Is this book good?

[Tigran]

Hello,

Lateley, I was searching for a good WinAPI book (for c++ ofcourse)
After a while searching, i found this book: Programming Windows, 5th Edition by Charles Petzold
The book looks good and is nice and thick (1500 pages or something)
But where I worry about it the age of the book, it's writted in 1998 as http://www.charlespetzold.com/pw5/ sais.
So will it be a waste of time or be incomplete to use this book in the year 2008 (10 years later O.o) or does it not matter if not many big things have changed in the WinAPI...

If not, what other good books of WinAPI do you guys suggest which teaches how to use it step-by-step to someone who has (let's say) no knowledge of using WinAPI
I'd then like a book which does also handle advanced parts too like DLLs and Graphics :P

Thanks in advance,
Tigran

[Narue]

>But where I worry about it the age of the book
No worries, the contents are still relevant.

[Tigran]

Thanks for your reply.
So are there no big changes done on the winapi which the book doesn't handle?
And ehm, not to sound rude, but have you got experience with the book? have you read it? or just a wild guess (no offence)
And ehm, does anyone know another good book that's well not that old :P

[Frederick2]

Narue's advice is good. That was Petzold's last book on the Window's Api (he now writes about .NET and other technology topics), and he is considered quite the expert on it - especially in graphics. The Windows Api doesn't really change all that much.

Another book on the Api that some prefer is the one by Newcomen (sp? Newcomb? and Rector), but I prefer Petzold. Its how I learned. Class frameworks come and go, but the Api is always there.

edited

Its Newcomer and Rector

http://www.amazon.com/Win32-Programming-Addison-Wesley-Advanced-Windows/dp/0201634929/ref=pd_sbs_b_njs_3

but I prefer Petzold!

[Tigran]

Wow thanks man, ok...
I'll try to buy that book of petzold
Thanks again guys

[Frederick2]

An oldish book like that can probably be gotten for little more than postage used, but if I had to I'd spend a couple dollars more if necessary to make sure I got one with the CD in it. Some of the programs are long enough that it would be fairly punishing to type them in by hand.