Essential Com: The Component Object Model (Addison-Wesley Object Technology) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

This book <CANNOT> be understood unless you know Standard C++ fluently cold. Almost every piece of implementation block instructions in the book require a commanding understanding of templates and the Run Time Type Identification language features. There are a lot of COM books at the book stores like Dale Rogerson's Inside COM, which is more of a simpleton tutorial, now I had that book but for some reason I felt that the explanations of that book where too Sesame Street. Rogerson's book is good and I do not want to bash it but with Essential COM this book makes wanting to read any other book on COM wasted time, and as you would learn C++ from Stroustrup, the definitively reliable source, the same courtesy is applied to Don Box. You awkwardly feel safe and secure with the teachings of Box. The training that this book gives you is unbelievably detailed and presise, giving you a certain arrogance and swagger upon the books completion, because as he states it a C++ COM programmer is the smartest and most skillfull programmer in the developers circle. Don Box Essential COM is also a tutorial contrary to belief, but because it is exhaustively detailed, it also serves as keyboard side COM reference without the cold and dry syntax of most reference manuals. This book is classic and worth every penny. The mentality to spend on this book is what will the ramifications be once I really understand the COM model, and program in it effectively? Can you say humongous pay raise? How about jolting you marketability as a developer ten fold? It definitely has its place as tutorial but Don Box's book explains how COM can be used as a better C++. How is that? Box explains that in writing standalone binary implementations C++ without COM has its purpose without any influence, but should we really expose to much information about the class in the header files? He explains as you will read, that COM promotes interfaces, not class state exposure. He penetrates his dominance of COM throughout the book that COM exposes only what the client programmer using the interface should only be concerned with, the interface. And the details of how COM objects handle the responsibility performing the required service is in the implementation. Box explains in exhausting detail about the lack of the Standard C++ run-time class loading as opposed to Java which does support run-time class loading and COM now paired with C++ allows that feature. He really makes you understand COM theoretically, fundamentally that you can truly master COM with this book. This is the best programming book I have read. This book writing style is clear, the author Don Box clearly demonstrates his Lordship over the COM. The word is that Visual Basic programmers wanting to learn COM will get the concepts but will be lost with the implementation samples, this book is aimed at serious C++ programmers, but Java programmers will learn a great deal from Effective COM. If you want to hear what COM is and how it is used from Don Box himself, go to the Dr.Dobbs URL, ddj.com, click on Technetcast on the left margin, and look at bottom of page for Visual C++ Developers Conference 1998 archive real audio/video hosted by Technetcast Phillipe Lourier, or search for Don Box and it will come up with the segment to be played. This streaming video segment is invaluable and you get to see and hear Don Box talk about the need for COM and how COM compares with CORBA, Java, and how to use it to make you a superiorly better C++ progammer. Oh, yeah ahhh, buy this book if you want to learn COM, be a master of COM, be a Lord of COM....

I bought and read this book about 16 months ago.

I've re-read it twice since then. This is not because I didnt understand the book the first time -- its because there are so many layers of information in the book.

Some authors seem to be able to write 20 books on a subject -- You've seen the authors that do 3 C++ books a year, or 3 COM books a year. This is great for publishers, and the successful "serial author". (I am aware that Stroustrup has 2 other C++ books and Don has taken part in Effective COM -- but they're not on the same subject material)

Don takes a different approach. He's only going to write one COM book and do it properly. He does. This book is the most dense in terms of giving solid information to help you understand whats going on. Whats going on when your product is about to ship and there's only 3 "showstopper" bugs left. Thats when understanding it properly matters. It also matters when you want to design something. These details also matter to VB projects when they ship, or when they're being designed.

I generally read any COM book I see sitting around. So I've probably read about 6000 pages on COM. I've seen about 1000 wizard screenshots. I've seen 40 analogy-riddled COM explanations. I've seen "cute and funny" examples. This is the only one I've bought and I've never regretted it or covetted my neighbour's book.

Similarly with C++ books, there are authors who sell a rehash of the same material 20 times. I read any of these lying about too -- another 10,000 pages with 50 useful per book. I only _bought_ Stroustrup.

It's not (nor was it intended to be) _the_ tutorial. It doesnt have screenshots. Its not 'funny'. Depending on your initial level of knowledge, you should probably read one or two other books such as Inside COM (or intros to other books of that ilk) -- in fact the best primers are probably articles in MSDN. Use these as a primer as necessary. When you've read 1500 pages of these, come back to Essential COM, and you'll have any gaps in your knowledge filled in.

If I was allowed to own only 3 books on C++/COM development, they would be Stroustrup, Box and Effective COM. (Although Mr Bunny's Guides would come close :)

Finally, would people, regardless of positive or negative opinions held, please be kind enough to give their identity -- IMHO it invalidates your opinion if you're not willing to stand behind it.

You've read a lot, you've built the samples, you've used the wizards, you can actually turn out components in C++, VB and maybe even Java, but you still secretly ask questions like "OK, but WHAT IS this so-called Apartment? WHERE is it?", or "so how does *IT* notice its reference count is zero?", or "WHO keeps track of threading models?". It that's the case, you have a nasty habit of wanting the world to make sense, and Essential Com is for you. Well-organized, with clear lucid prose, a sort of man to man discussion of the reasoning and the detailed implementation issues *behind* the wizards and templates. While rich in C++ code, this is not a paint by numbers cookbook, e.g. MFC and ATL are hardly mentioned. Get that elsewhere and come back here when you have gotten "productive" and want a crack at actually understanding what you're doing. This book is one of the current masterpieces, and you will read it cover to cover. In addition, it's reasonably priced and the pastel color scheme of the cover blends nicely with most bathrooms.