Coding4fun: 10 .Net Programming Projects for Wiimote, Youtube, World of Warcraft, and More [Paperback]

Dan Fernandez (Author), Brian Peek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 3, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0596520743 | ISBN-13: 978-0596520748 | Edition: 1

How would you like to build an Xbox game, use your Nintendo Wiimote to create an electronic whiteboard, or build your own peer-to-peer application? Coding4Fun helps you tackle some cool software and hardware projects using a range of languages and free Microsoft software. Now you can code for fun with C#, VB, ASP.NET, WPF, XNA Game Studio, Popfly, as well as the Lua programming language.

If you love to tinker, but don't have time to figure it all out, this book gives you clear, step-by-step instructions for building ten creative projects, including:

• Alien Attack: Create a 2D clone of Space Invaders with XNA for the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune
• LEGO Soldier: Create an action game using Popfly with a custom-built virtual LEGO character
• World of Warcraft RSS Feed Reader: Use WoW's customizable interface to have feeds pop up while you're gaming
• InnerTube: Download YouTube videos automatically and convert them to a file format for off-line viewing
• PeerCast: Stream video files from any PC
• TwitterVote: Create custom online polls on Twitter
• WHSMail: Build a website with ASP.NET for Windows Home Server that lets you view the messages stored on a computer with Outlook
• "Wiimote" Controlled Car: Steer your remote-controlled car by tilting the Wii Remote controller left and right
• Wiimote Whiteboard: Create an interactive whiteboard using a Wii Remote
• Holiday Lights: Synchronize your holiday light display with music to create your own light show

The perfect gift for any developer, Coding4Fun shows you how to use your programming skills in new and fun ways.

"This book is amazing! The scope is so wonderfully broad that anyone who has an interest in designing games at any level should read this book."

-- Alex Albrecht, Creator of Diggnation / Totally Rad Show / Project Lore

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dan Fernandez is an Evangelism Manager in the Developer and Platform Evangelism team at Microsoft. Dan has been with Microsoft since July 2001, working in multiple roles including the Lead Product Manager for Visual Studio Express and Popfly, the Visual C# Product Manager, and as a Developer Evangelist in the Mid-Atlantic district. Prior to joining Microsoft, he worked as a developer at several consulting firms including IBM Global Services specializing in web-based and mobile application development. Dan is also the co-creator of Coding4Fun and works on fun open source projects in his spare time. You can read more about Dan on his blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/danielfe/.

Brian Peek is a Senior Developer at ASPSOFT, Inc., and a Microsoft C# MVP who has been actively developing in .NET since its early betas, but has been developing solutions using Microsoft technologies and platforms for even longer. Along with .NET, Brian is particularly skilled in the languages of C, C++ and assembly language for a variety of CPUs. He is also well-versed in a wide variety of technologies including web development, document imaging, GIS, graphics, game development, and hardware interfacing. Brian has a strong background in developing applications for the health-care industry, as well as developing solutions for portable devices, such as tablet PCs and PDAs. Additionally, Brian previously co-authored the book "Debugging ASP.NET" and currently writes for MSDN's Coding4Fun website. You can reach Brian via his blog at http://www.brianpeek.com/ .

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (December 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596520743
• ISBN-13: 978-0596520748
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #920,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Computers & Technology > Microsoft > Development > .NET

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Alien Attack, Wee-controlled Car, InnerTube, Oh My! June 16, 2009

By Philippe F. Monnet

Format:Paperback

I have been an avid fan of the DotNetRocks podcast since the beginning and when Brian Peek and Dan Fernandez went on the show [...] to talk about their Coding4Fun book, I felt their enthusiasm and decided to get the book. I am technical architect and "code for work" every day, so why did I get so excited about the book? Who has not wanted to write a game or build some fun gizmo? Well, whether you are coding for work or for fun, the creative projects presented by Brian and Dan are sure to make you want to pick your keyboard and mouse and get going. Going through the first chapter and building the Alien Attack game, I got a chance to discover the patterns in use in most game as well as learn to use the Microsoft XNA gaming platform. The authors introduce the different techniques in layers so you can see the game evolve as you go. You will get some good chuckles out of playing (and even losing at) your own game, guaranteed! If you're more eager to tackle hardware and software projects, the Wee-controller or electronic board based projects should pique your interest. Even though I have not built all projects (at least not yet), I very much enjoy browsing through the chapter and see how each project is structured. Whether you want to feed the inner geek, or inner coder in you, or whether you've always wanted to code for fun for a change but don't know what to code, then this book is for you! Just go and code-4-fun!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, fun projects February 16, 2009

By C. Riedel

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Well written, but not for the newbie. These projects assume you have some previous coding knowledge, which is great for those of us that do. Some of the projects (the Wiimote ones, namely) do require several pieces of additional equipment, which can be expensive, but it is well worth it to write some cool little programs to use them for purposes other than the Wii! If you are a bored Coder, pick up this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Something fun for everyone. February 7, 2009

By Giovanni

Format:Paperback

There are many of us who began programming because it was fun and exciting. Being a developer as a career, however, can sometimes suck the life out of us with the day to day routines we go through. This book is a great way to cure that problem because you can put your skills to use, and do something fun at the same time without it ever feeling like a chore.

There are 3 basic areas of focus in the book: Gaming, Web projects, and hardware projects. The projects differ from each other, so you never feel like you're doing the same thing twice. It's also great because you don't have to read the book in order; just find something that interests you, and code away. The chapters contain summaries in the beginning to let you know approximately how long the project will take, the software you'll need before starting, and any costs involved (usually for hardware chapters).

Since I've always been curious about learning XNA, I'd have to say the Alien Attack chapter was my favorite. It's very easy to follow, and the great thing is that it walks you step-by-step so that you can build the project as you're reading, and learn how everything works. It covers topics like creating the sprites, animation, interaction with other sprites, and user input. It even shows you how to run the code on the XBOX 360 and the Zune without doing any code changes.

A few other really cool chapters were the chapters involving the Wiimote, the PeerCast application, and the animated holiday lights. If you've ever played around with the wiimote, you probably know that it brings a new way to interact with games. By allowing the wiimote to be used on a PC, the possibilities are endless. The authors show some exciting ways to make use of this, and teach you enough so that you can use the wiimote in your own applications.

In my opinion, there's really something fun for everyone in this book. I highly recommend it. After reading it and working through the examples, you'll be able to apply what you've learned and create some of your own exciting projects.