Getting to Know ArcObjects
Spatial Info – Looking for a book to start learning ArcObjects? This book is a good place to start on ArcObjects. As the title suggests, this book is devoted to teaching the basics of programming with ArcObjects, and it does an outstanding job. It primarily deals with the designing of interfaces, rather than using the commands for automation. Good introduction to the concepts of the ArcMap Object model, properties, methods, and events, there's even a little blurb or cursors. Content in this book also covers a little of ArcCatalog. Just for information, ArcTools does not follow the ArcObject Model, so if you are looking for properties, methods and events pertaining to this, and you are using ArcGIS 8.x, I guess you need to upgrade yours to ArcGIS 9.x. Also, there are no scripting capabilities similar to AML on ArcGIS 8.x, you'll have move to ArcGIS 9.x, where python is used as the scripting language to replace AML. Also, does not address OOP concepts on the GeoDatabase model very much, but this book is definitely better than Getting to Know ArcGIS Book
A lot of reviewers have summarized the book (Getting to Know ArcObjects) well, although I do think that some had more advanced expectations, even though the title of the book makes it clear that it only covers introductory material. Overall, what impressed me most was Burke's exceptional ability to take complex concepts (like interface-based programming) and explain them in a clear and concise manner. The writing is impeccable, and I found very few flaws in the book, which is incredibly uncommon for computer books. Obviously, a great deal of care and attention went into the preparation of this book. The reader won't be disappointed. I currently own every ArcObjects book in print, and in my opinion, this is the only book useful for those trying to learn ArcObjects. Highly recommended. More Review on Amazon.