Win32 System Programming

Rating:
Summary: Fits perfectly within a niche readership.
Review: A book that does not try to be a "jack of all trades" but sets out to give an experienced UNIX (system) programmer a good grounding in Win32 with enough detail to write useful code. I was very pleased to find this book after searching through the morass of GUI/OOP/"Hello world" publications that had little or no real content.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, but check the errata file
Review: I just wanted to say that you should check -thoroughly- the errata info on the book (www.aw.com/devpress). I've lost a few days of work because the book failed to mention that named pipes cannot be created under windows 95. The book is, however, quite good.

Rating:
Summary: great *introduction* to non-GUI programming
Review: I needed an intro to win32 which (a) concentrated on everything but the GUI, for server-side apps (b) wasn't just a part printout of MSDN, Microsoft's not-hugely-elegant-but-at-least-complete documentation on Everything (c) made use of pure win32 calls, not MFC, VB, or equivalent bloat.

This book did the job, going through file access, process and memory management, security, IPC, and threads. It uses a tutorial style, giving you enough to get you understanding the basic concepts before diving into MSDN, with scattered code examples and accompanying CD.

The style is very readable, and my only significant criticism is that it does not introduce enough topics, tailing off with rather a weak discussion of DLLs and ISAPI. Since the book is aimed particularly at Unix systems programmers, with its implementation of Unix commands and drawing of parallels, the reader will probably feel comfortable enough with win32 by the end anyway.

Rating:
Summary: great *introduction* to non-GUI programming
Review: I needed an intro to win32 which (a) concentrated on everything but the GUI, for server-side apps (b) wasn't just a part printout of MSDN, Microsoft's not-hugely-elegant-but-at-least-complete documentation on Everything (c) made use of pure win32 calls, not MFC, VB, or equivalent bloat.

This book did the job, going through file access, process and memory management, security, IPC, and threads. It uses a tutorial style, giving you enough to get you understanding the basic concepts before diving into MSDN, with scattered code examples and accompanying CD.

The style is very readable, and my only significant criticism is that it does not introduce enough topics, tailing off with rather a weak discussion of DLLs and ISAPI. Since the book is aimed particularly at Unix systems programmers, with its implementation of Unix commands and drawing of parallels, the reader will probably feel comfortable enough with win32 by the end anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, but check the errata file
Review: Mr Hart has produced a detailed and authoritative account of the Win32 subsystem interface. Rather than many texts which simply list the Win32 API, Hart adds considerable value by introducing essential "how-to" design considerations which will simplify the life of any Windows NT/95 developer.

Win32 System Programming tackles many difficult topics, such as synchronization issues, fibers, file handling, asynch I/O and error processing. These are presented in a way that is understandable to both newcomers and more experienced developers. As well as introducing these individual concepts, the reader feels as though the author understands the 'big picture'- there are common links of discussion throughout the text.

I would suggest that all Windows developers would benefit from an understanding of the material this work contains. Experienced readers will appreciate the sound foundations of Operating System and in particular Concurrency theory on which this text is based, whereas beginners will find an essential core reference to support further forrays into the world of Win32 development.

Not all aspects of Win32 are covered, in particular coverage of the GUI is ommitted- however the book is not sold on this basis. I believe that developers armed with the information in Win32 System Programming will have a considerable advantage in approaching many important subjects in the future. For example, there is a very revealing insight into the techniques used in Hart's application server designs and the threading model used in COM.

In short- it contains information that every developer must know if they are to successfully develop reliable and performant applications for the Windows 32 platform. This text may also be relevant to students of Operating Systems. I for one will eagerly await a second edition!

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Introduction to Win32 for Unix Professionals
Review: This books fills a gap and is a great concise intro to many Win32 topics. Even if you've already been through Richter's _Advanced Windows_ there are many nuggets here that make it a great companion volume.
The author, John Hart, is very responsive to userfeedback.

Here's the table of contents:

Chapter 1Windows NT and Windows 95
Chapter 2 Getting Started with Win32
Chapter 3 Using the Win32 File System and Character I/O
Chapter 4 Direct File Access and File Attributes
Chapter 5 Structured Exception Handling
Chapter 6 Memory Management and Memory-Mapped Files
Chapter 7 Security
Chapter 8 Process Management
Chapter 9 Interprocess Communication
Chapter 10 Threads and Scheduling
Chapter 11 Win32 Synchronization
Chapter 12 Dynamic Link Libraries, In-Process Servers, and the ISAPI
Chapter 13 Asynchronous Input/Output
Chapter 14 Other Topics: Fibers, the Registry, and Beyond
Appendix A Using the Sample Programs
Appendix B Win32, UNIX, and C Library Comparisons
Appendix C Performance Results

Rating:
Summary: Ideal for UNIX programmers migrating to Win32
Review: This is an excellent book. It provides enough information to give the reader a sound understanding of the Win32 System Services; but, it doesn't overburden him with minutiae that can be acquired from MSDN later -- if needed. The author's frequent comparisons of the Win32 System Services with those of UNIX are very effective in enabling the UNIX developer to bridge the conceptual gulf to Windows.

Rating:
Summary: Ideal for UNIX programmers migrating to Win32
Review: This is an excellent book. It provides enough information to give the reader a sound understanding of the Win32 System Services; but, it doesn't overburden him with minutiae that can be acquired from MSDN later -- if needed. The author's frequent comparisons of the Win32 System Services with those of UNIX are very effective in enabling the UNIX developer to bridge the conceptual gulf to Windows.