Customer Reviews

Illustrated C# 2008 (Expert's Voice in .NET)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is for programmers not individuals new to programming. This book covers C# 2008 pretty well in terms of explaining C# constructs such as how to write a class and explaining all the nuances of it. However, very little to no explanation is given for why you would want to use whatever the author is explaining--the big picture is pretty much missing. This book will work best for someone that already has a basic understanding of the .NET framework and programming and just wants to get up-to-date on C# 2008.

So, why should you read this book?

1) There is a plethora of examples and they all work. I don't think I have ever seen more sample code.
2) This is a deeply object oriented approach to C#, as it should be.
3) You are a programmer and want to get up-to-date on C# 2008--you are not looking to learn how to program.
4) The functional explanations of C# constructs are clear and complete. Hey, the guy has a degree in English and it shows.
5) The book is not terribly long. You will be able to finish it in a reasonable amount of time (726 pages).
6) I found many illustrations useful even though a few seemed redundant.
7) The author's treatment of LINQ was done very well and clearly.
8) Once having read the book and worked the examples you will have solid C# 2008 skills and be ready to extend your knowledge with other books and training materials.
9) It is fun and mostly easy to read.

Okay then what's not to like?

1) My biggest criticism is for the most part there is no discussion of how or why you would apply a particular C# construct being taught. For example, if you were learning to use an auto mechanic's tools you would learn how to use a box wrench, an open end wrench and an adjustable wrench but no idea of why you would choose one wrench over another for a particular task.
2) Inner Exceptions were not covered in the chapter on exceptions.
3) While almost all explanations of C# constructs were done well I felt events in Chapter 16 needed to be reworked--it just wasn't that clear.
4) No treatment of ADO.NET
5) No treatment of XML

Finally someone who knows how to explain C# visually. Simple clear drawings help you understand the whole proces of compiling and executing code.

If you think the "head first" books are over the top. You really should consider this "illustrated" version. In the "head first" books the graphices can be overwhelming while the illustrations in this book are just complementary to the text. I really love the "head first" books but I recommend them for learning something new but not as a reference book.

I have read other books covering the third version of C# and I must say this book really stands out. It starts at the basics but in the same way simple things are explained the more complex issues are covered. It all seems equally simple. To be able to write it down like that is a gift.

All in all highly recommended.

Having programmed a lot in C++, it was time to learn C#. This book is an excellent and efficient solution for the C++ programmer (and likely also the Java programmer) wishing to come up to speed in C#. Most of the concepts and much of the C# syntax are similar to C++.

Each C# concept is covered concisely and to the point - which means it is quick and easy for someone familiar with the general concepts to learn C# in a minimum of time.

I did encounter a few oddities - the concept of a delegate is easy once I realized it is basically a C++ pointer to a function - but with C# safe type checking place. But I had to look at Microsoft's own documentation to pick that up.

LINQ is a programmatic interface to databases - except none of the examples in the book use it to interface to a database. (For those who might be wondering about LINQ, the Language INtegerated Query is an SQL-like set of program statements for making SQL-like queries into data structures or databases. LINQ is not identical to SQL but close enough that SQL programmers will find this to be a straightforward introduction.)

Illustrated C# is an introduction to C# - this is not a Windows programming text - if you are headed in that direction, you'll also need good Windows/Windows Forms reference as well.

Overall, I was looking for a book to get me quickly from C++ to C# and this book is perfect to do that. I recommend this book to anyone with existing programming experience wishing to come up to speed quickly. If you have not programmed before, this is not your first book but probably your second or third.

The illustrations are very nice - they do help to understand the concepts presented. This book is definitely a good reference, it defines concepts pretty well.

But to actually learn C# from reading this book is a challenge, because most explanations are lacking. For example, why would I use a delegate? Or when would I use a struct instead of a class? Some of the examples are a little odd, and could have been designed with more meaning. In the example of Operator Overloading, the author's comment includes "In this strange class, negating a value just sets its value to 0". Why not create a less-"strange" and more meaningful example? Why would I bother to use Operator Overloading?

Why was there no coverage on dynamic arrays? Nothing from the List class?

The section on Assemblies is excellent, with very good explanations of security alternatives. Also excellent coverage of implementation considerations.

If you are like me, typically when I read a programming book or article, I feel compelled to download the code, and modify it slightly in order for the content to really "sink in". Remarkably, while reading this book, I rarely felt that to be necessary, as his code examples often fully "illustrated" the topic. The result was that I was able to read this book quickly, 2-3 chapters per sitting.

I feel coverage of the main C# topics was excellent, as well as the order they were presented. His chapters on delegates, interfaces, and LINQ were especially good, with very little wasted time delving into esoteric areas that might be interesting, but not very useful. The only negative feedback I would offer is that occasionally topics were addressed to a general programming newbie audience, but I just skimmed those.

In summary, my kudos to author Dan Solis, it's a terrific book!

For some years I was looking for such book. For some reasons (see below) I don't want to have a huge book, describing not only C# syntax, but also Visual Studio and BCL.

I'm not interesting in how to use VS, because I use Monodevelop. Therewith for me (after some years of Delphi programming) VS is intuitive measuring software. With respect to BCL, we have enough information on MSDN site.

The most important thing for me is understanding of C# syntax. In this case, Illustrated C# the one and only book, from what I saw.

I have many C# books and not much programming background. First of all, i have read "head first C#" half way through, "step by step visual C#" and also "pro C# 2008." I had difficulty following these books because they are dry on the material and at the same time don't present the material the way they should. What makes this books so special is that it has many example codes. For instance, chapter 6 has 14 example codes on classes and how they are used/accessed. I am half way through and it is amazing how much i have learned compared to other books. The book; however, doesn't go into GUI it basically doesn't deal with forms or WPF at all, all the programming is in the console. If you can only get one book on C# let this be it !

I'm in complete accord with all the other 5-star opinions of this book. Studying it seems less like reading a book than listening to a series of finely honed lectures---complete with great white-board work. I would be surprised if there's a better introduction to C#. Besides lucidly defining technical terms as he goes, the author demonstrates exceptional skill in the use of text markups and simple graphics. My only knit pick would be on what I consider his scant coverage of Refection and Events. But even if these chapters were missing, it would still be worth $30 and 5-stars.

This is the C# book that I always keep next to me. If I am unsure about some type of class, delegates, interfaces, etc. I open up this book and get right up to speed. While concise, Dan leaves nothing out in terms of details required for effective C# programming.

The LINQ coverage is outstanding! It is so good that I hope Dan does an entire book on the subject. His mastery of informative graphics would be an ideal format for help to save us T-SQL hacks from having to stand on our heads to get at LINQ.

I highly recommend this book.

Dan Solis's Illustrated C# 2008 is a pleasure to read and from which to learn, both with concise information and the easy to understand illustrations in it.
The illustrations make this book unique in that they make relatively foreign concepts easy to understand. They are consistent, build one on another, and make sense. He takes the concept of the stack and the heap, explaining how temporary data is stored, right from the beginning. With each new data type, or type member, an illustration shows how it is different from the others, and therefore why that user defined type was developed.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn the basics of a computer language, and especially C#, which is becomming the standard, as well as the language used my Microsoft in their program development.

What a delight!