The sceptical reader might note the Microsoft Press logo on the cover of Writing Secure Code and be quick to judge this work by its publisher alone. It seems at first glance to have about as much to recommend it as, say, The Care and Upbringing of 12 Year Old Girls by Humbert Humbert.

But Microsoft Press has produced some excellent works on technology - and on programming in particular - over the years. Steve McConnell`s gem Code Complete (Microsoft Press 1993) springs to mind in this regard. It even gets a mention in this book, even if only for the fact that McConnell doesn`t mention security at all.

Writing Secure Code is all about security, but is much less a gem than a lump of rock with a few gems buried deep within.