Charles Petzold books in order
American computer programmer
- Born
- 1953
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 12
Charles Petzold has published 10 novels and 2 non-fiction books, beginning with Programming Windows 3.1 (1992). The best-known is Code (1999). The latest is Microsoft Xna Framework Edition Programming Windows Phone 7 (2010).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Charles Petzold
Start here
Code
Charles Petzold's most-read book.
Shortest way in
The Annotated Turing
One of the most-read, at about 300 pages.
Newest
Microsoft Xna Framework Edition Programming Windows Phone 7
Published 2010.
Standalone novels in order
Programming Windows (1988)
Programming the OS/2 Presentation Manager (1989)
Programming Windows 3.1 (1992)
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software (Oct 1999)
Programming Windows with C# (Core Reference) (2001)
Programming Microsoft Windows with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET (2002)
Applications = Code + Markup (2006)
Programming Microsoft Windows Forms (2006)
The Annotated Turing (2008)
Microsoft Xna Framework Edition Programming Windows Phone 7 (2010)
Non-fiction in order
Programming Windows 95 (1996)
Code (1999)
About Charles Petzold
Charles Petzold is an American programmer and technical author on Windows applications. He is also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and was named one of Microsoft's seven Windows Pioneers.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Charles Petzold FAQ
- How many books has Charles Petzold written?
- Charles Petzold has published 10 novels and 2 non-fiction books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Charles Petzold's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Code.
- What is Charles Petzold's latest book?
- Microsoft Xna Framework Edition Programming Windows Phone 7 (2010).
- What is Charles Petzold's most famous book?
- Code (1999) is Charles Petzold's most widely read book.
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.