Customer Reviews

Microsoft Visual C#(TM) .NET (Core Reference)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a very nice introduction to the C# language using Visual Studio.NET. Although the book is referred to as a "Core Reference" it is not a reference in the typical sense. Microsoft Press also publishes a "Step By Step" book on the same topic which is a basic introduction for the inexperienced programmer. This book is a more advanced tutorial, more suitable for a programmer with Java or C++ experience. However, it is not a complete introduction to the language. Several major topics are missing including regular expressions, inner classes, and, most surprisingly, I/O. The book does cover a wide range of features in .NET and does a nice job of explaining how to use these features in Visual Studio.NET. The first half of the book is an introduction to C# starting with the basics and going up to threading and debugging. The second half of the book covers topics such as creating windows and web forms, ADO.NET, XML, and web services. The section on windows forms is the most complete while the other topics are covered lightly. Overall, the book is generally well written and well edited. I found no obvious mistakes. The book is in hardcover and comes with a CD containing all the code and a DVD with a 60 day version of Visual Studio.NET. The book is not as complete as the O'Reilly C# book but because it is more fully integrated with Visual Studio, may be more useful to most developers.

This is one of the best Visual C#.NET books available in the market at this moment. It is a good mix and balance of tutorial and reference material, explained in a clear way. Visual C# is the brand new general purporse language that you can use to write any kind of application. Mr. Williams teaches you the language first, and then he shows how to use the .NET libraries with your applications. So you get an excellent foundation before dealing with the .NET framework.

The narrative is very easy to read and understand, and it will help you to see that the learning curve for C# is almost the same as VB.NET. This is the language of 21st century and with this book you will be a proficient C# developer in a short time, trust me.

I am a former VB6 user and moving to Visual C# with this book was a wise move and an easy one. Highly recommended!!

I originally bought this book for my team as a reference, but I'm finding that I use this book all the time now. The integration with Visual Studio is really cool, and keeps the book at my fingertips at all times. It also has the most concise explanation of the C# language I've seen so far. Also, the book has coverage of controls and other topics that weren't covered even in the Petzold book. For one book to cover overloading of the true and false operators, as well as Windows Forms and XML, is simply amazing. Another thing - if there are any errors, my team hasn't found any yet, and we've been through the book front to back. Great work. This is easily the team's favorite Visual C#-specific .NET book, and I'm going to need another copy just so I can keep the it in my office. The only drawback is that I would have like to have a bit more detail on ASP.NET and Web Services, but all in all, this is a great book.

As is stated on the front cover of this book, this is a "Reference," and not a tutorial, however, this book is an invaluable reference. For learning C#/.Net itself, I recommend either the Wrox Professional C# 2nd Edition, or the OOP with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual C# .NET Step by Step.

Mickey covers all aspects of C# programming, including:
* The C# language and the .Net framework itself
* An extremely comprehensive presentation of Windows Forms
* Introductory material on GDI
* Good beginning material on ADO.Net and XML
* Introductory material on ASP.Net and Web services

This book is very heay on thorough explanations of various classes, techniques, and the .Net framework itself, and very light on example programs, making it an excellent reference.

The only issue I have with this book is that it does not cover basic architectual issues in building an entire program. By this I mean it does not show how a programmer might write a distributed application, with code in components. If you want to know how best to architect an entire solution, this book is of little help. Also, Micky makes a number of well-meaning comparisons to C++, which are either wrong or are misleading, however, the comparisons are of no consequence to his excellent presentation on C# and .Net itself.

I've been using C# for 3 years, but purchased this book hoping to glean some new stuff on C# and .NET. Boy, was I disappointed. I own many MS Press titles from Richter, Petzold, Prosise, etc. and have been ecstatic about them all. However, this author definitely is not included in that list and shouldn't be writing professional books. I know that he used to write the "dummies" level books and it definitely shows in this attempt. The information is nothing short of a rehashing of MSDN material with absolutely nothing added. Very disappointing.

This is an extremely well-written book. It is most defintely aimed at the intermediate/advanced programmer. Mickey makes you read each chapter twice! Chapter 6 (Delegates,Events, and Attributes) was the most comprehensive presentation of these topics that I have read (Had me reaching for the Tylenol :-) )
He covers alot of the ground that Richter does - strong name assemblies,reflection (a most brilliant presentation I might add),etc. I truly enjoy the way he handled Windows/Web forms.
It was not just the point and click stuff that you get in the
Step by Step series. Mickey took us to the nitty gritty of it.
This WILL definitely be my "go to" reference book on C# and the
.NET framework. I have read at least 5 other 'Advanced' C# books and this was by far the most enjoyable (honorable mention to Tom Archer and his "Inside C#" ). And finally, Mr. Williams has an endearing sense of humor --> Hey you gotta love someone who gives you baseball and overdraft applications ubiquitously.

I read this book a couple of years ago when I was making the switch from VB to C#. It is well written and covers the OO fundamental well. I've referred to it regularly since making the switch to C#. It's become one of the staples in my reference library.

I have read in the reviews of this book that it's geared towards the intermediate/advanced developer. I disagree! This book is orientated towards the beginner. If you're a seasoned professional in a language such as VC++, then I recommend that you bypass this poorly written book as you'll be done with it in a few weeks!

The first couple of chapters gave a decent introduction to C#, but later on the book strayed away to include things like ado.net, windows forms, etc. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with this, but the author utterly failed to make these *extra* chapters a value-add.

If you think about it, the c# language itself is a large enough topic, as are ado.net, windows forms, web forms etc. It's a herculean task to single-handedly pack them all into one title and cover everthing well. The author is apparently stretching himself too thin by taking on such a big assignment, and could have done a much better job by sticking to c# itself.

I had trouble converging on a choice of textbook for C# because most of them are either too sparse or too specialized. However, I used this book for several courses and was satisfied with it. It covers the basics of graphical user interface development, as well as a selection of advanced topics including web services. And it's quite accessible to beginners while not annoying more advanced programmers. It's the only book I've seem that covers a wide gamut of all the major .NET programming topics and does quite well with each topic.