Programming Microsoft Windows with C#: Amazon.ca: Charles Petzold: Books

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From Amazon.co.uk

Aimed at aspiring C# programmers of all levels, legendary Windows expert Charles Petzold's Programming Windows in C# provides an extremely in-depth and intelligent tutorial to the APIs underpinning Microsoft's .NET Framework.

For a generation of programmers Petzold's Programming Windows, The Definitive Guide to the Win32 API book provided a virtual bible of how to get started with Windows development. This massive, handsomely bound hardcover edition attempts the same breadth of coverage for Microsoft's new C# language and the new .NET. With several examples clearly inspired by the earlier C title, this book demonstrates the author's keen eye for showing off and explaining the capabilities of low-level APIs to good effect.

The book first outlines basic "Hello World" examples for both a console and Windows Forms. Next, there's coverage of basic support classes (such as points and rectangles) before turning toward using these structures in extensive sections on graphics programming. Petzold's traditional strengths as a computer author are in ample evidence here, with many short examples presented that exercise the capabilities of the new .NET APIs.

Veteran readers will recognise the basic shape of the early Win32 title in the organisation of this (completely rewritten) C# version in the flow of topics from graphics, keyboard, mouse and timers and the like. (One production note here is that the order of later chapters does jump around somewhat, circling back to graphics topics several times instead of presenting related APIs in order.)

The sections on graphics transforms and how to manipulate images are worthy of note. There's excellent coverage of the possibilities of working with text and fonts output in. NET. Nifty working samples for several types of clocks and shape-drawing demos will let you explore graphical APIs in detail.

Several chapters cover basic Windows forms, control programming with buttons, labels and edit controls, then splitters, ListView and TreeView controls. This volume closes out with references to files and streams, math and string APIs. For any developer who wants to create state-of-the-art, "traditional" client-side software, this book is sure be required reading for its in-depth look at graphics and other leading-edge .NET features. It proves once again that learning low-level APIs in detail is still a good way to learn Windows programming. --Richard Dragan

Product Description

“Look it up in Petzold” remains the last word on Windows development. In this .NET-ready Windows programming guide, the best-selling author shows you how to get the most out of Windows Forms—the next-generation Windows programming class library. You’ll discover how to use C# to create dynamic user interfaces and graphical outputs for Windows applications. With dozens of examples of client applications to illustrate common techniques and plenty of no-nonsense advice on best programming practices, you’ll be C# sharp in no time. Topics covered in this guide include:

A tour of C#
Windows Forms
Essential structures
An exercise in text output
Lines, curves, and area fills
Tapping into the keyboard
Pages and transforms
Taming the mouse
Text and fonts
The timer and time
Images and bitmaps
Buttons, labels, and scrolls
Béziers and other splines
Menus
Paths, regions, and clipping
Dialog boxes
Brushes and pens
Edit, list, and spin controls
Font fun
Toolbars and status bars
Printing
Tree view and List view
Metafiles
Clip, drag, and drop

INCLUDED ON CD-ROM: * Sample source code for all the examples presented in the book

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to booktech@oreilly.com.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
In that succinct and (perhaps consequently) much-beloved classic tutorial The C Programming Language, authors Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie begin by presenting what has come to be known as the hello-world program: #include <stdio.h> main() { printf("hello. world\n"):} While such a program hardly exploits the power of today's computers, it's certainly useful on the practical level because it gives the eager student programmer the opportunity to make sure that the compiler and all its associated files are correctly installed. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index

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66 Reviews

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1.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, Jun 9 2004

By

Dan (London, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Microsoft Windows with C# (Paperback)

I'm not sure why I've seen so many good reviews for this book.......I see it as 1200+ pages of wasted paper. Microsoft recommends this book as study material for their exam? Rest assured..... this book doesn't cover anything but drawing pretty little circles, lines, text, and who could forget the cute little spiral, lol! This book contains a lot of useless information regarding the many, let me emphasize that MANYMANYMANY ways of drawing shapes.
Unless you plan on writing applications that produce arrays of wonderful shapes on your screen, this book is not for you! Take the time to head down to your local book store and review the content before wasting your money.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Programming with Windows Forms, May 23 2004

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Don Woodhouse (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Microsoft Windows with C# (Paperback)

If you carefully examine the list of "Topics Covered" given by Amazon, you will not be disappointed at how Petzold does it. No one covers what Petzold chooses to write about more thoroughly and clearly than Petzold. The book definitely assumes familiarity with a C-family language. What is absent is information that his previous "Programming Windows" books gave about the underlying Windows environment, and about interprocess communication. I suppose this is because you can simply link to other code without much work in the new framework. But he does not cover the structure of .NET; the word "Assembly" is not even in his reliable comprehensive index, nor is "Component" or "IComponent." Disposal of resources is only mentioned with regard to graphics objects. The book covers Windows Forms programming, very well, and that's all it is meant for. By all means get this book, but get other books for other purposes.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent if you want to write GUIs with C#, April 22 2004

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Daniel V. Gomes "Daniel V. Gomes" (Osasco-SP Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Microsoft Windows with C# (Paperback)

While most C# books tend to focus on :
- basic C#
- XML
- ASP.NET
"Programming Windows with C# " simply teaches you all you should know about GUI programming with C#. It looks obvious, but try to find good references in this subject and you'd be disappointed.
Not most programmers can afford Visual Studio NET and also not all programmers want RAD tools. Actually what is great with C# is that it allows the programmer to do everything manually and avoid automatic code geration. While it could delay your work, it certainly make it clear. The Forms API for C# is considerably simpler compared to MFC or WIN32 API Programming. Java programmers like me will find it usefull because its similarities with the Swing API.
The author is an excellent technical writer and make everything easy to read. And like he said "I prefer to type the code by hand and then I will learn it".
If you aim to write Windows GUIs for C#, get this book. It is a complete reference in the subject. The author does not mention it, but there is an open source and free IDE for .NET development name Sharp Develop. I use it and so far I haven't gotten many troubles. Highly recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Very good as its predecessors
I spent most of the time on Visual Basic but I consider this text the appropriate companion for Balena's book. Read more

Published on April 19 2004 by Ricci Gian Maria

3.0 out of 5 stars This May Not Be What You Are Looking For.
As a professional programmer, this book was not what I was looking for. In reading the title, the absence of the word visual should have set off a light bulb. Read more

Published on Jan 16 2004 by jtyce