Principles of Digital Image Synthesis, Volume 1
Principles of Digital Image Synthesis, Volume 2
Programming Applications for Windows, Fourth Edition
Inside SQL Server 2000
Periodically I’ve needed to interact with SQL server (or seriously consider using it in product code) and this book provides a pretty good overview of the internal structure and capabilities of the tool. Dated now, but still modestly useful.
A Guide to the SQL Standard
3D Game Engine Design
Applied XML Programming for .NET
Pro .NET 2.0 Windows Forms and Custom Controls
While windows forms has been superseded by WPF, there are places where it is still necessary to fall back to forms in order to interact with native facilities. This book provides a pretty good reference to how that environment works and how to work in it.
Beginning SQL Server 2008 for Developers
Writing OLE Controls
ADO.NET
I haven’t needed to implement ADO.NET code to date, but keeping myself aware of how it works and what it can do is worthwhile.
ATL Internals, Second Edition
ATL is Microsoft’s most flexible way of working with COM technologies from C++ code. This volume provides an in-depth description of the library components and their internal implementations.
Pro ASP.NET 4 in C# 2010
.NET and COM – The Complete Interoperability Guide
A huge reference to the .NET facilities for supporting interactions between native COM components and .NET code with either side as the host. I suspect that this technology has evolved since this volume was published, but the material in here has been sufficient for most of my needs to date.
80386 Programmer’s Reference Manual
Another ‘last paper copy’ volume. Intel has up to date PDF files available with all of the latest information about their processor instruction sets. I have those files, but it is sometimes nice to have a physical book to leaf through when looking for something.
The C Programming Language
A copy of the original (pre-ANSI) version of the C language. Of historical interest only, but still cool to have around.
This was my first reference on the C language when I was in college. I remember reading this while waiting for the train from West Concord (where my coop job with GenRad was) back to Boston.
The Unified Software Development Process
Error Control Coding, Second Edition
This provides very thorough coverage of error correction and detection codes. I looked around for some time before finding this volume. It is a somewhat specialized bit of information, but when you need forward error correction you really need this level of detail to get things right.
XML Family of Specifications
Radiosity & Global Illumination
Programming the Windows Driver Model, Second Edition
This is my most important reference (at least after the Microsoft online docs) to driver development. I still use this book when writing kernel mode code.