Programming Windows, 5th Edition, by Charles Petzold still worth it?

[kenshee]

Hey,

As the thread titles suggest, Is it worth reading that book considering it is over a decade old.

Thanks

[jwalters]

It depends largely on your motivation. As a programmer, one can glean useful insights from any well-written programming book and the Win32 API is still useful today. That said, it may not be as useful to read as something more relevant to the way Windows programs are currently written. For example, in college I had to read an MFC-based Windows programming book which I would not read today because MFC is kludgy and outdated at this point given the rise of the .NET platform.

If you just want to learn to write a program for Windows, pick up a .NET book. If you have an affinity for that author's writing or learning Win32, Programming Windows 5th Edition may be your cup of tea

[kenshee]

More inclined toward learning win32 so that I can actually understand what all the callbacks to the kernel mean when using DirectX. If you have another suggestion for a similar more modern book I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

[jwalters]

Well, in that case it's really up to you. Personally, I would choose a good DirectX book that includes a Win32 primer. The book I'm currently reading, Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0c: A Shader Approach, has an appendix providing an intro to Win32 programming. I like this book but would warn that it's very math-centric and technical. You might do better to scan some books at your local bookstore and find the one with the most content that interests you.

[kenshee]

I went through the primers as well I know how to use the functions to communicate with the API just not comfortable with win32 as I would like to be.