a bit useful. But I wouldn't recommend it at all. I've read about half the book, and I'm still left confused and wondering who's choice it was to take this approach to structure and why on earth Wrox would approve it...
Rating:
Summary: simply aweful
Review: This book promises so much. It has well thought out chapter headings, great diagrams and what appears to be great content. But when you start reading it, the book manages to make the simplest things complicated and convoluted.
I would have given it zero stars if I could...it is that bad.
I know it sounds extreme, but from this book you won't even understand the concepts you have already mastered.
It was so bad I abandoned it at chapter 3 and have marked the cover "for reference only".
Having bought many, many books from Amazon, this is my first review where I felt so strongly about this book, that I took time out to write this, so that others do not waste their money and more importantly, their time. This book was that bad and I do not exaggerate.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent choice for learning ATL!
Review: This book provided clear examples of the many uses of ATL. The samples are clear and provide a detailed explanation of each step making the learning curve much easier. I am a VB programmer that has reached his limits in Visual Basic, simply because of the language limitations. Everyone knows there are just things that are better left to C++ and I'm at the point where I want things VB just can't provide like C++ can. I have experience in C++ only from my own readings, this book has helped bring me to see the power of C++. With this book in my hands only two days, I was able to write an asynchronous ATL component for handling processes, windows, and files for use in VB! Ok, so I may be a quick learner, but still I couldn't have done it without the book in that short of time! Something that was just a huge pain in VB was easy in ATL. My hats off to the author, and I highly recommend this book to others wanting to make the transition or simply increase their knowledge. Others may not have liked the detail but I loved it. I just purchased the Professional ATL Programming book and I know it will push my knowledge even further. Thanks for an awesome book! Keep up the great work.
Rating:
Summary: Not well written
Review: This book reads poorly. The author clearly understands the technology, but just as clearly does not know how to communicate that effectively in the written word. The writing is overly verbose ['In the previous discussion we obviously ommitted any reference to a topic that desires more exploration.'] Good writing--esp. technical writing--needs to be clear and to the point. This book is a difficult read, and I gave up after 12 pages. It is the editor's job, and the publisher's responsibility to insure that a technical book is clear to the average reader in the target audience. I wasted 40 bucks...don't you.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding book!
Review: This is an excellent book! Unlike other COM books where all they teach you is how to use the Wizard, this one makes you write a COM server from scratch, without the help of any wizards or relying on visual c++ to register the component for you. Then the author starts talking about wizards and how it and ATL helps you write components faster. The writing is clear and concise. No BS'ing with the history of COM and how it will change your future 10 years from now. I would recommend buying Wrox's COM IDL & Interface design to go along with this book, as it will clearly explain the syntax of IDL and why they look that way. Beginners may also want to read Dale Rogerson's Inside COM (Microsoft Press) before starting on this book, or you might have questions that go unanswered.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT for beginners at ALL
Review: This is not a beginner's guide to ATL COM in any way, shape, or form. The first two chapters are dedicated to getting into the guts of COM and don't deal with ATL at all. This book fails to provide useful examples that a new ATL user can extrapolate from to fit their own similar problems, and it appears to assume several years of experience in C++. If you've never seen COM or ATL before, skip chapters 1 and 2 to start and go to chapter 3. Then after you've read 3,4, and 5, go back and read 1 and 2. I realize the info contained in them is important, but it is usually better to start out simple and get more complex, not the other way around.
On the other hand, if you are an advanced user, this is a pretty good reference for exactly what is going on under the hood with ATL.
Rating:
Summary: Buy if you wanna be in a soup
Review: When I started with ATL COM I had but little choice apart from this book. Since there are too many heads on each and every WROX book they spoil the broth. IT IS NOT FOR THE BEGINERS NEITHER FOR THE INTERMIDIATE. And now that I have got around 2 and 1/2 years of experience I still find it intimidating. Best way to Start will be
1) Read Inside COM (Microsoft) Inside Out.
2) Graduate to Andrew Troelsen's Developer's Workshop to COM and ATL 3.0. The best that any one can get.
3) And Do read the MSDN.
4) For those who want then to jump into COM+ bandwagan read through Pradeep Tapadiya's 'COM+ Programming: A Practical Guide Using Visual C++ and ATL' That will make you day. And hey don't forget to read the postings at develop.com and anything written by Don Box/Jefrey Richter. Bottom Line - STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK
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