Learn to Program with C# [Paperback]

John Smiley (Author), Michael Mueller (Illustrator), Lyssa Wald (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Learn to Program | Publication Date: April 23, 2002

This volume presents the content in the form of a real-world classroom experience, with almost 100 questions asked and answered in each chapter in the form of a running dialogue.

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 easiest technical book you'll ever read. Open it up and see for yourself!

Join Professor Smiley's C# class as he teaches essential skills in programming, coding, and more. Using a student-instructor conversational format, this book starts at the very beginning with crucial programming fundamentals. You'll quickly learn how to identify customer needs so that you can create an application that achieves programming objectives--just like experienced programmers. By identifying clear client goals, you'll learn important programming basics--like how computers view input and execute output based on the information they are given--then use those skills to develop real-world applications. Participate in this one-of-a-kind classroom experience and see why Professor Smiley is renowned for making learning fun and easy.

• Develop your C# skills with real-world, hands-on programming projects
• Learn standardized C# using any compiler you choose
• Ground yourself in fundamental programming concepts, which can be applied to multiple languages
• Get substantial working knowledge of objects--including their attributes and behaviors
• Comfortably learn to manipulate data and arrays in C# programs
• Use building block strategies such as sequence structures, selection structures, and loops
• Build a real-world user interface using C#--then learn to customize the program

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 610 pages
• Publisher: Osborne/McGraw-Hill; 1st edition (April 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072222611
• ISBN-13: 978-0072222616
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I live just outside of Philadelphia, Pa. I am the president of my own Computer consulting firm, Smiley and Associates, and I provide computer services to companies both large and small in the surrounding Philadelphia Metropolitan area.'Currently, I am working on a long term contract programming position doing mostly Visual Basic work, but also some JavaScript and Oracle Database work.

Over the years, my consulting contracts have included contract positions as a Systems Analyst, Mainframe IDMS Database Administrator, Oracle Database Administrator, Network LAN Administrator, UNIX Systems Administrator, and programming positions using these languages: COBOL, C, C++, Java, and Visual Basic (my personal favorite).'

In addition to my work in the computer industry, I love to share my knowledge, and so for the last twenty years I have taught Computer Science at several Philadelphia area colleges and universities---I truly love to teach.

In 1998, I wrote an introductory Visual Basic programming book, and since then, have written others on Visual Basic, VB.Net, C#, Java and C++, and I'm currently working on a book on JavaScript. Writing books is just another way I have found to share my knowledge. In connection with my books, I have also appeared twice on TechTV's Cable show ScreenSavers. Also, my Java book was used as a plot vehicle in one of the episodes of HBO's Sopranos fourth season--which was very exciting!

I enjoy sports of all kind, and have participated in the MS150, which is a two day, 150 mile bike ride from Philadelphia to Ocean City, NJ, whose proceeds will, hopefully, cure Multiple Sclerosis. Two years ago, I started running again, and have recently completed several 5K, 8K and 5 mile races.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must book for the beginners, November 1, 2003

By 

Jaewoo Kim "OB-Wan" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learn to Program with C# (Paperback)

I have yet to see a beginner's book on C# that even comes close to this one. It is amazing how hundreds of C# books out there misses a critical point that the reader may not understand the material very well unless it is explained in easy detail. This book does not miss its easy details.

I have intermediate skillset in C# and I still found this book helpful because it provides a refreshing perspective on the fundamentals of C# programming. The book does not merely focus on how to program, but on what circumstances one should use certain features. This is something not every C# book will offer.

If you read this book and still can't understand the basic of C#, then programming is not for you.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true beginners book., May 17, 2003

By 

Adriana I. Whitney (Hurst, Tx United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learn to Program with C# (Paperback)

I took a chance on this book because it said that it was a "true beginners book". I had zero computer programming skills or knowledge. I knew some basic PC tasks, like using word, the internet and manipulating some pics I got off my camera, but again zero programming. Everyone I talked to recommened books that were supposed to be for the beginner but everyone of them required at least some elementary background with basic programming terms. I was very frustrated until I found John Smileys book.

His unique classroom style writing approach let me feel apart of his class. What most impressed me was that nothing was taken for granted and nothing was presented or used in the examples without detailed and complete explinations. Most other books I came across program concepts that they dont explain until 3 chapters later.

I was never lost or confused at any stage of my study with this book. Not only was it a complete teaching but the book doesnt requier you to purchase expensive software in order to learn C#. In fact his approach better prepares you to later learn Visual Studio because you now understand how the code is generated and can go in and code on your own if you wanted.

The book built my understanding of C#, my vocabulary for future programming, it gave me confidence that the C# mountain could be conquered, and it left me with the ability to pick up any other C# book and learn.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for both novices and midlevel programmers, September 4, 2002

By 

PhilaMitch (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn to Program with C# (Paperback)

True to the title, "Learn to Program with C#" clearly introduces the basic principles of computer programming while teaching Microsoft's C# language. This book will be useful to both novice programmers and to programmers, like myself, with some experience in another language. In fact, my earlier experience is in Fortran, Basic and Visual Basic, which I initially learned in a pair of courses taught by the author, John Smiley, several years ago. In reading a review copy of his new book I recalled Smiley's unassuming teaching style that allows each student to build confidence while learning the fundamentals of the language. As a programmer, but without knowledge of any version of "C," I was able to breeze through the introductory chapters, while refreshing my knowledge of concepts such as the "systems development life cycle," which are important to consider before embarking on any programming project. In this book, John Smiley places the reader in a university classroom with himself as the first-person narrator and instructor. Throughout the book, we follow the development of an actual C# application as a "class project" case study. The classroom concept, with named male and female students who ask intelligent questions, is easy to relate to and follow, but is not at all simplistic. This narrative format, unusual for a technical book, works well to lead the reader through the issues that arise during development of a project. Smiley has a very easy-going tone and seemed to anticipate questions that I had regarding the specifics of C#. For me, the most interesting chapters are numbers six through nine in which I learned about methods, instantiable classes, controlling access to object data, and inheritance. I even enjoyed learning about "overloaded constructors," which would have previously seemed to be an arcane concept. All the topics that Smiley undertakes to teach in his book are clearly explained and fully illustrated with "screen shots" and sample code that build pieces of the application that runs through the book. With Learn to Program C#, I think that I learned enough to begin writing C# applications capable of prompting for user input, creating forms with textboxes and buttons, manipulating data, and creating reusable objects.