Foreword

I first met David Platt back in 1998, when I was thinking about writing a book about COM. The potential editor for my book had also edited Platt’s COM and ActiveX Workbook and gave me a copy to look over so that I could see “what we’ve published before.” I found it to be a remarkable and very detailed book. (OK, I didn’t really meet Dave in the flesh, but reading a book by someone is just like meeting them, except different, of course.)

Skip ahead a few years (and one book on COM and DCOM never written because of illness), and I find Dave in my office here at Microsoft, this time in the flesh. By now I’ve also had a chance to read his excellent text on COM+ and many of the chapters you are about to read. This was the chance I’d been waiting for! I wanted to know whether he was as funny and interesting as his latest writings. Indeed he is, but with more hair.

Dave’s writing style has changed from his earlier writing. His COM+ book, as well as this one, are cheeky and fun to read. But they are almost a different genre of book. I know what you are thinking: “Genre? This is a computer book.”

You see, I was thinking about the taxonomy of programming books the other day, and I’ve noticed three types:

• The hardcore type, with lots of code; a book that usually covers one particular subject. Dave’s book on COM and ActiveX falls into this category. These books answer the question how.

• The in-depth type that offer a very deep analysis of a system, with quite a bit of code. Don Box’s COM book is an example of this type. These books answer the question why.

• The mindset book. This type provides a high-level and easy–to- understand overview of a subject, with some code. However, these books don’t try to give you an exhaustive look at everything, like the first category, nor do they try to go into the very deepest crevices, like the second type. Instead, their intent is almost metaphysical: they try to give you the Zen of their subject. These books teach you when to ask how and when to ask why.

Introducing Microsoft. NET is definitely an example of the last kind of book. It’s funny to read and very informative, with lots of interesting code. But it’s really about teaching you the mindset of .NET. And trust me, there’s a mindset switch. You’ll need to think in a new way to become a .NET wizard. It’s not all that hard, and the book you hold in your hands is the first step.

Keith Ballinger
Program Manager, XML Web Services
Microsoft Corporation

P.S. In earlier editions of this book, I asked people to send me e-mail if they read the foreword. I was interested in knowing how many people actually read forewords. I promised to reply to each of you with the current count. Unfortunately, there were so many responses, I couldn’t keep up. The final tally? I’ve received many thousands of replies. Thanks for e-mailing me. I appreciate it.