Desaware Home
Products    Purchase    Publishing    Articles   Support    Company    Contact    
Licensing System
Professional Services
Universal .NET
Universal COM
.NET Books
COM Books
Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API
Introduction
Contents
Updates
Edition History
Exploring VB6 (series)
Developing COM/ActiveX Components with VB6: A Guide to the Perplexed
Introduction
Outline
What's New from the VB 5.0 edition
Updates
Win32 API Puzzle Book and Tutorial
Introduction
Chapter Outline
Sample Puzzle
Updates
NT Security Programming with Visual Basic 6
Updates
Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Windows 16 bit API
Other Books

bluebar
Contact Desaware and order today

bluebar
Sign up for Desaware's Newsletter for the latest news and tech tips.

Note: This page describes a legacy product or book. The page is available for archival purposes and as a courtesy to those who have linked to it, but is no longer being updated or maintained.
  amazon

Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API
$47.99 [Print]

Table of Contents

Book Cover
The classic guide to Win32 API programming from VB6

Part I: The Windows API

1. DLL's and API's

  • Moving from DOS to Windows
  • Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL's)
  • Application Programmer's Interfaces (API's)
  • The Different Flavors of Windows
  • A Universe of extension libraries.
  • The Different Flavors of Visual Basic (VBA)

2. Getting a Handle on Windows

  • Relating Visual Basic to Windows
  • Inside Windows
  • Graphic Output in Windows
  • A Handle for Every Object
  • The Next Step

3. The Visual Basic - Windows Interface

  • The Declare Statement
  • Unicode, ANSI and Aliases
  • DLL Parameters
  • How API/DLL Calls Work

4. Real World API Programming

  • Programming Techniques
  • Translating API Documentation to Visual Basic (Part 1 - Functions)
  • Writing programs for 16 & 32 bit platforms.
  • Porting existing 16 bit code
  • Translating API Documentation to Visual Basic (Part 2 - Files & Structures)
  • Debugging API code
  • 10 Commandments for API Programming (revised)

Part II: Windows API Functions

5. Windows Control and Information Functions

  • Rectangle and Point Functions
  • Window Control and Information Functions
  • Window Style Reference
  • Function Reference

6. Hardware and System Functions

  • Mouse, Cursor and Caret Functions
  • Keyboard and other Input Functions
  • Time Functions
  • System Information and Control Functions
  • The SysInfo Example
  • Simulating Keystrokes and Mouse Events
  • Function Reference

7. Device Contexts

  • Introduction to Device Contexts
  • Device Context Information Functions
  • Scaling and Coordinate Systems
  • Clipping, Regions and Other Device Context Functions
  • Function Reference

8. Drawing Functions

  • Overview of Graphic Output
  • GDI Drawing Objects
  • Drawing Attributes
  • Drawing Functions
  • Paths
  • Bringing it all together: Learning through examples.
  • Metafiles
  • Bringing it all together II: Additional examples.
  • Function Reference

9. Bitmaps , Icons and Raster Operations

  • Bitmaps
  • Device Dependent Bitmaps
  • Device Independent Bitmaps
  • Icons and Cursors
  • Raster Operations
  • Examples
  • Function Reference

10. Working with Menus

  • Inside the menuing System
  • Using the Menu API Functions with VB
  • Examples
  • Function Reference

11. Text and Fonts

  • Using Fonts
  • Drawing Text
  • Examples
  • Function Reference

12. Printing

  • Printing in Windows
  • Printing and Visual Basic
  • Printer Settings and the DEVMODE Structure
  • Controlling the Print Spooler
  • Examples
  • Functions Reference

13. File Functions

  • Initialization Files
  • The System Registry
  • File and Directory Operations
  • File Mappings (Is it file, or is it memory?)
  • VersionStamping
  • Examples
  • Function Reference

14. Processes and Threads

  • Processes, Threads and Instances
  • System and Synchronization Objects
  • Launching Applications
  • InterProcess Communication
  • Function Reference

15. Strings, Structures , Memory and Resources Management

  • Memory and Strings
  • The Visual Basic - Windows Interface: The hardcore version
  • Resources
  • Atoms and Properties
  • Function Reference

Part III: Windows Messages

 16. General Windows Messages

  • Message Handling
  • Messages That are Useful with Visual Basic
  • Message Reference

17. Edit Control Messages

  • The Text Control
  • Notification Messages
  • Edit Control Messages

18. Listbox and Combobox Messages

  • The List Control
  • The Combo Box Control
  • Button Controls
  • Notification Messages
  • Edit Control Messages
  • Combo Box Messages
  • List Box Control Messages
  • Button Control Messages

Part IV: Real World API Programming Revisited

 19. Using API Calls From VB: A Tradeoff in Software Design

  • Using the Windows API To Improve Performance
  • Power versus Safety when using the Windows API
  • Design Choices
  • Learning through Experimentation

20. Building an API Class Library

  • Class Library Implementation
  • Using The Class Library

Bonus Chapters (CD-ROM only)

Chapter 21 Serial Communications

Chapter 22 Network API Functions

Chapter 23 Building an API Type Library

Appendices

  • A - Using APIGID32.DLL, DWCBK32D.OCX and DWSBC32D.OCX.
  • B - Windows Data Structures (CD-ROM)
  • C - Windows File Formats
  • D - Visual Basic to DLL Calling Conventions: A Technical Review
  • E - Raster Operation Table (CD-ROM)

CD-ROM includes the following:

  • All sample code shown in the book, plus additional samples not included in the text. Most samples are provided in both VB4 and VB5 versions.
  • Bonus chapters 21-23 .
  • A full text searchable electronic edition of the book.
  • Back issues of the Desaware Visual Basic Bulletin
  • Past articles by the author from Pinnacle's Visual Basic Developer newsletter and the Visual Basic Programmer's Journal.
  • The Desaware API Toolkit including an API database and add-in program
  • The Desaware API Class Library.
  • Desaware's online catalog including demonstration controls and programs.
Books
Want to learn even more advanced API techniques?
 
Products    Purchase    Articles    Support    Company    Contact
Copyright© 2012 Desaware, Inc. All Rights Reserved.    Privacy Policy