This book aims to provide an introduction to programming GDI+ in both C# and VB .NET. The author approaches this task by splitting the book into two parts. The main part of the book explores four key areas of GDI (graphics device interface) programming vector graphics, images, text/font handling and printing, while the final two chapters try to pull these areas together through the development of two relatively simple applications. There is also a good introduction to .NET and a brief overview of GDI at the start of the book for those that might be unfamiliar with either.
One of the more unusual aspects of the book lies in its language neutral approach to explaining GDI+. The author works through a series of examples in each chapter, nearly always providing 'equivalent' example code in both VB .NET and C#. While this is interesting for those who want to see how both languages are structured and deal with the .NET framework, it has the obvious drawback that a fair amount of time is spent explaining the same concepts in both languages. While repetition can be good, especially when dealing with new concepts, I couldn't help feeling that this dual approach diluted the GDI content. However, the title makes it clear that this is to be expected, so the reader shouldn't be too surprised.
Overall, the book is well written, nicely presented and the concepts that are covered are clearly explained. Not being familiar with GDI+, it is difficult to say whether any areas have been neglected, but what is covered is dealt with well. There is a lot of example code included in the text and projects are also available for download from the publisher's web site. Occasionally I felt the author could have used more meaningful variable names in the code, but other than that it was clear. The book adopts a hands-on approach and it would suit someone who is relatively new to .NET and graphics programming. However, if you have more experience, you might find the pace a little bit too slow and there was too much code (and repetition of code) present in the text for my liking.
