This book is primarily a programming book and concerns itself with how to write applications to manage the information stored in Active Directory. It will, however, appeal to a range of computing professionals. The information and samples I provide should benefit enterprise network administrators interested in automating tasks with scripts as well as developers building network management tools and full-scale directory-enabled applications with Visual Basic and C++.
For IT professionals who want a background in Active Directory before reading this book, two good references are Understanding Active Directory Services by Daniel Blum (Microsoft Press, 1999) and Active Directory Services for Microsoft Windows 2000 Technical Reference by David Iseminger (Microsoft Press, 2000).