Programming Windows

by Charles Petzold

“Look it up in Petzold” remains the decisive last word in answering questions about Windows development. And in PROGRAMMING WINDOWS, FIFTH EDITION, the esteemed Windows Pioneer Award winner revises his classic text with authoritative coverage of the latest versions of the Windows operating system—once again drilling down to the essential API heart of Win32 programming. Topics include:

The basics—input, output, dialog boxes An introduction to Unicode Graphics—drawing, text and fonts, bitmaps and metafiles The kernel and the printer Sound and music Dynamic-link libraries Multitasking and multithreading The Multiple-Document Interface Programming for the Internet and intranets

Packed as always with definitive examples, this newest Petzold delivers the ultimate sourcebook and tutorial for Windows programmers at all levels working with Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows NT. No aspiring or experienced developer can afford to be without it.

An electronic version of this book is available on the companion CD.

For customers who purchase an ebook version of this title, instructions for downloading the CD files can be found in the ebook.

Genres: Programming, Reference, Computers, Technical, Computer Science, Nonfiction, Software

2295 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Charles Petzold has been writing about programming for Windows-based operating systems for 24 years. A Microsoft MVP for Client Application Development and a Windows Pioneer Award winner, Petzold is author of the classic Programming Windows, currently in its sixth edition and one of the best-known programming books of all time; the widely acclaimed Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software; and more than a dozen other books.

Reviews

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book served as a clear, detailed, but basic introduction to the Win32 API.

[Yi · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The definitive guide to the Win32 API" ... INDEED! Was definitely my go-to book at the time.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a nice refence book, its typically one of the books you have in your bookcase, and sometimes look at it.

[Mohammad Elsheimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Petzold, u r the God of programming

[Bill Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the bible for programming Windows. It assumes a complete understanding of the C++ programming language. When I read this book, I needed Bjarne Stroustrup's "The C++ Programming Language" as a reference. Difficult, but well worth the effort. There's not a book on the market that does it better.

[Rajtilak Bhattacharjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really nice beginner's guide for Win32 API programming.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The contents of the sixth edition is obsolete, as opposed the fifth edition, which remains relevant as of April 2025. None of the supplied source code for the sixth edition (https://resources.oreilly.com/example...) may be loaded in to the current version of Visual Studio (2022). In true Microsoft fashion, earlier versions of Visual Studio (including the community editions) require a paid subscription.

[Pawel Zarzycki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was literally 18 when I swallow this brick :)

[Anthony Pryor · Rating 4 out of 5]

read at Borland

[Pontus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don´t buy this. It is not good as a reference because it is to much text that is not important, nor is it good as a tutorial because the assignments are shitty written.

Use the resources at MSDN instead if you want to create Windows Store Apps, and save some money

[Herbie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

As good as previous editions, but with the same flaws -- a lot of text showing calculations for manipulation of items (e.g. rotating, calculating transparency, drawing lines, etc).

[Nadeem · Rating 2 out of 5]

nothing

[Sameer Thigale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well begun is half done! So start with Petzold only.

[Ar Lun]

no