Rating: 
Summary: Good explanation of COM theory, but...
Review: I would not say that COM is deep or extremely difficult. A more accurate description would be that COM is a tedious hack for C++ that mimics what was already built into the Objective C programming language of NextStep. And, if memory serves me correctly, it originally began several years ago as the underpinnings of a future revision of Aldus PageMaker. Additionally, in the more recent distributed component "enterprise" environment, COM runs a poor second to the ease of using Java IMHO. Nevertheless, COM accomplishes what it set out to do and it does it very well--there is no alternative for C++ programmers. It's a must-learn technology for anyone doing serious Windows software development.This book, however, is *not* for someone who needs to learn COM and start producing working code in a timely manner. It's fine if you have plenty of time to wade through page after page of theory and explanation about why COM works the way it does, but that's as far as it goes. I have been a software engineer for 16 years and I can walk into most software retailers and pick-up titles off the shelf I have worked on-I am not, therefore, stupid. I started a job where I needed to quickly produce a COM "server" (DLL) and client application. After reading this book from cover-to-cover, I did not know the steps necessary to accomplish my task. I felt as if I knew everything about how an automobile works, but I did not know the first thing about driving one! This book *lacks* the two essential things any practical computer programming book needs: step-by-step instructions to get the essentials running and real working sample code. "Essential COM" fills in a lot of the esoteric details that many other books don't. However, if you need to understand COM to do something practical with it--now--then I would recommend the purchase of "Developer's Workshop to COM and ATL 3.0" by Andrew Troelsen. Save "Essential COM" for after you learn the basics and read it at your leisure.
Rating: 
Summary: To cenceptual, not practical for a newby to COM
Review: The biggest problem I've had with this book is that the examples are incomplete. I am used to learning by starting with a basic program and implementing more and more features of the api step by step. In this I can ensure I have mastered the basic concepts before moving on. Unfortunetly this book does not use this technic. Although it starts with the basics and progresses, it does not have working examples of just the basic implementation. Therefore if you are confused by a particular section that does not have much practical code, then you are at a loss and will not be able to move on through the book since subsequent sections will be building upon the one that you may have stumbled on. Code snippets are just not enough for me to grasps the subject. There is a complete example downloadable from the book's website, but the example implements all of the advanced features, which is far to overwhelming for a COM novice such as myself.
Rating:
Summary: Highly technical but the writing could be better.
Review: Don Box is probably the most widely known authority on COM and this shows.
From the motivating example of the first chapter, to thorough
discussions of object location, instantation, naming, remote invocation, this book was certainly worth reading. But sometimes I feel like the author is showboating with his opaque/jargon-filled writing; it just isn't as clear as say
a Kernighan, a Tanenbaum or even some others writing about MS Specific Technology.
Rating:
Summary: Should have been titled "COM for C++ Developers"
Review: For a book on the topic of COM (a language-independent binary standard for component software development), Essential COM is incredibly biased towards C++ developers. As a VB5/6 and Delphi developer, after about seventy-five pages I realized that this book was a waste of my time. I recommend that the author look to books like Design Patterns to understand how to present topics in a more language-independent way. This might be a good book for C++ developers, but anyone else seeking a thorough understanding of COM (without suffering through an excruciating history of the C++ shortcomings that led to the development of COM in the first place) should look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely Essential
Review: If you are already familiar with COM in C++, then here is a book that can bring your skill to the next level. For those of you who already own many many books on COM, your collection wouldn't be complete if you miss this one. This book continues on where many others left off. It digs deep down and explores the areas that are ESSENTIAL to your understanding of COM's intricacies. Many insights given in this book are rare, and you probably won't find it elsewhere. If you are already familiar with COM, here is a book that surprisingly still intrigue you on the subjects that you think you already knew. Though, I don't recommend this book for beginners. As the matter of fact, if I was new to COM and had to write a review for this book, I probably would have only given it 2 stars. It is not because the book is bad, it is simply that this is NOT one of those how-to-book. However, if your level is in the intermediate to advance, you will most definitely want this one. So, if you do decide to get this book, here is my tip for reading it. Don't try to read the book from front to end, for you may not find enough momentum to get pass the second chapter - that is, if you not into theory and all. Instead, just jump to the chapters that interest you the most. Also note the chapters near the end are very addictive, so you may want to start the book from there. This is how I "re-gained" the incentive to finish the book.
You welcome:)
Rating: 
Summary: Best background COM book
Review: If you are a COM developer, you need (at least) two books on your shelf, "ATL Internals", and this one (Grime's books are pretty good too). After you start to dig around in ATL, you will see the heritage that came from this book. This is no mere regurgitation of MSDN, it is one of the works that blazed the COM trail, akin to Stroustups's C++ book. This is the best book to understand COM (all of it - like monikers) from the bottom-up.
Rating:
Summary: Very good theory based book
Review: I've been learning COM for a while starting out with VB, and then realizing the real COM developement is done with C++. I have learned all the ways to implement COM object but somehow didn't realize some of the reasoning behind it. This book will tie it all together, and use code to show you the hows and whys behind the theory. It is a great book for a intermediate level COM developer.
Rating:
Summary: A concise book that gives you essential knowledge
Review: This book is just as the title says. It's very concise and gives you just about everything essential that you must know sooner or later. "Essential" here means "class library neutral", even if ATL is vitually the class library to use. After reading this book the next step would be to understand ATL sample code by looking into the source code behind it. I wish I read this book sooner -- it was full of knowledge that I used to waste a lot of time figuring out (trial&error stuff) with much effort and much less clarity.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the typical programmer!!!
Review: This book is all about the nuts and bolts of COM. If you want to get under the hood and really learn how COM works, read this book. It is the standard used in learning how a COM application works and how to debug it if it doesn't. If you are a programmer with a deep desire to learn some low level APIs and a more thorough knowledge of COM, this is a MUST HAVE resource. To those people that gave this book bad reviews due to its lack of a "big picture" view of COM, they are right, do not come here if you are looking for any kind of picture, this book is a low-level technical guide for the REAL COM programmer.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: A must buy, a masterpiece, for anyone interested in knowning how COM works. But keep in mind that this book would/can be better appreciated if one has a good understanding if C++ object layouts. I would recommend reading Lipman's "Inside the C++ Object Model" before reading this one. I would reiterate Charlie Kindel's statement that "No one explains COM better than Don Box".
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