Microsoft® Visual C#® .NET Step by Step--Version 2003 (Step by Step (Microsoft)) [Paperback]

John Sharp (Author), Jon Jagger (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735619093 | ISBN-13: 978-0735619098 | Publication Date: April 16, 2003

Build your dexterity with Microsoft® Visual C#®—and begin writing Microsoft .NET–connected applications—one step at a time! This practical, hands-on tutorial expertly guides you through the fundamentals—from learning Visual C# syntax to writing and running your first components, Web services, and applications. Work at your own pace through easy-to-follow lessons and hands-on exercises to teach yourself essential techniques. And stay ahead of the curve by working with real-world examples and best practices for Visual C# development.

Discover how to:

• Declare variables, define methods, and construct statements
• Handle and trap exceptions
• Use object-oriented techniques, such as inheritance and encapsulation
• Manage resources and use the garbage collector
• Build components, including properties, indexers, and events
• Define operators to enhance class usability
• Create GUI components and user controls
• Access data sources using Microsoft ADO.NET
• Write and manipulate XML documents
• Construct Web Forms that display large volumes of data
• Validate user input with Microsoft ASP.NET controls
• Write, test, and deploy Web services

CD features:

• Code examples in Visual C# .NET 2003
• All the book’s practice files
• Fully searchable eBook

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to [e-mail].

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Sharp is the author of Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation Step by Step and Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Step by Step. John is a principal technologist for Content Master Ltd., where he works on technology and training projects for a variety of international customers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (April 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735619093
• ISBN-13: 978-0735619098
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #487,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Computers & Technology > Microsoft > Development > .NET

More About the Author

John Sharp is a principal technologist for Content Master Ltd., where he works on technology and training projects for a variety of international customers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guidebook, January 4, 2005

By 

recombinant "dj, musician & software developer" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft® Visual C#® .NET Step by Step--Version 2003 (Step by Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

Granted, it probably helps if you're migrating from another language (like I was - from VB), but it's an excellent text which gives you plenty of background & extra information, then takes you into step-by-step exercises to reinforce what you just read. This methodology really worked for me, and I highly recommend this book. Initially, I was concerned that it was going to be literally just step-by-step instructions on how to use C# and Visual Studio .NET, but the information between the exercises, plus additional notes and best practices really helped me out with learning the language and some potential gotchas.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good first book on visual c#, May 28, 2005

By 

steve (toronto, canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft® Visual C#® .NET Step by Step--Version 2003 (Step by Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

I've been using Visual C++ 6.0 at work for the past few years and was looking for something to help me with transitioning to C# and .NET. I settled on the 2003 version of this book and was not disappointed. The title says it all really - it's a concise and tutorial-like introduction to C# programming using Visual Studio.NET. The book is very well organized with "how-to" summaries at the end of each chapter, and numerous notes/hints throughout that list the sometimes subtle differences between C++/Java and C#.

This was my first step-by-step book and I liked how the exercises were presented. In the early chapters, you are typically asked to open an existing project and make code or design modifications that demonstrate the topic at hand. This approach helps to speed things along and I didn't feel at any time that I was bogged down on any one chapter or exercise for too long. Before each exercise, I made a point of reviewing all of the application code first, including the forms code generated by Visual Studio. For example, as early as Chapter 2, I could see more or less how GUI event handlers are registered, even though I hadn't yet reached the section on WinForms or delegates.

One suggestion I do have for the authors in any future editions is to talk more about configuring your PC before doing any ADO.NET or ASP.NET programming, e.g., how to troubleshoot when things aren't working. Even though I had MSDE and IIS installed properly, I initially had problems creating the Northwind sample database, and also with creating new ASP projects in Visual Studio (VS needs to be able to connect to your IIS server first before it can create/open ASP projects). The book didn't help me much here (neither did Visual Studio's cryptic error messages) and I had to dig around on MSDN and CodeGuru to get things working.

With regards to content, there are a couple of noteworthy items. The chapter on value and reference types does a very good job of explaining concepts such as "boxing" using diagrams and sample code. The diagrams show you exactly what are the contents of stack versus heap memory as each line of sample code is executed. Another section I liked was the sample exercise in the chapter on inheritance, which simulated a source file parser using the Visitor design pattern. The authors could have explained the program better though, by using class diagrams possibly.

Overall I am quite pleased with this book and the outcome of having gone through all of the exercises. Now it's time for me to look for something more advanced on topics such as threading, .NET remoting, GDI+, ...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for learning C#, March 14, 2005

By 

Juan Torres Reveron (Birmingham, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft® Visual C#® .NET Step by Step--Version 2003 (Step by Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

This book is a great introduction to the C# language. The only drawback is that you need Visual Studio.NET to be able to complete the exercises; but then again, C# is an invention of Microsoft si it is understandable.
Some reviewers have expressed concern for it not being for beginners. Be aware that the object oriented model of programming has been an integral part of every language since the invention of C++ in the 1980's. If you are interested in non-OOP languages you can try C. If you like to understand a little more about OOP before starting this book grab Beggining C# Objects as an intro both to the language and the method.