BKW95NSH.RVW   980725

"Windows 95 in a Nutshell", Tim O'Reilly/Troy Mott, 1998,
1-56592-316-2, U$19.95/C$28.95
%A   Tim O'Reilly
%A   Troy Mott
%C   103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA   95472
%D   1998
%G   1-56592-316-2
%I   O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
%O   U$19.95/C$28.95 800-998-9938 fax: 707-829-0104 nuts@ora.com
%P   512 p.
%T   "Windows 95 in a Nutshell"

Where it belongs, as many would say.

Given the number of poor-quality Windows 98 books I reviewed prior to
the June 25, 1998 release date, I fully sympathize with the intention
to put time and experience into the work rather than rushing to be
first to market with and inferior product.  Mind you, shipping the
book the same day as the successor to Win95 comes out is just a wee
bit pointed.  Valid, perhaps, considering the limited development
involved in Windows 98, but pointed.  Still, it may be justified since
this book, as is usual with the Nutshell series, has a strong claim to
being the best reference available.

Part one is general background.  Chapter one presents the now familiar
outline of objects and functions, but in a thorough and lucid manner. 
It is interesting to note both a note about a specific "release 2"
function and an unclear note on the improved handling of command line
programs, the more so since versions of Win95 are covered thoroughly
in chapter two.

Part two is the reference section, and the real guts of the book. 
Chapter three covers the Desktop interface and the utilities available
directly from it.  The first one I looked at, and the first one
listed, was a disappointment, since I never have found a book that
really explains the Briefcase.  In the main, however, this is a solid
compendium of information.  The initial explanation is clear and
readable for any level of user, but more advanced readers will find
increasing levels of detail up to command line access to many
functions with are otherwise buried deep in menus or hidden in unusual
locations.  The various functions of the Control Panel are described
in chapter four.  Commands and applications defined by specific
program files are listed in chapter five.  (Because different releases
of Windows 95 may contain different sets of applications the book also
provides information on how to obtain some of them, usually from the
net.)  Batch programming is presented in chapter six with an overall
explanation and a complete command reference.  For those who have to
deal frequently with Dial-Up Networking, chapter seven is worth the
price of the book in and of itself.

Part three looks at some limited system internals.  I say limited only
to distinguish it from a code level reference: this work has plenty to
offer any level of reader.  Chapter eight provides an overview of the
system architecture, but it is written in a readable style that is
accessible to any interested user.  The boot sequence is covered
thoroughly in chapter nine.  The discussion of the Registry in chapter
ten is informative but, given its limited size, can't be particularly
useful.  It does contain a vital warning about .REG files.

Appendices list keyboard shortcuts, filename extensions, system
directories and files, special characters, and a quick reference to
specific tasks.

The book is definitely informative, but not exhaustive.  One example
is the appendix on keyboard shortcuts (or "accelerators").  I found
items I knew about, found useful items that I didn't know about,
*didn't* find a couple of items that I hoped had simply been missed
from other books, and did find a few items that left me wondering what
the Win95 team was thinking about that day.  However, one key was
notable by its absence: the new but very utilitarian "Windows" key. 
(Functions for this key can be accessed by Ctrl-Esc if you do not have
one of the newer "104" keyboards.)

While most of those who have to support Win95 have already collected a
set of resources to make up for Microsoft's lack of documentation, I
highly recommend this text to anyone using the system.  It provides
both introduction and highly useful reference in one package.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998   BKW95NSH.RVW   980725