These are books and articles I have read that I recommend to my peers, sorted
in alphabetical order.
201 Principles of Software Engineering
Audience: All developers and managers
This book is focused on large-scale software project principles, but it
reminds the reader that there are important aspects of the software
process besides coding. It is quick and easy reading, and is thus worth a
look.
|
Essential COM
Audience: Advanced C++ and COM developers
This book is by Don Box, one of the foremost experts on COM and COM+
(partly because he helped design the system). His insight and explanations
into the inner workings of COM make this book well worth the read.
|
Inside COM
Audience: Intermediate to Advanced C++ developers
This was the very first book I read on COM. The first six chapters read
like a suspense novel, showing how COM solves a number of common problems
without delving into how COM works. The remainder of the book shows the
user how to use and implement COM objects. However, the descriptions can
be a bit complicated, because the use of the ATL and MFC libraries is
strictly avoided. Therefore, I recommend reading the first six chapters,
then reading "Inside DCOM", then finishing this book.
|
Inside DCOM
Audience: All Intermediate to Advanced compiled-language developers.
(Emphasis on C++, but includes examples in VB and J++.)
In my opinion, this is an absolutely essential reference for the COM
programmer. It introduces many of the features and facets of COM in a very
understandable way, and it reminds the COM object programmer that his
clients might not use the same language he uses.
|
Inside SQL Server 7.0
Audience: Serious SQL Server developers and administrators
Ron Soukop (formerly a major player in the SQL Server development team)
started off this series with Inside SQL Server 6.5. Kalen Delaney picked
up the baton with versions for SQL Server 7.0 and 2000. These books get
into the nuts and bolts of SQL Server - how it optimizes queries, how it
stores and retrieves data, and how to get the most performance out of it.
A crucial resource for designing and supporting highly-scalable databases.
|
MFC Internals
Audience: Intermediate to Advanced C++ and MFC developers
This book is for the MFC programmer that wants to really understand what
all those MFC macros really do. It provides wonderful insights into some
undocumented features of MFC. Also, it provides good explanations of the
"why" behind decisions made by the MFC designers. If only for
the insight into a complicated and well-designed application framework,
this book is worth the read.
|
Professional XML Design and Implementation
Audience: Developers responsible for designing or presenting XML
documents.
|
SQL Server 2000 Resource Kit
Audience: Database developers and administrators
This book targets every person that comes near a SQL Server database. It
explains the SQL Server architecture, describes what factors go into
designing a database, provides a framework for putting together a database
team (complete with security, testing, and production considerations), and
explains data warehousing from a SQL Server perspective.
|
Understanding COM+
Audience: Developers and managers familiar with COM
This is a high-level introduction to COM+, intended to help COM developers
understand the improvements provided by COM+. It does its job well, but it
is not a technical reference.
|
Writing Solid Code
Audience: Intermediate to Advanced C++ developers
This is one of the "Microsoft's Approach to Development" books.
It describes good programming techniques, the complementary nature of
debugging and defensive coding (when to use ASSERT, etc.), and how to make
code readable, usable and maintainable. |
