Any good win32 programming TEXTbooks?
Author
I am currently trying to go through the 'Trick of the Windows Game Programming Gurus' book by LaMothe and in my opinion it totally sucks. I can't stand when an author doesn't explain everything and says 'we'll look at this later' or 'it's not important so just use these values'. On top of that, it's poorly written and it's just not helping me at all.
I've done some searches on google, ebay, and amazon and have come up empty for text(school) books on Windows programming with C++. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm specifically looking for a book that is well written, has good examples, and has questions and excercises at the end of each chapter. Any textbooks specifically on DirectX would be helpful too.
[edited by - IRQ 0 on June 9, 2004 1:11:04 PM]
I totally agree with you. "Tricks of the Game Programming Gurus" really sucks. It barely scratches the service, and leaves a lot of questions to be answered. If I was you, I''d check out www.winprog.org and check out theit tutorial and book recommendations. They''re a decent site, and they try and explain everything. I''d also check out the first few win32 tutorials at www.gametutorials.com. Once you have a foundation, you''ll end up spending countless hours at MSDN. GL
-xorjesus
-xorjesus
Thw Win32 api is written in straight C, and the book that is arguably a good choice for win32 coding is "Programming Windows" By Charles Petzold. The book was released back in win98 days, but its still the same api today in general.
I''m now studing win32 api in university, and we are using
"Windows Programming" by Charles Petzold. This book is a perfect
one.
"Windows Programming" by Charles Petzold. This book is a perfect
one.
quote:Original post by cpp_boy
I''m now studing win32 api in university, and we are using
"Windows Programming" by Charles Petzold. This book is a perfect
one.
This is the one. If there ever was a bible for win32, i think this would be it. I''d check out for used books, or head over to half.com and see if they have anything to offer.
-DD
IRQ0, I feel the same way when I read a book and it says just do this, you''ll see why later on . I want to know exactly what I''m doing and I usually drop these kind of books. Usually I read them when when I''ve learned the just do this parts from somewhere else. Thats why I don''t like MFC. All the MFC related books are like ...and by using this wizard you have the code base ready for your application. don''t worry about what this code does. now let''s move to...
However, Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus, is a very good book. IMO you need to come back to it, when you are comfortable with Win32.
VStrider.
However, Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus, is a very good book. IMO you need to come back to it, when you are comfortable with Win32.
VStrider.
quote:Original post by IRQ 0
I can't stand when an author doesn't explain everything and says 'we'll look at this later' or 'it's not important so just use these values'. On top of that, it's poorly written and it's just not helping me at all.
There's nothing stopping you from jumping ahead in the book and looking it up. Also usually when authors say "we'll get this this later" they mean in a few pages, or a chapter later, not half way through the book. I'm not a big fan of LaMothe though, so I'm not really defending his writting style.
Do you want a Win32 API book, a DirectX book or a game programming book? The books people have suggested are great Win32 API books and will get you deep into the API, but they won't cover DirectX, OpenGL, or more game oriented APIs.
For good online resources covering the win32 API try The Forger's Win32 API tutorial and use msdn as a reference.
[edited by - impossible on June 9, 2004 2:38:41 PM]
Author
Thanks for all the refereneces everyone. I did a look-up on the Charles Petzold book at amazon.com. The book is $75 used! Heh, I don''t mind shelling out the cash for it as long as it is worth the $75. I read some of the user reviews and they were either really good (5 stars) or really bad (1 or 2 stars). What is the latest edition this book is available in? Also, is this a textbook with excercises and problems at the end of each chapter?
Any other references would be appreciated. Until then, I''m going to be checking out www.winprog.org.
Any other references would be appreciated. Until then, I''m going to be checking out www.winprog.org.
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