C#: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) [Paperback]

Herbert Schildt (Author), Herb Schildt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072134852 | ISBN-13: 978-0072134858 | Publication Date: March 8, 2002

This book features an expansive and deep coverage of the entire C# language. C# allows developers to construct services and applications for the Web with a single, logical tool. Eager market-developers and programmers using C, C++, Visual Basic, and Java require information about C#. Microsoft considers C# to be as a critical piece of its .NET platform.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

NET and one of its programming languages, C#, are slowly becoming more popular. Learn To Program teaches C# to beginners with no programming experience, moving through the process of developing a real-world application as a class project. From ascertaining user needs through auditing results, it demonstrates application development. In Chapter 1, the author shows how to design and build on familiar concepts rather than jump into coding basic programs. Allowing readers to simulate the classroom experience and learn more naturally, Learn To Program is recommended where C and C++ titles circulate. Teach Yourself is a more traditional self-study guide for beginners with some programming experience. It opens with a description of C#'s attributes and a demonstration of writing and compiling a basic "Hello, World!" program, before building up to more advanced topics. Chapter Q&As, quizzes, and exercises and weekly reviews aid understanding, and useful appendixes contain keywords, command-line compiler flags, and number systems. For medium and larger libraries. More thoroughly serving intermediate programmers, Complete Reference is the only one of these three to ask readers to purchase Visual Studio .NET. Appendixes address XML comments and robotics, and example source code is available online. For larger libraries.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

The Most Comprehensive C# Resource Available

Master programming author Herb Schildt delivers the definitive reference for C#--the revolutionary new programming language designed expressly for the Microsoft .NET environment. With expertly crafted explanations, insider tips, and hundreds of examples, this book fully explains every aspect of C#. Plus, it's written in the clear, uncompromising style that has made Herb the choice of millions. Whether you're a beginning programmer or a seasoned pro, the answers to all your C# questions can be found in this one-stop resource. Topics covered include data types, operators, control statements, classes and objects, interfaces, I/O, namespaces, exception handling, attributes, delegates, indexers, events, reflection, pointers, and the preprocessor. You'll also find comprehensive coverage of the entire C# language and its core libraries. This is a must have reference for every C# programmer.

Includes coverage of:

• Data types and operators
• Control statements
• Classes and objects
• Constructors, destructors, and methods
• Interfaces, arrays, enumerations, and structures
• Method and operator overloading
• Inheritance and virtual methods
• Reflection and runtime type ID
• Delegates, properties, events, and indexers
• Exception handling
• Attributes
• Pointers and "unsafe" code
• Multithreading
• The core C# libraries and the System namespace
• The I/O classes
• The networking classes
• The collection classes
• The preprocessor

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 933 pages
• Publisher: Osborne/McGraw-Hill (March 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072134852
• ISBN-13: 978-0072134858
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,534,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Reference C#, October 17, 2004

By 

Robert Hotto (San Diego) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: C#: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) (Paperback)

Herb Schildt is my favorite programming book author. I like this explanations and his method of evolving the subject he is teaching. The C# complete reference, 2002 has several errors that have perplexed me for hours causing me visit the osborne.com web site.

At the site, I found no listing for this book, but Schildts' other great books are listed.
It appears Osborne has given up on this book! Why don't they list the book and why do they not have an erratum on this book?

Schildt is a great author but Osborne is not a good publisher! If you can, wait for his new C# book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Complete" is misleading, August 9, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: C#: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) (Paperback)

The title "Complete" Reference is misleading, because the book is definitely not complete. Schild does his usual good job of explaining C# syntax and construction; in this respect, this book is one of the better ones. However, his almost parenthetical discussion of actually building applications - which is what most C#.net programmers want to do - is woefully inadequate. There are a number of C# idioms which are very useful to know and understand in the building of C# applications, and Schild doesn't even attempt to cover them.
If you want a book to learn C# syntax, this is it. If you want a book which will teach you how to build applications, definitely look elsewhere!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps not his best, but still a very good book on C#., March 17, 2004

By 

Courtland J. Carpenter (Fort Wayne, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: C#: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series) (Paperback)

There exists many types of books on most programming languages. Reference Guides, How To's, Beginners Books, Advanced Books, and those that tie into specifics like Science and Engineering, Video Games or perhaps Databases. Herbert Schildt usually writes How To and Reference Guides. He's an acknowledged master in the world of object-oriented programming (OOP) and a frequent author because of his down to earth communication style. An earlier book "C++ From the Ground Up" is a legend in itself. It was one of the few books you could learn C++ from without ever having learned the C language.

This book suffers a little from the beginners syndrome. While its intention is to start from the beginning, unfortunately, that usually means, something will be left out. Unless you want to read 3000 pages, most books have trouble covering the scope of a well-developed computer language. As other reviewers have said, this does lack some things that should be included about C#. That said, it's written in Schildts trademark literary style. Like most of his works seems to speak directly to you rather than talk above or around the reader.

I do understand that Schildt has another book on C# coming soon if its not our already and that may pick up the detail this book has missed. One of the nice things about this like most of Schildt's books is that it is not written like a dissertation. Too many programming books start out sounding very good and then after 50-60 pages the author "treats" us to 200 pages of annotated code. I've never been able to learn much about reading code. It's better at least for me to learn what the language can do and write my own code. Small examples are ok to get the syntax right, but reading a large program looses my attention.

If you were unsure, you'd like Schildt's style check out the first chapter or two from "C++ From the Ground Up" at the local bookstore (they may have this one too). Then come back here and buy at a discount.