This up-to-date and very useful textbook is about writing .NET 2.0 applications using C++/common language infrastructure (CLI). It also explains how to integrate previously built C++ code and component object model (COM), distributed component object model (DCOM), COM+, and ActiveX components with new .NET 2.0 code.

The book addresses C++/CLI in three parts. The first four chapters cover the basics of, and background information on, the C++/CLI and .NET worlds. The main body of the book is in the next 15 chapters, which are standalone chapters that cover specific topics such as the .NET framework class library, integrated Extensible Markup Language (XML) documentation, collections, Windows forms applications, graphics using graphical device interface + (GDI+), ADO.NET and database development, Windows and Web services, multithreaded programming, network programming, assembly programming, and security. The final two chapters cover unsafe C++.NET code, and how to integrate it with C++/CLI.

Downloadable code for this book can be found in the download section of the Apress Web site. In addition, the authors have built a Web site devoted entirely to Visual C++/CLI and the .NET 2.0 platform that contains downloadable code for this book, as well as other related writings.

The most notable strength of this book is its large number of code examples, which will enhance readers’ understanding of C++/CLI programming. I would recommend the book to novices as well as experienced programmers, and particularly to Visual C++ programmers.