Customer Reviews

Programming in the Key of C#: A Primer for Aspiring Programmers (Pro-Developer)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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?

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.

This is a great book for a beginning programmer trying to learn the fundamentals of C#. Every chapter is devoted to a key feature of the language (as opposed to discussing all data types in one chapter, for example) and Mr. Petzold's teaching style is wonderfully accessable without at all being too simple.

I read this book as my first attempt at learning C#, and it provided such a solid foundation that now I am much more comfortable reading other books and documents that deal with more advanced topics and that take a lot of the basics for granted. Petzold takes the time to explain everything, and in the process you'll also learn a great deal about computers in general, as well as programming with C#.

As a beginning programmer(with no background other than a little FileMaker scripting)i have searched the book stores for anything "readable" about the subject. I have spent a great deal of money on all the well known titles, whitch i haven't been able to read and understand properly. But here it is! -And im a very happy man, writing programs in C#!

Describe this book in three words: Very Very Fine

Programming in the key of C# aims to introduce the programming language, C#, at a basic level. It covers fundamentals of modern objective programming features such as namespaces, classes and instances. It also reassures readers of what basic data types are supported in C# which follows the footsteps of .NET Framework.

The book is more of a primer than specific (i.e., a book could be based on data structures or producing games). If you are looking to buy a book, and you are an elementary programmer you will find this book very very helpful in terms of learning C#. If you are a regular java, c and c++ developer you will also find this book somewhat helpful in terms of understanding some of the core technologies behind .NET Framework and C#'s language features. Otherwise, if you are looking for something that cover much more integral aspects of C# this book perhaps, isn't for you.

In prelude, it states that the author tried his/her best to avoid making assumptions about any prior programming experience - thus the coverage of some elementary level basics of modern objective programming features.

Charles Petzold, a veteran of technical book writing, proves himself in this book (again) to be a brilliant teacher. At around 420 pages it's slim in comparison to other Microsoft text books. Part of the reason is that, concentrating solely on the C# language, no screen shots take up space that is more effectively used to explain key concepts of this language & how it fits into OOP. If you're a VB programmer, (as I was) looking to get into C#, this is a great starting point. It does begin at the beginning, (Variable types etc) but don't let this discourage you as there are some subtle differences that you need to learn about which could save confusion in the future, for example, that there is much less in the way of implicit conversion of certain types & this must be taken care of in code. However, this section is a brisk read, & Petzold's clear explanations are enlightening. He really makes it easy to understand how to use this language with some good examples throughout the book. There is nothing about the IDE or controls & just enough on the Framework, but what he does introduce, he explains in depth. This approach keeps his focus on the language which is what this book, after all, is all about.

You will need more once you've read this, but it's an excellent starting point, won't take you months to work through & most importantly, you will `understand' it at the end unlike other books which confuse the explanations with assumptions that you already know some C++.

If I have any problems with this book, it is only that he didn't cover Indexers & Delegate creation as these are not particularly difficult concepts & are important & I'm sure his explanations would have been excellent, but you'll will have to read further to learn about those. Developers coming from a C++ background may want to read something else which encompasses the framework, but for a VB'er, it's a perfect starting point & an excellent reference.

Those wishing to shift into the .NET phase will thoroughly enjoy Petzold's Key of C#. Not only does it teach the fundamentals clearly, it builds off the fundamentals with a clever approach to programming. Programming in the Key of C# promotes experimentation and critical thinking.

I have been looking for a book that would explain the fundamentals of programming. The authors writes in understandable english with clear examples. If you are new to programming and want to grasp the basics this is a must read book.

A lot of people are interested in C# now thanks to XNA Games Studio Express and a lot of us have never programmed before. I sat at the book store and read the first few chapters of every C# book I could find and this one is by far the best for beginners like me. I'm through chapter 4 now and realize that if you're looking for a starting point with C#, this is it! It's clear, simple and seemingly written for idiots like me. :)