Note:  A fair number of OS/2 books are available from the Indelible Blue
        catalogue.


    OS/2 Presentation Manager Programming
    -------------------------------------
    Charles Petzold
    Ziff-Davis Press
    1994
    ISBN 1-56276-123-4

    Charles Petzold's first book on Presentation Manager (for OS/2 1.x)
    was as definitive in the field as was his equivalent book for Windows.
    Sadly, however, OS/2 has progressed to 2.x and 3.x and Mr Petzold has
    not.  The second edition of this book was little more than a rehashing
    of the first, with information on AVIO removed, and very little added
    to take its place.  There is no discussion of the features that were
    introduced into OS/2 2.0, such as Workplace Shell, Drag and Drop, or
    any of the CUA'91 controls.

    Mr Petzold's only redeeming feature with the second edition of this
    book is that he is a "brand name".  There are other, far better, books
    that introduce Presentation Manager programming.


    OS/2 2.1 PROGRAMMING: Your Fast-Track Guide to OS/2
    ---------------------------------------------------
    Herbert Schildt and Robert Goosey
    Osborne/McGraw Hill
    306 pages
    ISBN 0-07-881910-5

    ( no summary available )


    Advanced OS/2 Presentation Manager Programming
    ----------------------------------------------
    Burge & Celi
    Wiley

    This book has great examples, is well structured and contains truly
    useful information - completely opposite to the waste of trees foisted
    upon the programming community by Herb Schildt .
                                -- Review by Jon Wright, 3:633/379.0


    The Art of OS/2 2.1 C Programming
    ---------------------------------
    The Art of OS/2 Warp C Programming
    ----------------------------------
    Kathleen Panov, Larry Salomon and Arthur Panov
    Wiley-QED
    ISBN 0-471-08633-9 (Warp edition)

    An introductory level text.
                                -- Review by Jon Wright, 3:633/379.0


    OS/2 2.1 Corporate Programmers Handbook
    ---------------------------------------
    Scholin, Sullivan & Scragg
    Van Nostrand Reinhold

    OK, but a bit superficial, with about a third of the book with
    "reference" API docs that everyone should have anyway.  Still, it has
    about the best section on writing online help that I've seen (for that
    matter about the only section on writing online help ...).
                                -- Review by Jon Wright, 3:633/379.0


    Real World Programming for OS/2 2.1
    -----------------------------------
    Blain, Delimon and English
    Sams
    ISBN 0-673-30300-0


    OS/2 2.0 Presentation Manager GPI: A Programming Guide to Text,
    ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Graphics, And Printing
    ----------------------
    Graham C.E. Winn, IBM Corporation
    IDG
    ISBN 0-442-00739-6

    The "official" guide to GPI programming.  Slightly turgid, and better
    books exist.
                                -- Review by Mike Bilow 1:323/107.0


    Writing VX-REXX Programs
    ------------------------
    Ronny Richardson
    McGraw-Hill
    ISBN 0-07-911910-7(cloth) ISBN 0-07-911911-5(paper)
    Includes CD-ROM

    I bought the book about two months ago.  It wasn't what I was look for
    but it has helped some.  I wanted to know how to structure the
    programs, where do I put my own code sort of thing, how do all the
    'sections' work together.  The book has tons of examples and sections
    of code for doing various things.  Eventually it may just be what I
    need, I just need to get further into my development.
                                -- Review by George Moralez 1:343/85.0


    Writing OS/2 Device Drivers
    ---------------------------
    Raymond Westwater
    Addison-Wesley
    1989
    515 pages
    ISBN 0-201-52234-9

    For those who want to start writing device drivers, this is a
    good primer to read.  It covers the basics of writing simple
    character and block mode device drivers, and the DevHlp
    services.  Three example device drivers are listed (with
    assembly language source) and analysed.

    This book was aimed at simple OS/2 1.x device drivers, and
    doesn't cover the IFS model, or any extended services available
    in OS/2 2.x and 3.x such as base device drivers and device
    managers.  Experts may also find its repetition of the same
    information over and over a little tedious to wade through.


    SOMObjects: A Practical Introduction to SOM and DSOM
    ----------------------------------------------------
    IBM International Technical Support Center
    IBM "red book" # GG24-4357

    ( no summary available )


    OS/2 EXTRA! KBD, MOU & VIO SPECIAL FUNCTIONS REVEALED
    -----------------------------------------------------
    Len Dorfman and Marc J. Neuberger
    ISBN 0-8306-4567-5

    It's basically the information in PRCP.INF, but in printed form (and
    cleaned up a little).  It'll tell you just about everything you need
    to know about the VIO, KBD, and MOU functions, including which
    functions will and will not work in a windowed OS/2 session (as
    opposed to a full-screen OS/2 session).
                                -- Review by Martin Pollard, 1:120/187.0


    The GUI-OOUI War: Windows Vs OS/2
    ---------------------------------
    Theo Mandel
    Van Nostrand Reinhold
    1993

    This book apparently explains the benefits of object-oriented user
    interfaces such as the Workplace Shell.  ( No further information on
    the rest of the book is available.  )


    Object Oriented Programming  Using SOM and DSOM
    -----------------------------------------------
    Christina Lau, IBM Canada
    Van Nostrand Reinhold
    1994
    272 pages
    ISBN 0-442-01948-3

    Introduction to SOM.  IDL.  Creating and implementing SOM classes
    using the C and C++ language bindings.  Using the Distribution,
    Replication, Persistence, Collection, Interface Repository, and
    Emitter class libraries.  Future directions.


    Objects for OS/2
    ----------------
    Scott H. Danforth, Paul Koenen, and Bruce Tate
    Van Nostrand Reinhold
    1994
    446 pages
    ISBN 0-442-01738-3

    Basic objects.  Overviews of OS/2, Presentation Manager, and OO
    programming using C++.  Using the SOM API.  Workplace Shell
    programming in SOM.  Worked examples of attributes, metaclasses,
    multiple inheritance, PM via OO, graphics, wrapping PM controls, and
    wrapping files into objects.  Articles on ObjectPM, OVTT design
    methodology.  Constructors and destructors in SOM 2.1.  Metaclass
    programming in SOM 2.1.


    C++ IOStreams Handbook
    ----------------------
    Steve Teale
    Addison-Wesley
    1993
    ISBN 0-201-59641-5

    This is not an OS/2 programming book per se, but is reported to be
    *the* introduction to using iostreams in C++.  So it is of passing
    relevance to a booklist devoted to OS/2 programming in C++.


    The Design of OS/2 2.0
    ----------------------
    H.M. Deitel and M.S. Kogan.
    Addison-Wesley
    400 pages
    1992
    ISBN 0-201-54889-5

    ( There is an updated version for OS/2 2.1, for which details are
      unavailable.  Anyone ? )

    I saw Mike Kogan speak once.  He is very knowledgeable about the
    internals of OS/2, and particularly effective at presenting
    information.  This book is no exception.  Mr Deitel also wrote
    _Operating_Systems_, a comparative analysis of operating systems.

    The book itself goes into detail on the inner workings of OS/2,
    covering such areas as the mechanisms of dynamic linking, the
    scheduler, and virtual memory.  For those interested in OS/2 as an
    operating system, or in the innards of the OS/2 kernel, this book is a
    must.  A good foundation in the principles of operating system design
    is a pre-requisite for reading.


    OS/2 C++ Class Library   Power GUI Programming with C Set++
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    Kevin Leong, Bill Law, Bob Love, Bruce Olson, and Hiroshi Tsuji
    Van Nostrand Reinhold
    800 pages
    ISBN 0-442-01795-2

    This is supposedly *the* book for programmers using IBM's user
    interface class libraries.  Unfortunately, it is already slightly
    dated, since ICLUI has changed name to OpenClass and CSet++ has become
    VisualAge C++.


    The Ultimate OS/2 Programmer's Manual
    -------------------------------------
    John Mueller
    McGraw Hill
    1994
    ISBN 0-07-043972-9

    While the title is a bit overblown (there's a lot missing) it's got a
    lot of the sort of information that Ray Duncan's now ancient _Advanced
    OS/2 Programming_ contained, but more up to date.  One of the sections
    that is rather complete is Chapter 3:  Video API, in which the author
    describes VIO, GPI, and WIN calls, as well as the 8514 and XGA
    standards.
                            -- Review by Ed Beroset 1:3641/1.250


    The REXX Language: A Practical Approach to Programming, 2nd edition
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
    Mike Cowlishaw
    ISBN 0-13-780651-5

    Mike Cowlishaw can be termed the "inventor" of REXX, and this book
    describes SAA version 4 REXX, and the rationale behind the design of
    the language.


    Effective Multithreading in OS/2
    --------------------------------
    Dorfman and Neuberger
    McGraw Hill
    ISBN 0-07-017841-0
    Comes with disc.

    The title is pretty much self-explanatory.  This book is all about
    proper use of threads.


    The Design and Implementation of the 4.3BSD UNIX operating system
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Karels, McKusick, Leffler, and Quarterman
    ISBN 0-201-06196-1

    Not an OS/2 book, I know.  But programmers writing for TCP/IP for OS/2
    may be interested in the detailed discussions in this book of the
    original Berkeley sockets design and implementation.


    User Interfaces in C and C++ for OS/2
    -------------------------------------
    Mark Goodwin
    MIS Press
    1993
    ISBN 1-55828-278-5

    Book includes a 360kb code diskette, with all the C and C++ code as
    well as compiled object for C Set/2 and Borland C++ in two libraries,
    ready for linking.  The C Set/2 code was compiled for the SE and SM
    libraries.  Don't know about the Borland code, 'cause I don't use
    their IDE/compiler/linker.

    From SCBC, I paid $45.89, which included S&H. VERY short review
    follows, because I haven't read it all, yet, and haven't compiled
    anything from it, yet.  Have run the demo programs, though.  Will post
    more, with experience - assuming you don't beat me to it!!

    First off, I think the author had a good idea for creating the VIO
    interface objects, and figured the code would sell better as a book
    than as a software product.  The book is really an implementation/user
    manual for the included code.  It doesn't really tell you how to use
    the VIO, MOU, KBD API calls, but instead wraps a set of C (very little
    C++) functions around them to implement most all of the calls you'd
    need to make.

    He then proceeds to gather these low-level calls into usable higher
    level functions to create windows, menus and input fields/boxes and
    then even higher level functions to implement all this into a
    application interface system.  Very nicely structured and about as
    object-oriented as you can get in C. He then provides some C++ object
    wrappers around the lower level C stuff, so that it can be implemented
    in C++, should you choose.  Pretty well thought out architecture.

    The book includes ALL the underlying source code, with each section of
    source followed by a discussion of each function implemented in
    pseudocode.

    The code diskette has all the source, demo source and .EXE's, and the
    .LIB's mentioned earlier.  A nice job of packaging.

    My first impression is:  If you are serious about using VIO routines
    and don't want to take the time to hack it into libraries for
    yourself, spend the $$ for the code.  If your time is worth anything,
    you can't do it yourself more cheaply!  If you want to alter the code
    to put your own stamp of individuality on it, all the source is there,
    go to it!

    However, if you want a book to teach you all about VIO, then the old
    MS Press book for OS/2 1.1/2/3 VIO is better.  I have had it for
    several years and used it to create 16 bit libraries for myself.  DO
    NOT want to do that again!

    Hope this helps, will post more as I know more.

                    -- Review by Tom Carr, Ilink OS/2-Support conference


    Instant OS/2 - Porting C Applications to OS/2
    ---------------------------------------------
    Dorfman
    McGraw-Hill
    ISBN 0-8306-4522-5

    According to Simon Ewins of 1:250/664.0, this book contains all of the
    source for a screen library that is the same for both DOS and OS/2.
    Apparently this works when compiled with Watcom C++ 10.0.

      > JdeBP  Keeper of the <
   > Highly Unofficial FIDONET OS2PROG C++ Compiler Pros and Cons List <
       > Available via File Request as PROSCONS.ZIP from 2:440/4.0 <
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