Programming Windows
the Microsoft guide to programming for the MS-DOS : presentation manager, Windows 2.0 and Windows/386
by Charles Petzold · first published 1988
51% recommend48% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Clear, down-to-earth introduction to Win32 programming in C that gets readers with basic C writing Windows apps quickly; praised as the authoritative reference and for precise, no-fluff technical writing.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
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"Programming Windows" exposed the simplicity behind the Windows architecture. If you had even a smattering of C experience, Petzold could get you writing Windows applications the same day you opened his book. He triggered…
on ““Code” 2nd Edition” ↗…So far, the best Books and articles I have found are: Building Interactive Systems: Principles for Human-Computer Interaction, from Dan Olsen Professional Java User Interfaces, from Mauro Marinilli Programming Windows, from Charles Petzold Thing-Model-View-Editor, from Trygve M. H. Reenskaug Cocoa Framework documentation, from Apple Designing Interactive Systems II, lectures from RWTH, available on Itunes U http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/rwth-aachen.de.1778590405.01778590407.1837303882?i=1131324278…
on “Ask HN: Book recommendations for GUI development” ↗…different on my own time has helped rekindle my love of programming. I've picked up all of Charles Petzold's old books on Windows programming, and I've enjoyed them a lot. It helps that most of the code in 'Programming Windows 3.1' will actually compile in VS2017 on Windows 10 with very few changes. So on a similar note, I'm looking for equivalent books on classic MacOS programming I can look for online or buy used on Amazon,…
on “Ask HN: Where can I find classic MacOS programming books and tools?” ↗Charles Petzold is a God amongst programmers. His "Programming Windows 3.1" book was the foundation of my company. Still going strong twenty-five years later. I loathe MS Edge. In spite of explicitly setting my default file associations to my preferred applications, every other…
on “Screw You, Microsoft Edge” ↗Charles Petzold is a God of technical documentation. His "Programming Windows" is a masterpiece of clarity and exposition. Also was the foundation of my 27-year old company. I wish he would write a book on TCP/IP and Internet Protocols.
on “The Changes for the 2nd Edition of “Code”” ↗My favorite Petzold book is 'Programming Windows 95'
on ““Code” 2nd Edition” ↗Petzold is absolutely right (and his Programming Windows is still a fantastic resource). It's just that not all technical books live up to the high bar he's set for them. Most technical books are JATBs ("Just Another Technical Book"), but every once in a while…
on “Why read and write tech books?” ↗I still remember the first Windows programming book I read. It's Charles Petzold's Programming Windows. It was amazing. Really showed how Windows work.
on “Retirement and Realignment” ↗Hey, I the win32 api looks harder than it is. Most of it is reading documentation. I suggest the book "Programming Windows" by Charles Petzold. If you know basic C, the win32 api is pretty well documented.
on “Official WinRT+Win32 Crate for Rust” ↗…simplest of dialogs. I tried. The MSDN documentation doesn't quite cut it. TheOldNewThing by Raymond Chen is a must-read to get it right." If it's helpful, I'd like to mention that Charles Petzold's "Programming Windows" has been pretty much the reference for writing Win32 apps since the '90s. (It's the same person that wrote "Code" and "The Annotated Turing".) You probably want the 5th edition as that's the last pure…
on “Win32 is the stable Linux userland ABI (and the consequences)” ↗Also by Charles Petzold: Programming Windows. Not sure how the new editions fare, but the first (second maybe?) was great.
on “Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?” ↗…running and reviewing the sample programs provided. I learned a lot about Windows programming and really enjoyed the read. I stopped writing Windows programs when Petzold stopped doing new editions of "Programming Windows". I'm not actually sure whether or not what was covered in his last one, Windows 8 using C# and XAML, still works on Windows 10 and 11, or if it does whether or not that is all you need.
on ““Code” 2nd Edition Now Available” ↗…turnoff. Seconded. The previous times I wanted/needed to do Windows development, the first step was ridiculously simple: BUY book FROM bookstore WHERE author = 'Charles Petzold' AND title CONTAINS 'Programming Windows' ORDER BY publication_date DESC LIMIT 1 Heck, that even worked when I briefly thought I'd need to do some OS/2 programming. Just change 'Programming Windows' to 'OS/2 Presentation Manager'. Nowadays,…
on “Android Killed Windows Phone, Not Apple” ↗I wish there was a more modern version of Programming Windows by Charles Petzold that I could recommend for its great, down to Earth introduction to Win32, but unfortunately the fifth edition from 1998 was the last of its kind. If you're OK with the dated context…
on “Beej's Guide to C Programming (2007)” ↗I started programming Windows 3.1 in C with the Charles Petzold book. (I have a sentimental attachment to it because of that). Then NT came out, what an operating system! But just a few months ago I switched the home PC to linux. Windows…
on “Windows urges users to use Bing same way as urgent security warnings” ↗