Programming in the Key of C#: A Primer for Aspiring Programmers (Step By Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

by Charles Petzold (Author) "Late at night, when the day's work is done but the brain is still buzzing, programmers have sometimes been known to ask themselves this question:..." (more)
Key Phrases: public static bool operator, single declaration statement, parameterless constructor, Hungarian Notation, Key of Cll, Franz Schubert (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Introduce yourself to C# programming with Charles Petzold, one of the industry’s premier authors. This uniquely enjoyable tutorial requires no programming experience but will expertly help you build the fundamental skills for writing code with C#.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (September 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735618003
• ISBN-13: 978-0735618008
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #299,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book For What It Is, June 13, 2004

By A Customer

Looking for an introduction to C#, I read the reviews here and decided to purchase this book. Unlike a couple of other reviewers here, I already own a DICTIONARY, and so I am aware of what the words PRIMER and ASPIRING mean. Those looking for a book about programming .NET should buy a book titled something like, "Programming .NET." Those looking for a book about using Visual Studio.NET should buy a book titled something like, "Using Visual Studio.NET." A book titled, "Programming In The Key Of C# - A Primer For Aspiring Programmers" should present a primer for aspiring programmers. Gee, go figure.

Through the years, I have programmed in C, Pascal, Fortran, Cobol, Visual Basic, Delphi, various scripting languages in both the Unix and Windows worlds, Cold Fusion, PHP, and Active Server Pages. I wanted to learn C# from the lowest level and move upward from there so I would have a complete understanding of the language as I move towards my final goal of programming Windows and ASP.NET using C#. Having reviewed the TABLE OF CONTENTS made available here, it was easy to tell that this book would be the primer I was looking for. A previous reviewer claims that this book didn't teach him enough about C# syntax. The syntax in C#, although similar to most other object-oriented languages, is unique to C#. This whole book teaches C# syntax, and also goes into a fair amount of detail of how structures, objects, classes, etc. are handled internally in the computer, and by the C# compiler. I know there is another book written by Anders Hejlsberg which is a most complete coverage of the C# syntax, and I will probably end up buying that book as well to use as a reference. To begin learning C#, however, I wanted to begin in a very comfortable and basic place. I have finished this book, I have purchased and am reading a book on programming Windows with C#, and when I am finished with that book, I will buy a new book that is more specific to programming ASP.NET. I will probably buy books specific to ADO.NET, and who knows what else as I become aware of new complexities that I would like to understand.

As a book about learning the basics of programming in C#, Mr. Petzold's book delivers on just what the title implies.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely not for the advanced programmer, May 22, 2005

By	M. Alberts (seattle, wa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those who rated this down because it was for beginners, I would suggest re-reading the subtitle. It is clear this book is for the beginning programmer. As someone who had barely enough programming experience to be able to confidently do much that was more complex than "Hello, World" in C#, I found this book an excellent primer on programming. It clearly explains things that I've found other books have a tough time doing (I went through the Murach's C# book in parallel, which I also found very good compared to other books I tried). It just needs to be rated for what it is: a book for people who may not have any programming experience that does a great job in introducing the necessary concepts.

For more in depth C# knowledge, a friend at Microsoft recommended Inside C# 2nd Edition. Perhaps that's the book some of the reviewers were looking for?

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A Primer for Aspiring Programmers", September 8, 2004

By	D. Deavours "deavod" (Chicago) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Charles Petzold does an excellent job of introducing C#, the latest OOP from Microsoft. The book is not for an advanced programmer - you would be disappointed if you thought this was a 300 level book, but it does say it right in the name.

What this book does that C# Step by Step does not do is it explains, very clearly, why you are doing what you are doing. It doesn't get bogged down in step 14 of 30. Petzold patiently explains what placeholders are in Console.Writeline() and why they're so useful. He carefully takes you from something you know to something you wish you knew and then explains the how's and why's of everything. His style is almost as if he were talking to you. He uses phrases like "Check this out" to make the reading livelier. I can almost feel his enthusiasm for C# coming off the pages.

If you know C, C++, Java or maybe even Visual Basic this book may be too basic for your needs. But if you're interested in learning C# as a first language this is a great book.