Essential C# 2.0 (Microsoft .NET Development Series) (Paperback)

by Mark Michaelis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A new edition of this title is available, ISBN-10: 0321533925 ISBN-13: 9780321533920 "Essential C# 2.0 pulls off a very difficult task. The early chapters are comprehensible by beginning developers, while the later chapters pull no punches and provide the experienced developer with the detailed information they need to make the most of C# 2.0. Starting with the first chapter, Mark has successfully interwoven tidbits of information useful to even the most advanced developer while keeping the book approachable." --Chris Kinsman, chief architect, Vertafore, Microsoft Regional Director "How refreshing! This book deals with C# thoroughly, rather than skimming over the whole .NET framework. It is valuable to newcomers and professionals alike." --Jon Skeet, C# MVP"Essential C# 2.0 is a one-stop shop for an experienced programmer looking to ramp up on one of the hottest languages around today. Mark delivers an intelligent and detailed tour of C#, providing newcomers to the language with a solid foundation of skill on which to build their next generation of applications." --Stephen Toub, technical editor, MSDN Magazine"This book provides complete, up-to-date coverage of all the programming constructs in C#. Masterfully organized, it allows beginning programmers to get on board and leads more experienced programmers into the world of structured programming. Because of its unwavering focus on the essential programming constructs of C#--such as generics, delegates, and much more--this book is indispensable. For programmers who want to solve their day-to-day programming issues using the latest features this modern programming language has to offer, this book is indispensable." --Narendra Poflee, IT integration specialist, Itron Inc."Essential C# 2.0 is an ideal book for all programmers interested in C#. If you are a beginner, you will quickly learn the basics of C# programming and become familiar with the concepts. The flow of the text is easy to follow and does a great job of not repeating concepts that have already been covered. For the experienced programmer, this book has priceless nuggets embedded within its pages, making it a great read for programmers who are already familiar with C#. This will be a book that I will keep next to my computer for years to come." --Michael Stokesbary, software engineer, Itron Inc. Essential C# 2.0 is a clear, concise guide to C#--including the features new to C# 2.0. The book clearly presents material for beginners and experts and provides contrasts and comparisons between C# and other languages. The C# language is covered comprehensively and each important construct is illustrated with succinct code examples. Complete code examples are available online. Mark Michaelis has organized the material for quick access. Graphical "mind maps" at the beginning of each chapter show what material is covered and how each topic relates to the whole. Following the C# introduction, readers will learn about *C# primitive data types, value types, reference types, type conversions, and arrays *Operators and control flow, loops, conditional logic, and sequential programming *Methods, parameters, exception handling, and structured programming *Classes, inheritance, structures, interfaces, and object-oriented programming *Well-formed types, operator overloading, namespaces, and garbage collection *Generics, collections, and iterators *Reflection, attributes, and declarative programming *Threading, synchronization, and multi-threaded patterns *Interoperability and unsafe code *The Common Language Infrastructure that underlies C# C# 2.0 has a multitude of new features that make the language even more powerful, productive, and efficient. These new features are thoroughly covered in this book. A separate appendix on C# 2.0 topics helps readers quickly find new features of the language. Whether you're just starting out as a programmer, are an experienced developer looking to learn C#, or are a seasoned C# programmer interested in learning the new features of C# 2.0, Essential C# 2.0 gives you just what you need to quickly get up and running writing C# applications.

From the Back Cover

“Essential C# 2.0 pulls off a very difficult task. The early chapters are comprehensible by beginning developers, while the later chapters pull no punches and provide the experienced developer with the detailed information they need to make the most of C# 2.0. Starting with the first chapter, Mark has successfully interwoven tidbits of information useful to even the most advanced developer while keeping the book approachable.”
—Chris Kinsman, chief architect, Vertafore, Microsoft Regional Director

“How refreshing! This book deals with C# thoroughly, rather than skimming over the whole .NET framework. It is valuable to newcomers and professionals alike.”
—Jon Skeet, C# MVP

“Essential C# 2.0 is a one-stop shop for an experienced programmer looking to ramp up on one of the hottest languages around today. Mark delivers an intelligent and detailed tour of C#, providing newcomers to the language with a solid foundation of skill on which to build their next generation of applications.”
—Stephen Toub, technical editor, MSDN Magazine

“This book provides complete, up-to-date coverage of all the programming constructs in C#. Masterfully organized, it allows beginning programmers to get on board and leads more experienced programmers into the world of structured programming. Because of its unwavering focus on the essential programming constructs of C#—such as generics, delegates, and much more—this book is indispensable. For programmers who want to solve their day-to-day programming issues using the latest features this modern programming language has to offer, this book is indispensable.”
—Narendra Poflee, IT integration specialist, Itron Inc.

“Essential C# 2.0 is an ideal book for all programmers interested in C#. If you are a beginner, you will quickly learn the basics of C# programming and become familiar with the concepts. The flow of the text is easy to follow and does a great job of not repeating concepts that have already been covered. For the experienced programmer, this book has priceless nuggets embedded within its pages, making it a great read for programmers who are already familiar with C#. This will be a book that I will keep next to my computer for years to come.”
—Michael Stokesbary, software engineer, Itron Inc.

Essential C# 2.0 is a clear, concise guide to C#—including the features new to C# 2.0. The book clearly presents material for beginners and experts and provides contrasts and comparisons between C# and other languages. The C# language is covered comprehensively and each important construct is illustrated with succinct code examples. Complete code examples are available online. Mark Michaelis has organized the material for quick access. Graphical “mind maps” at the beginning of each chapter show what material is covered and how each topic relates to the whole.

Following the C# introduction, readers will learn about

• C# primitive data types, value types, reference types, type conversions, and arrays
• Operators and control flow, loops, conditional logic, and sequential programming
• Methods, parameters, exception handling, and structured programming
• Classes, inheritance, structures, interfaces, and object-oriented programming
• Well-formed types, operator overloading, namespaces, and garbage collection
• Generics, collections, and iterators
• Reflection, attributes, and declarative programming
• Threading, synchronization, and multi-threaded patterns
• Interoperability and unsafe code
• The Common Language Infrastructure that underlies C#

C# 2.0 has a multitude of new features that make the language even more powerful, productive, and efficient. These new features are thoroughly covered in this book. A separate appendix on C# 2.0 topics helps readers quickly find new features of the language.

Whether you’re just starting out as a programmer, are an experienced developer looking to learn C#, or are a seasoned C# programmer interested in learning the new features of C# 2.0, Essential C# 2.0 gives you just what you need to quickly get up and running writing C# applications.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (July 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321150775
• ISBN-13: 978-0321150776
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,096 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Microsoft .NET Development Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great coverage of C# -- smart graphics are a huge help, too, February 6, 2007

By	James Holmes "Co-Author 'Windows Developer Po... (South Central Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Essential C# 2.0 is somewhat introductory in nature, but there's enough coverage of more advanced topics to make it useful for experienced .NET developers as well. What's really different about this book is its tremendous visual impact. This book has perhaps the best visual layout of any I've seen, and it's so well done that it really helps the book get across the points Michaelis is making in this book.

Each chapter starts out with a mind map, one of my favorite tools for getting across highlights of a topic. There's a very nice deliniation of topic levels within chapters as well, with beginner and advanced topics being clearly separated out by headers and sidebar borders. The code examples get some great markup, too, with bits inside code being clearly marked out with grey background and bold text so you quickly see what the author's focusing on -- and the font for console output is way cool, too.

OK, so that's all the visual stuff which would be simply eye candy bling and rather useless if the content of the book didn't back it up. It's nice that the content does back it up. There's solid coverage of all the important topics: value vs. reference types, how the CLR/CLI works, basic object-oriented programming aspects of C#, and nice bits on delegates and events. C# 2.0 features get good coverage, and there are two nicely done chapters on threading. There's also a chapter covering interoperability via P/Invoke and unsafe code (pointers), a topic I've not seen covered in any other book.

Michaelis's writing style is clear, and he's nicely concise in the book. I appreciate that he kept the focus on C# and didn't try to span out into ASP.NET, web services, and a raft of various other topics that always seem to get lumped in with language books.

Overall I think this is a terriffic book and I'm happy to have it on my shelf!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a developer's best friend for c#, August 8, 2006

By	Jeanne Boyarsky (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

"Essential C#" does for C# what Deitel did for Java. It's great book to learn C# from the ground up or for experienced developers. I was a bit skeptical of the claim that the book is for everyone - beginners, experienced developers, structured programmers, C/C++/Java developers and C# professionals. However, through a combination of sidebars and text that makes sense on different levels, the author managed to achieve this lofty goal.

This truly is a book for developers. It includes refactoring and other best practices. I especially liked the part on well formed types and how to properly implement equals. There is a strong emphasis on the language itself, which is great. The first mention of Windows Forms is almost page 600. A nice contrast to those book that teach the "language" solely through visual editors. The author also gives equal time to the .NET and Mono implementations.

The back cover states the book is "clear and concise." Weighing in at 700 pages, the book does manage to stay true to this claim. Code examples are short and focused. I only found one over a page long. Descriptions are clear, accurate and easy to follow. I strongly recommend this book to any considering working with C#. t really is "Essential" !

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than the book "The C# Programming Language" by Far, February 5, 2007

By	John Grove (Simi Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book has extensive coverage of basic and not so basic features. I learned a lot about delegates and other advanced subjects that are usually skimmed through lightly. As I said in the title, I found this to be much better than the book "The C# Programming Language" by by Anders Hejlsberg, Scott Wiltamuth, and Peter Golde which was not much of a help to me because it was more like a long list linked book where this one deals with C# directly in each of its subjects it undertakes.

Buy it, you will not be disappointed.