The .NET Languages: A Quick Translation Guide [Paperback]

Brian Bischof (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1893115488 | ISBN-13: 978-1893115484 | Publication Date: December 4, 2001 | Edition: 1st

Both VB .NET and C# are the key languages for Microsoft's next generation of Windows services, the .NET platform. These languages have been written from the ground up to provide programmers with a fast and modern programming environment. This enables programmers to quickly build a wide range of applications for the new Microsoft .NET platform. "The .NET Languages: A Quick Translation Guide" solves two problems created by the introduction of .NET. The first is how do I quickly upgrade my skills to the new language? And the second is how do I understand the code that another developer has written? Brian Bischof's book is a complete translation guide for converting programs between any of the three primary Microsoft languages: Visual Basic 6, Visual Basic .NET, and C#. It is estimated that there are 3 million current Visual Basic 6 programmers today. Bischof makes it easy for them to take the knowledge they already have and use it to write for the .NET environment. Each chapter is laid out in an easy and concise format. The top of each chapter shows a syntax conversion chart detailing how each language translates to the other languages. There are also detailed comments explaining these changes. At the end of the chapter is a comprehensive example, fully written in each language, that demonstrates the chapter concepts. This provides the reader with every aspect needed for converting their programs: quick lookup charts, detailed explanations, and thorough examples.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For Visual Basic and C# programmers facing Microsoft's new platform, The .NET Languages: A Quick Translation Guide offers an extremely useful comparison of three languages: Visual Basic 6, Visual Basic .NET, and C#. With nearly indispensable code snippets that show central language features at work, this book offers an excellent resource for getting up to speed with .NET in record time.

The just-the-facts approach in this text is its best feature. By keeping the commentary to a minimum, the book quickly introduces you to what you need to know. The author shows how specific language features are implemented in three different languages, beginning with basic constructs like data types and flow control statements. Technically, both Visual Basic .NET and the new C# are equal partners in Visual Studio .NET. This book can save two types of users significant time: those moving from VB 6 to VB .NET and those thinking about upgrading their VB skills to C# (an option, now that the languages are so close).

The book does a good job comparing the use of common class design constructs for methods and properties and how to use inheritance and interfaces. This material will likely justify the cover price of the book for many readers, as it is tricky to get right, and each of the new .NET languages uses slightly different keywords and conventions when it comes to class design.

Later chapters cover essential .NET APIs with code snippets that will also help you save time. In particular, we liked how the author illustrates how to get started with ADO.NET and databases. Also useful here is a section on COM interoperability with .NET (as this is likely to be a common programming chore).

By keeping explanations short and sweet and letting short code excerpts do most of the talking (along with short, complete programs), the author has devised a very useful text, one that can demystify what's new and different about .NET for any VB or C# programmer. Timely, concise, and deftly organized, this title is a perfect choice for those who like to learn new programming languages by example. Few programming titles can claim to be as immediately useful as this one. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Tutorial and comparative language comparison for Visual Basic 6, Visual Basic .NET, and C#; case sensitivity, commenting styles, variables, and procedures used in each language; data types and conversion functions; operators compared; conditional statements and loops; working with collections; exception-handling basics; class design across three .NET languages (including constructors, methods and properties, finalizers, and overloading techniques); interfaces and inheritance in each language; declaring and handling events; using the String and StringBuilder classes; using Windows Forms (and the Visual Studio IDE form designer); ADO.NET basics (including forward-only access with DataReaders and the DataGrid control); math and financial functions; collections (including iterating through collections); common interoperability in .NET (including early and late binding); examining application settings; logging events; introduction to drawing in forms; basic printing; and sample snippets for showing essential .NET APIs at work.

Review

"Do yourself a favor and invest in a copy of The .NET Languages...you'll thank me later." -- Peter Bromberg, EggHeadCafe.com

"Do yourself a favor and invest in a copy of The .net Languages...you'll thank me later." -- Peter Bromberg, EggHeadCafe.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1st edition (December 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893115488
• ISBN-13: 978-1893115484
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Computers & Technology > Databases > Beginning & Introductory

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent beginning to .NET programming, June 15, 2002

By 

Mr. Mario T. Lanza "mlanza" (New Cumberland, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The .NET Languages: A Quick Translation Guide (Paperback)

If you're like me and you learn best from example, you'll find this text--it's riddled with examples--a terrific choice.

I recently began a new software development project that will take about a year to complete. I wanted to ramp up on the .NET platform since I believe it a vast (vast is too little a word in this case) improvement over the platforms of yesteryear. I browsed Amazon and ordered a variety of titles with which to equip myself; some of the titles more advanced in nature than this one.

The box of goodies arrived and I began to assimilate. I went for "Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming" straight off and found it to be informative but overly so. Some of the concepts being so fresh that I had no relational peg from which to hang them. The nitty-gritties were deeper than necessary for transition into .NET. I typically learn in an incremental fashion: first give me something that shows me the basics at 20,000 feet so I can begin creating my "relational pegs" from which to hang the more advanced notions as I read additional tomes.

I've found "The .NET Languages" to be one of the essential books I needed (and you'll need) in my toolbox. It's no mere translation guide, it's exactly what you need to absorb the basics if you're already versed in one of it's three languages (VB 6.0, VB.NET, and C#). I came from a primarily VB 6.0 background, and I've been learning both C# and VB.NET. This book is amazing at quickly helping me to grasp the two newer languages as the majority of it consists of side-by-side example-code comparisons in the 3 languages. Understand, it's not a standalone means of breaking into .NET, you'll need more meat, but this is one excellent appetizer. It also serves as a quick syntax reference or, as it's title suggests, a basis for translating code between languages.

As I moved from theory into actual design and then development, I found .NET to be a different monster than I had encountered in my past 10 years experience. At first, my impression and my fear was that I'd have to learn so many concepts that I'd be dizzy before I could even start programming. Yes, there was/is a lot to learn, but you can begin developing more quickly than you might expect. As I said, I started with the .NET Framework Programming book which, in my opinion, although I thought it would be an excellent starting point, was not. It only served to overwhelm me with some complexities (not that the entire book is complex) that I was able to better learn after I had my foundation.

Dig into the nitty-gritties later. How do you know, in the computer profession, that you're equipped and ready to begin creating production-level systems? It seems you're only as ready as you are, because you could always know more. (Why God didn't make a 32-hour day exception for computer professionals I'll never know!) How many times--if you're of the variety who undergoes continuing self-education--are you reflecting on past designs and implementations with new enlightenment and the feeling that you could do it twice as good now.

In my opinion, if you're moving into .NET, take the incremental approach. This book along with Wrox's "Beginning C#" and "ADO.NET" were excellent starting points for me.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Accomplishes Its Goal, August 28, 2004

By 

bibliomaven - See all my reviews

This review is from: The .NET Languages: A Quick Translation Guide (Paperback)

I use this book a LOT. The reason I love it is because it does exactly what it was meant to do: take a starting point that I can relate to, Visual Basic 6, and cross-reference my previous knowledge to VB.NET and C#. I have not found any other book that cross-references all three languages the way this one does. For instance, if I know what command I would use in VB 6, but I'm new to C# then it's a 15 minute search to find something equivalent in MSDN. But if I pull out my trusty Translation Guide there it is in a few seconds! From there if I need more in-depth detail I can go straight to the correct article in MSDN, however in most cases it tells me everything I need to know because I already understand the concepts, I just need to know how to do the same type of task in another language. This book is absolutely invaluable to me as a reformed VB6 programmer!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent to ramp up quickly, December 23, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (Hollywood, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The .NET Languages: A Quick Translation Guide (Paperback)

At first I was not too sure about the book, thinking it might be another quick book that was just banged out on .NET. I was wrong!

This book doesn't waste time. It gets right to the point in getting you up to speed with the main .NET languages (VB.NET and C#). The wonderful thing about it is that it shows you the VB (6 and .NET) and C# syntax side-by-side, so that in one pass, you can learn both languages.

I had already been programming with VB.NET for almost a year before I read this book, and I had even done some C# work. Thanks to this book, now I know C# as well as VB.NET, and can easily work both languages.

They also have a few "bonus" chapters that show you how to quickly start using things like ADO.NET, and GDI+,-- painting and printing. I was surprised to see something there, since it doesn't directly deal with the language. The bonus chapters aren't a full reference, but they are enough to quickly get you up and running!

Bottom line: You want to upgrade to .NET? Read this book.