C# Essentials (Essentials (Prentice Hall)) [Paperback]

Chris H. Pappas (Author), William H. Murray (Author)

Book Description

Series: Essentials (Prentice Hall) | Publication Date: December 4, 2001

Now, drawing on their college course in C# -- one of the first in the country -- proven Windows programming authors Chris Pappas and William Murray introduce every technique developers need to get results with C#, fast. Pappas and Murray begin by examining the key features of the C# language; and comparing C# to C and C++. Next, they outline practical programming strategies for making the most of C#; then introduce each key C# concept through complete, step-by-step code examples. For every developer who wants to quickly master C# for .NET development.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The fastest way to get up to speed with the next "need-to-know" programming language!

• Get up-to-speed on C# quickly and skillfully
• Leverage your existing C or C++ skills
• Covers key language features: control statements, loops, key words, arrays, pointers, and more

C# is a radical departure from C and C++, even though many similar elements remain. In C# Essentials, the creators of one of the world's first C# college courses teach C# through step-by-step code examples that draw on their unique insight into what working developers need to know. Pappas and Murray begin by examining the key features of the C# language—and comparing C# to C and C++. Next, they outline practical programming strategies for making the most of C#; then introduce each key C# concept through complete, step-by-step code examples.

• Learn how C# draws on the best of C and C++
• Leverage the full power of Windows using the easy C# graphical interface
• Get primed on C#'s key language features: control statements, loops, key words, arrays, pointers, and more
• Understand key concepts through complete working code examples that run in Visual Studio .NET's console mode

If you've worked with C or C++, C# Essentials will help you leverage the skills you've already developed— and if you haven't, it'll teach you C# from scratch. Either way, you'll be writing real .NET applications faster than you ever expected.

About the Author

CHRIS H. PAPPAS is the chair of the Computer Studies Department and WILLIAM H. MURRAY is the chair of the Electrical Engineering Technology Department at the B.C.C. campus of SUNY Binghamton. They have co-authored over 50 books on programming, covering topics ranging from assembly language to Visual Basic, C, and C++ to HTML and JavaScript. Their books have been translated into more than 25 languages.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (December 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013093285X
• ISBN-13: 978-0130932853
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,045,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars C# Essentials is for any adapting C /C++ programmer, August 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: C# Essentials (Essentials (Prentice Hall)) (Paperback)

This is exactly what I was looking for, a book that examines the nuts and bolts of the C# while taking advatage of my C foundation. The book also makes language comparisons to Visual Basic, C/C++, Java, JScript, and Visual Foxpro. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical chapter 1, describing the evolution of programming. General programming concepts like proper use of control flow selection, proper initialization, and passing by reference versus passing by value are covered sufficiently and efficiently. C# language features are made clear with example code. The debugging environment in .NET was also covered, explaining the whole set of menu options for debugging.
You are not going to get any programs of that put together all the concepts, but your going to build the foundation to taking that step on your own. The authors are remarkably clear and to the point, usually giving an example where necessary. I'll be interested to try their C# for Windows Programming book next. A final comment: this is not a reference book, it more of an "adapting to C#" type of book, which serves its purpose to the tee.

2.0 out of 5 stars Mind-numbingly slow and out of date, November 18, 2008

By 

P. Nash "Crazy Computer Guy" (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: C# Essentials (Essentials (Prentice Hall)) (Paperback)

I bought this book based on the other 5-star reviews, but now I realize that these were written in 2002 and are out of date. The authors are college professors, and the book is written towards a reader that is some weird combination of a college student that doesn't know anything about computer languages and a professional that does. It takes a *long* time to get to the meat of describing anything useful, and never really makes me feel like it's explaining anything in recognition of my being a skilled professional. It's like a CNN news anchor explaining what an array is. *Yawn*. I've put this book down after 7 chapters of mind-numbing drivel. And please spare me the history lessons about Algol. I care, why???

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kewl Book, March 5, 2002

By 

Ruth Hollic (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: C# Essentials (Essentials (Prentice Hall)) (Paperback)

My boy friend at UCLA let me borrow this book, but I finally bought my own copy. This book covers all of the features of C# which is the new Microsoft language.

If you know any C++, you are going to have no trouble with C# espically with this book. They have included a lot of short example programs that help you understand C# programming features.

They really helped me understand arrays in C# because they are totally different than for C++. Also, get ready for this, pointers are not used in C#, so you have got to do things another way. If you are like me, I didn't get along to well with pointers anyway.

Get the book, dude.