Win32 System Programming

Not all programming takes place on the client side. For some background on server-side and system programming, take a look at Win32 System Programming. This readable textbook-style guide discusses a subject that traditionally belonged to Unix programmers. Now that Win32 (specifically Windows NT) has emerged as a popular alternative to industrial strength multitasking, system programmers with Unix experience may want to retool their skills for this new platform. That's the idea behind this book, which presents the fundamentals of traditional system programming, but in a Win32 context.

Win32 System Programming begins with file I/O in Windows NT (and Windows 95) and moves on to more advanced topics, such as structured exception handling, memory-mapped files, and security. The author then proceeds to multitasking in Win32, including the basics of creating and managing multiple threads, interprocess communication (through named pipes), and thread synchronization. These latter two topics adopt an older-style client-server approach, but there is a chapter on creating Microsoft ISAPI .DLLs on a Web server that shows how system programming is still a very vital area of programming. The book closes with a discussion of "fibers," which are a quick fix to porting Unix-style applications to Win32, and with a quick look at the Windows Registry. Short programming exercises at the end of each chapter make this book a natural fit for the classroom or for anyone needing a digestible introduction to the parts of Windows programming that users never see.