Rating: 
Summary: I like this book.
Review: Although it reads somewhat like a reference manual, and is now becoming somewhat dated (as it was written for DX5) this is a good and reliable source of information about DirectX. The writing style is clear and professional, and the code samples are useful and easy to understand. It's not game-centric, which is unfortunate because that will what most readers are interested in, but it's useful for game developers nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent reference book
Review: Although the code samples are not the best, it is still a complete and thorough resource. I prefer to write my own code, including all DirectX calls, and this book has shown me what steps have to be taken to initialize them. As I said, the sample code IN THE BOOK is poor (the explanations of each object are great), but the sample code provided on the CD is very good. These samples are straight from the source--Microsoft programmers themselves. The old samples were archaic and impossible to comprehend at best. These samples are clear and concise and have allowed me to write my own DirectDraw object to manage everything. It is written with enough character to be interesting, yet still express its point. I highly reccomend it for anybody that wants to program multimedia apps/games. Some of the DirectDraw commands are also useful in other apps.
Rating:
Summary: A good starter book
Review: Clear, concise, and detailed enough to get you well on your way. Unless you're looking for Direct3D, this book is nearly flawless. I've been programming in DirectX for years and I still reference this book. It's a perfect mix of a reference and tutorials. To beginners: don't expect to master DirectX from one book. It takes time, experimentation, and a lot of wading through code. (This book will really help you get started, though)
Rating:
Summary: good intro, lacks follow through
Review: First off, i liked reading the book. It was something that was well written and i could follow all the way through. It was an excellent introduction the the basic api and a good primer for some of the basics of directx applications. However, it didn't even touch d3d (i know they tell us this ahead of time) and they didn't go beyond the basics. Also, i had some difficulty using their examples and they didn't always work right out of the book. In conclusion, this is a great into and basics reference for the beginner, but not for someone who is serious enough to be able to just read the info in the sdk without someone holding their hand.
Rating:
Summary: good intro, lacks follow through
Review: First off, i liked reading the book. It was something that was well written and i could follow all the way through. It was an excellent introduction the the basic api and a good primer for some of the basics of directx applications. However, it didn't even touch d3d (i know they tell us this ahead of time) and they didn't go beyond the basics. Also, i had some difficulty using their examples and they didn't always work right out of the book. In conclusion, this is a great into and basics reference for the beginner, but not for someone who is serious enough to be able to just read the info in the sdk without someone holding their hand.
Rating:
Summary: this book is useful for me
Review: I think this book is helpful for me. I read this book because I want to write a programe to record sound and use it on the Internet. I think the third part about Directsound is most suitable for me. But I am not very skilled in C, especially in the fundermental field. And I know there has been a DirectX 7 package in Visual Basic. So I think it will be good if there are more examples written in VB.
Rating:
Summary: Good Coverage of the Basics
Review: If you are looking for an overview of DirectX, you will find it here. This book presents a fairly clear introduction and is well written.
Rating: 
Summary: A lot of phaff and only directX 5.2
Review: This book doesn't deserve high ratings. There are NO complete samples -- just code excerpts -- and the ones on CD are confusing. There is 1 sample for every subject, so if you don't understand that, you just don't learn. For example, the joystick sample uses complex dialogs to set attributes, making it impossible to understand. Maybe it's a good reference for _beginners_, or introduction to the concepts, but definately not a learning book. It is hard to quickly find things. Throughout chapters, concepts are unorganized and not step by step -- basically, all incomplete explainations and no solid code. This is obviously thrown together. Try Andre Lamonthe's books.PS: Remember, #define INITGUI at the top of code or Sys_ device constants will be unresolved -- the book does not mention this.
Rating:
Summary: Good explanation of basic DirectX components
Review: This book is really helpfull if you want to master the basic DirectX components (it does not include Direct3d and DirectMusic). The book reads like a reference book: it explains every function of every component and provides sample code on the way. However, it also includes tips for the deeper insight. Knowledge of Win32 API and C/C++ is required, though. If you are new to windows programming, I highly recommend Windows Programming for Dummies. Together with this book they make up a perfect introduction to DirectX.
Rating:
Summary: DECIEVING
Review: When i bought the book i had only the intention of learning directX. That's it. But after buying th book, i got stuck after the first example because it uses MFC and the Win32 API. It throughs you for a loop because it barely describes those concepts. This book is completely USELESS to me untill i learn the Win32 API. That wouldn't be a problem except that I DON'T WANT TO!!! Hope I was able to warn at least ONE person
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