Portable software development is writing software that runs on a broad range of computer systems instead of just one (e.g., Windows). Programmers often pick up the idioms, tricks and methodologies for developing cross-platform software through sheer trial and error, as they encounter the same mistakes and patterns of code over time. If you're an intermediate-to advanced-level programmer who'd rather cut to the chase, Write Portable Code contains the lessons, patterns and knowledge you'll need for developing cross-platform software.
Write Portable Code explains how to:
avoid common portability mistakes when starting out a new project, thereby saving time when a port must occur
re-factor existing, non-portable code so that it can be easily transplanted to new platforms
find bugs masked by platform specific behaviors
Programmers who avoid becoming married to a specific development environment or target platform greatly expand the target market for their software products. Whether you design cross-platform software from the ground up or have to move large amounts of code from one platform to another, the information contained in Write Portable Code will help you achieve your goals and grow as a programmer.
TOC Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Preparing for Portability Chapter 2: ANSI C/C++ Chapter 3: Techniques for Portability Chapter 4: Editing and Source Control Chapter 5: Processor Differences Chapter 6: Floating Point Chapter 7: Preprocessor Chapter 8: Compiler Quirks Chapter 9: User Interaction Chapter 10: Networking Chapter 11: Operating Systems Chapter 12: Dynamic Libraries Chapter 13: Security and Permissions Chapter 14: File Systems Chapter 15: Scalability and Portability Chapter 16: Portability and Data Chapter 17: Internationalization and Localization Chapter 18: Scripting Languages Chapter 19: Cross-platform Libraries and Toolkits Appendix A: POSH Appendix B: The Simple Audio Library Appendix C: The Rules for Portability References
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Excellent Book, Misleading Title:
This book is an excellent read. The material is presented completely, concisely, and in an easy to understand manner. However the title of this book is misleading. It really should be "Write Portable code in C". There is some limited discussion of C++, but mostly to discourage you from using it. All other languages are dismissed out of hand, or just completely ignored. As long as you understand this caveat there is much to learn from this book. This book is really focused on writing software that will... more info
Good for beginners:
This is the only book I've seen that covers this material in-depth (The Practice of Programming by Kernighan and Pike touches on the basics). If you've never worked on the development of a piece of cross-platform software, this book will help you avoid a lot of the pitfalls that many programmers have overcome through trial and error. Otherwise, there's not much novel material here for you. The first half of this book decribes the method for writing portable code with a good high-level philosophy... more info
I need this book:
Enter Brian Hook's Write Portable Code. Portability is a sort of a holy grail for programmers, and there is no lack of knowledge floating around Usenet and Internet. However, Brian Hook tried to recommend a book on the subject to a friend, and didn't find one. So he set out to write his own. The result is a tome that should reside on every programmers desk sooner or later. The book's cover pictures a donkey striving uphill, and I can definitely releate to that. Portability is not only a target hard to... more info
Packed with specifics which lend to both an overall understanding of concepts and the ability to troubleshoot common problems:
Brian Hook's Write Portable Code: An Introduction To Developing Software For Multiple Platforms covers all the basics of writing code for cross-platform use. From avoiding common portability mistakes and finding bugs inherent in platform-specific behaviors to understanding filesystems and understanding preprocessors, Write Portable Code is packed with specifics which lend to both an overall understanding of concepts and the ability to troubleshoot common problems.
