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| Book: | Win32 API Programming with Visual Basic | |
| Subject: | Win32 API Programming with Visual Basic Review | |
| Date: | 2003-03-15 22:18:48 | |
| From: | Sathyaish Chakravarthy | |
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Rating:
 
Contrary to what everyone else has to say, I found this book better than Dan Appleman's book on API. Appleman's book contains myriads of API documentation that is best used as reference material, with not as much description of the concepts. I fervently admire Dan Appleman for all his books and products Desaware brings out every year, but I must thank Mr.Roman for giving us a very vernacular commentary on the intimidating issues incidental to using API. For instance, the sixth chapter on Strings was a treat. I mostly re-read the first six chapters of the book late at night like they were bed-time stories. Although I haven't completed reading the whole book, I come back again and again to a select few topics every now and then. For instance, he explains the two's complement better than Hank Marquis did in his VB Developer's Toolkit. Then, I never found a book that took you on an inside tour of the PE file format. Admittedly, a few portions are really redundant - the seventh chapter on system information, the chapter on error handling is a little elusive, and chapters ten throught thirteen are a little too brief. Also, chapter nineteen on hooks leaves you hungry, but then I wanted something just like this - a little lightweight. Since I first came accross the chapter String on my MSDN a few years back, it has been sitting there in my favorites. I love this book better than a few others that I've picked up on the API. I rate this book the second after Charles Petzold's Programming Windows (of course, which has nothing to do with VB). I'd been thinking for a long time about congratulating the author for such a wonderful book. And it feels so ticklish to be writing a comment after Bruce McKinney, one of the icons I rever as a God, on the same subject. Bruce, can I say Hi! Do you hear that? Feels like a dream come true, like I am almost meeting you. If you ever come accross this comment, I am one of your ardent devotees. |
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