Rating: 
Summary: I was quite dissapointed with this book.
Review: The book is great for someone who wishes to use the Author's DLLs to write MIDI programs. Unfortunately, I bought it to learn how to write MIDI programs using the Microsoft Multimedia SDK functions and this book was not adequate for my needs. Note that some of the things his DLLs require (such as transmitting SysEx one byte at a time) is, at best, a kludge and surely not to be looked upon as elegant coding.You can find out a lot more about Windows MIDI functions by reading Microsoft's SDK, as poorly written as they are. For instance, no mention is made at all in this book about an entire section of MIDI functions, those which deal with using MIDI streams. It wouldn't have been so bad if the author had at least spent time going over the code in his DLLs and explaning how he did what and why. But, I don't feel enough of that was done. Unfortunately, there is still not one good book available detailing how to write MIDI apps using the Microsoft Multimedia SDK.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Windows/C++ MIDI Resource
Review: The Good: Includes well written source code. 'C' source code is included as well as C++. HTML version of book included on CD. A variety of example applications are included to get you started. Paul Messick is vigilant in making bug fixes and does a good job hosting a private users group on the Internet. The Bad: Included source code has a few bugs. You have to download the latest libraries and patches. The Ugly: Nothing ugly... :-) Comments: Paul Messick is extremely skilled at low level programming and understands the zero tolerance for latencies in music and MIDI. I kept away from the MFC implementations simply because I felt this was too much overhead. The C++ "objects" are really just wrappers for the 'C' code. The aggregation helps to keep things organized, but his architecture doesn't mandate using OO design unless you're looking to create an application fast (but not a *fast* application;-) using MFC and MSVC wizards. There is no better book on the market for Windows programmers of *all* skills who have an interest in MIDI.
Rating: 
Summary: The best in implementing MIDI with C++
Review: This book will precisely show you how to implement MIDI functionality using MFC and C++. The author knows his stuff and doesn't shy away from the subtleties of 16-bit thunking (to get the best timing) and other techniques necessary for the best results. As if that wasn't enough, you get a working toolkit of MFC C++ classes ready to implement in your own projects.
Rating:
Summary: Very Insightful and needed!
Review: This is a book that's destined to become a MIDI how-to classic.I've waited for quite a while to find a book that not only explains MIDI programming in detail,but also provides source code,a well done and documented companion disk ,many book examples in C and C++,online support and forum for the book(big plus!).I would have given a perfect rating ,but I specialize in using a different programming language-but I understand how to convert the code to C/C++ .As the title indicates,applications in C++.Kudos to Paul Messick!
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