The Old New Thing

<p><em>"Raymond Chen is the original raconteur of Windows."</em></p> <p>--Scott Hanselman, ComputerZen.com</p> <p><em>"Raymond has been at Microsoft for many years and has seen many nuances of Windows that others could only ever hope to get a glimpse of. With this book, Raymond shares his knowledge, experience, and anecdotal stories, allowing all of us to get a better understanding of the operating system that affects millions of people every day. This book has something for everyone, is a casual read, and I highly recommend it!"</em></p> <p>--Jeffrey Richter, Author/Consultant, Cofounder of Wintellect</p> <p><em>"Very interesting read. Raymond tells the inside story of why Windows is the way it is."</em></p> <p>--Eric Gunnerson, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation</p> <p><em>"Absolutely essential reading for understanding the history of Windows, its intricacies and quirks, and why they came about."</em></p> <p>--Matt Pietrek, <em>MSDN Magazine</em>'s Under the Hood Columnist</p> <p><em>"Raymond Chen has become something of a legend in the software industry, and in this book you'll discover why. From his high-level reminiscences on the design of the Windows Start button to his low-level discussions of GlobalAlloc that only your inner-geek could love, <strong><em>The Old New Thing</em></strong> is a captivating collection of anecdotes that will help you to truly appreciate the difficulty inherent in designing and writing quality software."</em></p> <p>--Stephen Toub, Technical Editor, <em>MSDN Magazine</em></p> <p><em>Why does Windows work the way it does? </em>Why is Shut Down on the Start menu? (And why is there a Start button, anyway?) How can I tap into the dialog loop? Why does the GetWindowText function behave so strangely? Why are registry files called "hives"?</p> <p>Many of Windows' quirks have perfectly logical explanations, rooted in history. Understand them, and you'll be more productive and a lot less frustrated. Raymond Chen--who's spent more than a decade on Microsoft's Windows development team--reveals the "hidden Windows" you need to know.</p> <p>Chen's engaging style, deep insight, and thoughtful humor have made him one of the world's premier technology bloggers. Here he brings together behind-the-scenes explanations, invaluable technical advice, and illuminating anecdotes that bring Windows to life--and help you make the most of it.</p> <p>A few of the things you'll find inside:</p> <ul> <li>What vending machines can teach you about effective user interfaces</li> <li> A deeper understanding of window and dialog management</li> <li> Why performance optimization can be so counterintuitive</li> <li> A peek at the underbelly of COM objects and the Visual C++ compiler</li> <li> Key details about backwards compatibility--what Windows does and why</li> <li> Windows program security holes most developers don't know about</li> <li> How to make your program a better Windows citizen</li> </ul>