Posted in 2013
Book review: Mastering Windows 8 C++ App Development
- 08 August 2013
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.
Another breaking change related to 64 bit compatibility, this time in TAPISRV w/Windows 8
- 30 July 2013
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.
In the 64 bit editions of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, some TAPI providers would stop getting incoming calls due to implementation changes in the TAPI service (TAPISRV) that had to be done for 64 bit compatibility.
Howto: Ignoring web browser certificate errors in a webbrowser host
- 17 July 2013
Download Example Code: jiangsheng/Samples.
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
When you get a System.BadImageFormatException. maybe you indeed have a bad system image.
- 08 February 2013
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.
Since the call that throws the stack overflow is to a web service proxy defined in the same project as the application, there isn’t a 32bit/64bit mismatch here (32bit machine with every project targeting x86), unlike almost all other discussions on the internet about this exception.
How to restart Windows Explorer programmatically using Restart manager
- 22 January 2013
You can download source code of this post at jiangsheng/Samples
For shell extension programmers, restart Windows Explorer is one of steps in their setup programs. A programmer may also want to force some shell setting changes that would only be read by Explorer on start up. For example, this posts is inspired by a programmer who want to toggle task bar layout automatically depending on the screen resolution, and is used to demonstrate the new Windows Vista restart manager API like RmStartSession, RmRegisterResources, RmGetList, RmShutdown, RmRestart and RmEndSession.