Posted in 2013

Book review: Mastering Windows 8 C++ App Development

Disclaimer: I am a Microsoft MVP in Visual C++, so is Pavel Yosifovich, the author of the book. Mastering Windows 8 C++ App Development by Pavel Yosifovich is a new addition to the Windows Store development books. It took me a while to read (304 pages) but is well worth the time from the perspective of a C++ developer. The book obviously went through great lengths to be comprehensive, not only introduced the typical Windows Runtime (WinRT) APIs in a crisp manner but also added a refreshment of C++ 11, the Model View ViewModel (MVVM) pattern, and the Windows Runtime C++ Template Library (WRL). In addition, being a book for C++ developers, the author’s emphasis on performance can be found in several tips and discussions, which is a nice focus for C++ developers. There are also several weaknesses in the book. Introducing WRL before C++/CX may be a poor choice as it is difficult to inspire the reader with laborious code. Also the book could use a few more details on DirectX and some WinRT APIs such as GeoPosition. Nevertheless, the book is an excellent text for the subject and I recommend the book to C++ programmers who want to start developing Windows Store apps and can do research outside of the book.

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Another breaking change related to 64 bit compatibility, this time in TAPISRV w/Windows 8

The ADO team had to make a breaking change the ADO APIs due to compatibility problem with Microsoft Office. Now it seems to be Tapi’s turn.

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Howto: Ignoring web browser certificate errors in a webbrowser host

Many applications host webbrowser controls to display web pages inside. Before production the web page is often in an internal server that do not have a valid certificate. This article let you skip the certificate error and continue testing your application

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When you get a System.BadImageFormatException. maybe you indeed have a bad system image.

I am getting a StackOverflowException with two functions repeating on the call stack, one is the constructor of System.BadImageFormatException, another is System.Environment.GetResourceStringLocal.

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How to restart Windows Explorer programmatically using Restart manager

You can download source code of this post at jiangsheng/Samples

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