Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C# [Paperback]

Bill Wagner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321245660 | ISBN-13: 978-0321245663 | Publication Date: December 13, 2004 | Edition: 1

"This book really demonstrates Bill's strengths as a writer and programmer. In a very short amount of time, he is able to present an issue, fix it and conclude it; each chapter is tight, succinct, and to the point."

–Josh Holmes, Independent Contractor

"The book provides a good introduction to the C# language elements from a pragmatic point of view, identifying best practices along the way, and following a clear and logical progression from the basic syntax to creating components to improving your code writing skills. Since each topic is covered in short entries, it is very easy to read and you'll quickly realize the benefits of the book."

–Tomas Restrepo, Microsoft MVP

"The book covers the basics well, especially with respect to the decisions needed when deriving classes from System.Object. It is easy to read with examples that are clear, concise and solid. I think it will bring good value to most readers."

–Rob Steel, Central Region Integration COE & Lead Architect, Microsoft

"Effective C# provides the C# developer with the tools they need to rapidly grow their experience in Visual C# 2003 while also providing insight into the many improvements to the language that will be hitting a desktop near you in the form of Visual C# 2005."

–Doug Holland, Precision Objects

"Part of the point of the .NET Framework–and the C# Language, in particular–is to let the developer focus solving customer problems and deliver product, rather than spending hours (or even weeks) writing plumbing code. Bill Wagner's Effective C#, not only shows you what's going on behind the scenes, but shows you how to take advantage of particular C# code constructs. Written in a dispassionate style that focuses on the facts–and just the facts–of writing effective C# code, Wagner's book drills down into practices that will let you write C# applications and components that are easier to maintain as well as faster to run. I'm recommending Effective C# to all students of my .NET BootCamp and other C#-related courses."

–Richard Hale Shaw, www.RichardHaleShawGroup.com

C#'s resemblances to C++, Java, and C make it easier to learn, but there's a downside: C# programmers often continue to use older techniques when far better alternatives are available. In Effective C#, respected .NET expert Bill Wagner identifies fifty ways you can start leveraging the full power of C# in order to write faster, more efficient, and more reliable software.

Effective C# follows the format that made Effective C++ (Addison-Wesley, 1998) and Effective Java (Addison-Wesley, 2001) indispensable to hundreds of thousands of developers: clear, practical explanations, expert tips, and plenty of realistic code examples. Drawing on his unsurpassed C# experience, Wagner addresses everything from value types to assemblies, exceptions to reflection. Along the way, he shows exactly how to avoid dozens of common C# performance and reliability pitfalls. You'll learn how to:

• Use both types of C# constants for efficiency and maintainability, see item 2

• Use immutable data types to eliminate unnecessary error checking, see item 7

• Avoid the C# function that'll practically always get you in trouble, see item 10

• Minimize garbage collection, boxing, and unboxing, see items 16 and 17

• Take full advantage of interfaces and delegates, see items 19 though 22

• Create CLS compliant assemblies that use noncompliant C# language features, see item 30

• Improve reliability and maintainability by creating small, cohesive assemblies, see item 32

• Leverage the full power of .NET's runtime diagnostics, see item 36

• Know when–and when not–to use reflection, see items 42 and 43

• Preview the major enhancements in C# 2.0, see item 49

• You're already a successful C# programmer–this book can help you become an outstanding one.

Bill Wagner is co-founder of and .NET consultant for SRT Solutions. A nationally recognized independent expert on .NET, he has been a regular contributor to ASP.NET Pro Magazine, Visual Studio Magazine, and the .NET Insight newsletter. In addition to being a Microsoft Regional Director, he is also active in the Southeast Michigan .NET User Group and the Ann Arbor Computing Society. He is author of The C# Core Language Little Black Book (The Coriolis Group, 2002).

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"This book really demonstrates Bill's strengths as a writer and programmer. In a very short amount of time, he is able to present an issue, fix it and conclude it; each chapter is tight, succinct, and to the point."

—Josh Holmes, Independent Contractor

"The book provides a good introduction to the C# language elements from a pragmatic point of view, identifying best practices along the way, and following a clear and logical progression from the basic syntax to creating components to improving your code writing skills. Since each topic is covered in short entries, it is very easy to read and you'll quickly realize the benefits of the book."

—Tomas Restrepo, Microsoft MVP

"The book covers the basics well, especially with respect to the decisions needed when deriving classes from System.Object. It is easy to read with examples that are clear, concise and solid. I think it will bring good value to most readers."

—Rob Steel, Central Region Integration COE & Lead Architect, Microsoft

"Effective C# provides the C# developer with the tools they need to rapidly grow their experience in Visual C# 2003 while also providing insight into the many improvements to the language that will be hitting a desktop near you in the form of Visual C# 2005."

—Doug Holland, Precision Objects

"Part of the point of the .NET Framework—and the C# Language, in particular—is to let the developer focus solving customer problems and deliver product, rather than spending hours (or even weeks) writing plumbing code. Bill Wagner's Effective C#, not only shows you what's going on behind the scenes, but shows you how to take advantage of particular C# code constructs. Written in a dispassionate style that focuses on the facts—and just the facts—of writing effective C# code, Wagner's book drills down into practices that will let you write C# applications and components that are easier to maintain as well as faster to run. I'm recommending Effective C# to all students of my .NET BootCamp and other C#-related courses."

—Richard Hale Shaw, www.RichardHaleShawGroup.com

C#'s resemblances to C++, Java, and C make it easier to learn, but there's a downside: C# programmers often continue to use older techniques when far better alternatives are available. In Effective C#, respected .NET expert Bill Wagner identifies fifty ways you can start leveraging the full power of C# in order to write faster, more efficient, and more reliable software.

Effective C# follows the format that made Effective C++ (Addison-Wesley, 1998) and Effective Java (Addison-Wesley, 2001) indispensable to hundreds of thousands of developers: clear, practical explanations, expert tips, and plenty of realistic code examples. Drawing on his unsurpassed C# experience, Wagner addresses everything from value types to assemblies, exceptions to reflection. Along the way, he shows exactly how to avoid dozens of common C# performance and reliability pitfalls. You'll learn how to:

• Use both types of C# constants for efficiency and maintainability, see item 2

• Use immutable data types to eliminate unnecessary error checking, see item 7

• Avoid the C# function that'll practically always get you in trouble, see item 10

• Minimize garbage collection, boxing, and unboxing, see items 16 and 17

• Take full advantage of interfaces and delegates, see items 19 though 22

• Create CLS compliant assemblies that use noncompliant C# language features, see item 30

• Improve reliability and maintainability by creating small, cohesive assemblies, see item 32

• Leverage the full power of .NET's runtime diagnostics, see item 36

• Know when—and when not—to use reflection, see items 42 and 43

• Preview the major enhancements in C# 2.0, see item 49

• You're already a successful C# programmer—this book can help you become an outstanding one.

Bill Wagner is co-founder of and .NET consultant for SRT Solutions. A nationally recognized independent expert on .NET, he has been a regular contributor to ASP.NET Pro Magazine, Visual Studio Magazine, and the .NET Insight newsletter. In addition to being a Microsoft Regional Director, he is also active in the Southeast Michigan .NET User Group and the Ann Arbor Computing Society. He is author of The C# Core Language Little Black Book (The Coriolis Group, 2002).

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Introduction. 1. C# Language Elements. Item 1 - Always Use Properties Instead of Accessible Data Members. Item 2 - Prefer readonly to const. Item 3 - Prefer the is or as Operators to Casts. Item 4 - Use Conditional Attributes Instead of #if. Item 5 - Always Provide ToString(). Item 6 - Distinguish Between Value Types and Reference Types. Item 7 - Prefer Immutable Atomic Value Types. Item 8 - Ensure That 0 Is a Valid State for Value Types. Item 9 - Understand the Relationships Among ReferenceEquals(),static Equals(), instance Equals(), and operator==. Item 10 - Understand the Pitfalls of GetHashCode(). Item 11 - Prefer foreach Loops. 2. .NET Resource Management. Item 12 - Prefer Variable Initializers to Assignment Statements. Item 13 - Initialize Static Class Members with Static Constructors. Item 14 - Utilize Constructor Chaining. Item 15 - Utilize using and try/finally for Resource Cleanup. Item 16 - Minimize Garbage. Item 17 - Minimize Boxing and Unboxing. Item 18 - Implement the Standard Dispose Pattern. 3. Expressing Designs with C#. Item 19 - Prefer Defining and Implementing Interfaces to Inheritance. Item 20 - Distinguish Between Implementing Interfaces and Overriding Virtual Functions. Item 21 - Express Callbacks with Delegates. Item 22 - Define Outgoing Interfaces with Events. Item 23 - Avoid Returning References to Internal Class Objects. Item 24 - Prefer Declarative to Imperative Programming. Item 25 - Prefer Serializable Types. Item 26 - Implement Ordering Relations with IComparable and Icomparer. Item 27 - Avoid Icloneable. Item 28 - Avoid Conversion Operators. Item 29 - Use the new Modifier Only When Base Class Updates Mandate It. 4. Creating Binary Components. Item 30 - Prefer CLS-Compliant Assemblies. Item 31 - Prefer Small, Simple Functions. Item 32 - Prefer Smaller, Cohesive Assemblies. Item 33 - Limit Visibility of Your Types. Item 34 - Create Large-Grain Web APIs. 5. Working with the Framework. Item 35 - Prefer Overrides to Event Handlers. Item 36 - Leverage .NET Runtime Diagnostics. Item 37 - Use the Standard Configuration Mechanism. Item 38 - Utilize and Support Data Binding. Item 39 - Use .NET Validation. Item 40 - Match Your Collection to Your Needs. Item 41 - Prefer DataSets to Custom Structures. Item 42 - Utilize Attributes to Simplify Reflection. Item 43 - Don't Overuse Reflection. Item 44 - Create Complete Application-Specific Exception Classes. 6. Miscellaneous. Item 45 - Prefer the Strong Exception Guarantee. Item 46 - Minimize Interop. Item 47 - Prefer Safe Code. Item 48 - Learn About Tools and Resources. Item 49 - Prepare for C# 2.0. Item 50 - Learn About the ECMA Standard. Index.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (December 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321245660
• ISBN-13: 978-0321245663
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With more than 20 years experience in software design and engineering, Bill Wagner has led the design on many successful engineering and enterprise Microsoft Windows products and adapted legacy systems for Windows.

In 2000, he started using .NET and now spends his time facilitating the adoption of .NET in clients' product and enterprise development. Knowledgeable in all .NET areas, Bill's principal strengths include the C# language, the core framework, Smart Clients, and Service Oriented Architecture and design.

In addition to his role at SRT Solutions, Bill serves as Michigan's Regional Director for Microsoft. In 2005, Microsoft awarded him "C# Most Valuable Professional (MVP)" status. These honorary positions allow Bill previews of upcoming technologies and help ensure SRT clients the most advanced and cutting-edge solutions for their technology projects.

An internationally recognized author on the C# language evolution, Smart Clients and enterprise design, Bill has been a contributing editor, editorial board member and regular columnist for over a decade with his tutorials and advanced essays published in MSDN Magazine, MSDN Online, .NET Insight, and .NET DJ. He also writes a monthly column for Visual Studio Magazine, and a monthly column on the MSDN C# team developer center.

Bill's book, Effective C#, was published in 2004. His next book, More Effective C#, was distributed in 2008.

Bill earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the Book I Was Expecting, July 24, 2005

By 

Martin L. Shoemaker (Hopkins MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C# (Paperback)

FULL DISCLOSURE: I know Bill Wagner pretty well, and consider him a friend. I don't think that has colored this review, but you have a right to know. (If you doubt my objectivity, consider that I have now purchased TWO copies of this book, even though I probably could have gotten one or two for free. It's worth it!)

Back when I was a C++ programmer, there was one book everyone said I simply had to read: Effective C++ by Scott Meyers. And they were right: when I read that book, I summarized it as "Here are 50 mistakes you're making in your C++ code right now, and you don't even know it." (Note: the latest edition has been expanded to 55 mistakes.) So now that I'm a C# programmer, I eagerly looked forward to Effective C# (edited by Meyers), because I wanted that same sort of "Aha!" enlightenment.

Well, Bill Wagner failed to deliver that enlightenment. But that's a good thing, actually, and something he couldn't help. But to understand why, we have to return to Scott Meyers.

After the 50 amazingly simple improvements in Effective C++, Meyers wrote More Effective C++; and I characterized that book as, "35 really deep subjects that you have to think about and understand. Some of them will apply to your work. Some of them won't. None of them will be easy. But you really have to think about them." See, Meyers covered all the simple, universal problems in his first book, making it darned hard to make any simple, obvious C++ mistakes. That meant his second book had to cover deeper design concerns, many of which apply only in particular circumstances.

And herein lies the difference for Wagner's book. See, a generation of C++ programmers learned and internalized Meyers's lessons -- including the Microsoft team who created the C# language. When they built their C++-inspired (and Java-inspired) language, they built in a lot of the safeguards and limits that Meyers advocated as a standard practice for C++. They also built in best practices from other sources. So it's my contention that the C# equivalent to Effective C++ can't really be written. The language won't allow it.

So what Wagner has written really falls somewhere between Effective C++ and More Effective C++. There are some simple "Aha!" tips; but there are a lot more deep design concerns. That's really what the C# programmer needs, after all; and that's what Wagner delivers in a very fine fashion.

Now Wagner can explain these topics better than I can, so I'm not going to try. But I do want to comment on the items I found most useful:

5. Always provide ToString(). Your maintenance and client coders will thank you.

15. Utilize using and try/finally for Resource Cleanup. And 18. Implement the Standard Dispose Pattern. .NET pretty much solves memory leaks; but memory is only the most commonly leaked resource. And in solving memory leaks, they made it harder to manage certain other resources. In these two items, Wagner shows how to do the best job you can.

I wish I could say I was following every tip in this book; but it's hard to break bad habits. Read this book before you form bad habits yourself.

Note that the original printing of this book had a lot of typos where words rantogether. I now have a copy of the second printing, where those all seem to be fixed.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the C# newbie., July 7, 2005

By 

Steven (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C# (Paperback)

Wow, what at relief this book is, really.

I have read numerous C# books and most of them do about the same thing. They touch base on a wide array of topics (database, oop, multi-threading, arrays, indexers...etc), thus you really never learn any of the more advanced stuff. Really, how many times have you read about an animal hierarchy whilst browsing through an OOP section of a programming book?

Well, in comes Effective C#. This book doesn't really focus much on specific topics (like how to do database programming and such), instead, you learn 50 specific ways to improve your C# code. For example: You have undoubtedly read about properties if you've read any basic C# book... You probably think you know everything there is to know about them... I mean, really, generally we use public properties to access private variables in a class. Well, one of the topics in this book focuses on properties - I never realized how much more there is to learn about something as simple as a property!

This book is a thinker. You will browse these pages and think to yourself "Wow! I never realized you could do that!". Your expertise on C# will definitely go up a notch or two. That brings me to my next point: This is no easy read! Even if you feel that you're at an intermediate level, you will find some of the text difficult to absorb on the first couple passes. This is definitely a techie book through and through (which isn't all that bad), but at times it may seem slightly dry.

If you are a beginner then I might pass this book up for a later day. If you are intermediate - advanced then I would definitely think about picking this baby up.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars : Excellent content, but the writing could be a bit more clear, November 26, 2006

By 

Damon Slye - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C# (Paperback)

First off, since writing my initial review, I find myself continually referring to this book. It has worn well. I wish I could change my rating from 3 to 4 stars. Unfortunately Amazon's review system doesn't allow that (only 3 stars for them!).

While there are many books that teach the C# languague, this is the only book I've found that offers advice on how to effectively use the language once you know it. It is unique and therefore indispensible. It's a "must-read" for any serious C# programmer.

The recommendations will help you understand C# so that you can write programs that are faster, more efficient, more maintainable, and easier to understand. Specific topics include things like value-types versus reference-types, "boxing" and "unboxing", minimizing garbage, the advantages of the operators "as" and "is" over casts, and so on.

I believe the writing and explanations could be more clear and concise. I wish the editors had spent a little more time cleaning up the text. Also, A second edition that assumes C# 2.0 should be released, since some of the recommendations deal with shortcomings of C# 1.0 that have been fixed by C# 2.0. Also, I found a couple small errors. For example, "as" is not always faster than a cast-- in some cases they generate code that is exactly the same speed. However, that's a trifling point.

I recommend this book.