Customer Reviews

CLR via C#, Second Edition (Pro Developer)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At the heart of Microsoft .NET is the CLR. .NET development is primarily about directing the CLR. But how can you do that if you don't really know what the CLR is or what it can do?

Most .NET programming books are language centric. The capabilities of the CLR are implied based on the description of the language. Jeffery Richter's book is CLR centric. It describes what the CLR can do and how it does it. C# is used to provide practical examples of how to direct the CLR.

The book clearly and efficiently presents vital information that you'd spends days trying to discover by either pouring over MSDN or writing test applications. Highlights include:

* how source code is converted to IL, stored, managed, and executed
* a description of the code metadata available at run time and how it is used
* how data is classified, organized, and managed
* a description of the members that make up a class (fields, methods, etc.)
* how to handle exceptions
* how garbage collection works
* how reflection works
* how to write multi-threaded applications

Throughout the book there are many warnings about pitfalls and gotchas. The execution efficiency of different approaches is explained for many situations.

I urge any .NET developer who doesn't really understand the CLR to read this book.

If you're this kind of .NET developer who understood that the more you know about the CLR the better your code will be, this book is a MUST-READ. You'll find information available nowhere else at almost every page.

I really enjoyed the numerous digressions about reasons why MS engineers designed the CLR and the Framework the way it is. For example you'll find answers to tricky questions such as:


Why the C# compiler uses a callvirt IL instruction (and not a call IL instruction) when calling a non-virtual instance method?

What are the rare cases when you should consider using the Explicit Interface Method Implementation? (EIMI)

How the underlying processor architecture and volatile memory access are related in the CLR sphere?

How .NET framework classes with many events such as System.Windows.Forms.Control are designed to save memory at runtime?

And many many many more.


I also liked the fact that J.Richter is one of the very few who has enough knowledge on the subject to criticize some design choices made by MS. Often some alternatives for future .NET releases are proposed.

Clearly, if you are a beginner this is not the first .NET book you should read. But if your goal is to become a.NET expert, then know that you'll end up by reading this book.

This is a good book, considering it is primarily a reference/internals book. Those are notoriously hard to write and also be easily consumed. A bit dry at times, but for the most part is readable. The book also has minimal errors and is logically structured.

A couple of observations:

1. An experienced developer will benefit more from the content that someone with less experience or someone that is new to .NET. This book covers a lot of fundamentals, but you will learn more if you have time writing code in C#/.NET 2.0.

2. The factual content is quite useful, and most other books don't even come close to this. In addition to the facts, Jeff injects some of his opinion. An experienced developer will recognize these segments as opinion and reconcile that with the realities of their own work environment.

For example, Jeff prefers using the formal CLR syntax for primitive types over the C# shorthand (e.g., "Int32" instead of "int"). This of course is a matter of preference, and will most likely be determined by the coding styles and practices at your workplace.

Jeff also does not like Properties, and wishes that Microsoft had not included them as part of the framework. Again, an experienced developer will probably not read this and immediately stop using properties. It is not inconceivable however, that an inexperienced developer may read it and develop a bias against properties, something that may not be advisable.

It is a good book, and just FYI:
There is no CLR via C#, 1st Edition. The first edition is called "Applied .NET Framework" published by MSPress in 2002.

As most software developers know books like these are seldom an end-to-end read. They are usually kept on a shelf and pulled out when the need arises. That's why I was surprised to find myself continuing to turn page after page of Jeff's book. As usual, his writing style is concise, but has just the right amount of humor injected to keep it readable. What's more, his books tend to remain relevant long after they have gone out of print. I still pull out Advanced Windows NT Programming on a regular basis to reference. CLR via C# is chock full of the juiciests bits of .NET & C# 2.0. You'll learn tons, and be able to impress your programming buddies over lunch with your in depth knowledge of nullable types, generics and thread locking mechanisms.

Jeffrey Richter is my hero, he really is. This guy is simply amazing. I just cant imagine how he pulls it off - the toughest topics explained in the clearest manner.Moreover, he has achieved this feat over and over again. Any book he has written is testimony for this.
In his books, you would find information where you wouldnt find in any other place. You would also find information you can find elsewhere, but not as clear as his. He has the advantage of working closely with Microsoft and consulting with the .NET team, but I would say he would be a great author and teacher even without that advantage.
As about this book, it should not be your first C# book. I suggest you get beginner's C# book first (if you dont know any C#), I suggest Jesse Liberty's book, and then come to this book. You would get a tremendous advantage over people who havent read this book and your understanding of the building blocks of .NET platform would be in depth. His chapters on Threading alone is worth the price of the book. This book is an absolute pleasure to read, just like any other book from Richter. Grab your copy today itself ! If there really is a 5 star book, this one is it.
Nobody writes like Richter, nobody.

I read a lot of technical books, usually 30 or more a year. You'll find none better written than this, in fact, it should be the how to manuscript for all technical writers.

You get in depth discussions that are just right and lots of "I always wonder why it was done that way" type of information. In short you know a lot more about NET when you finish this book AND be able to put it to good use!

The only thing I can add to the other reviews is the perspective of a professional developer and mentor for over 10 years with a library large enough to start my own book store. The is THE book that every .NET developer needs to own and STUDY. It will help keep you out of trouble and help you create better product.

You will learn important things you will not learn elsewhere and find yourself referring to it again and again. Fortunately, you'll find this a very pleasurable experience as Richter is a terrific and entertaining technical writer.

If you are a beginner or intermediate .Net/C# programmer, this book will change your life... I have bought several advanced level technical books in different areas. But nothing comes close to this one.. This book is so amazingly well written that you cant help but understand all the difficlt concepts and start liking them too. But beware, Mr Richter's enthusiasm is contagious and you will end up spending a lot more money and time on .Net books..

Most of what needs to be said about this book has already been said. But I feel a need add my two cents, if only to toss another five stars out there.

Really, this one is an example of what a good technical book should be. It's style is both understandable and unpretentious and it covers topics with depth and clarity. The overall organization is such that it never seemed like that terms, ideas, and concepts were being used that had not been introduced previously. Reading this book was a true pleasue and I know I will be referring back to it many times.

The book provides a developer's view of the internals of the .Framework and its CLR. It's more than you need to know to hammer out a lot of code. But if you want to build really good apps - or just want to know what .NET is all about - buy the book, read it, and keep in at hand.