xix
preface
In my younger days at school and later working with various startup companies, I
thought Unix ruled the world and never expected to find myself working with “the
dark side” of the computer industry: that is, Microsoft Corporation. So I find it
amusing that here I am publishing not a first but a second book in support of
Microsoft technologies. I guess you go where the road leads, and my paths have car-
ried me fully into the depths of Windows-based development. Fortunately, I am
happy with my conversion, which I suppose is the way of the dark side.
As to this publishing idea, it is a very curious thing. The excitement of writing
wears off after a while, and you realize that you not only want to write a book, you
want to write a good book. This changes your approach and mentality, in that you put
in the extra effort and time to make it “good.” Then one day you have another reve-
lation: you not only want to write a good book, you want to write a book people actu-
ally like and are willing to purchase.
Such was my journey for both the first and the second editions of this book. The
first edition was reasonably well received, and a second edition for .
NET 2.0 seemed
apparent. Unfortunately, those clever folks at Microsoft added and changed so much
of the Windows Forms namespace that I found myself rewriting pretty much the
entire book.
While you might think the journey involved for a second edition is easier than the
first, don’t kid yourself. It is true that I knew how to approach the text and the basic
format is the same, but as a “seasoned author” I wanted to create a better design for
both the book and the sample application built throughout. The chapters are more
concise and I attempted to apply my experience with .
NET enterprise application
development at Unisys Corporation to generate a better program design. I added more
diversions from the main MyPhotos application to cover additional material and to
present code samples for alternate or interesting topics.
Another curious fact was that while writing the first edition of this book I was a
consultant, and it was fairly easy to take weeks off here and there to devote to writing.
As a full-time program manager these days, finding such time for the second edition
was not easy. My family and friends were equally supportive for both editions, for
which I am very thankful.