Programming C# (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

by Jesse Liberty (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Jesse Liberty's Programming C#, 2nd Edition provides an adept and extremely well-conceived guide to the C# language and is written for the developer with some previous C++, Java, and/or Visual Basic experience. This second edition brings the book up to date, with examples that are guaranteed to run on the shipping version of Visual C# .NET.

It's no secret that many computer books are pretty much devoid of an authorial personality. This title is a winning exception. The author is able to weave in clever examples (using such topics as his own long experience in computing, his dog, Star Trek, etc.) without being coy or getting in the way of presenting real technical information. Liberty's wide experience in computers and general writing skill shows, as he is able to draw on a wealth of examples to move his text forward.

These are a couple of goals at work in Programming C#. First, it's an excellent language tutorial, certainly one of the smartest and best available guides to C# as a language. Early chapters explore basic and obscure language options using inheritance, delegation, interface, and the conventions in C# used to implement these techniques. The middle part of the book turns toward the .NET Framework itself, with two useful (and somewhat introductory) chapters on both Windows Forms and Web Forms, for standalone and Web-based applications, respectively.

Later sections crank up the technical knowledge again with several advanced topics on understanding .NET assemblies and deployment in detail, as well as "reflection" APIs that allow .NET programs to essentially modify their code at run time. (One technique, reflection emit, which literally writes bytecodes, will definitely interest expert readers, though it's unlikely most programmers will need to do this.) Final sections look at the .NET stream classes (rivaled only by Java's for complexity). Liberty looks at basic file and network I/O as well as how objects get serialized and marshaled both for SOAP and Web services and "normal" .NET remoting.

The author's sure hand in navigating the difficult waters of C# and .NET makes for a relatively concise text that is chock-full of useful information on C#. Filled with notably clever and inventive examples, this book is possibly this veteran computer author's best title to date, and it's sure to be a noteworthy resource for experienced developers, as they tackle C# for the first time. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Introduction to C# and the .NET platform
• A "Hello World" example in C#
• Tutorial to C# as an object-oriented programming language (types and variables, operators, namespaces, and preprocessor directives)
• Defining classes in C# (including static members, finalizers, overloading, and read-only fields)
• Inheritance and polymorphism implemented in C#
• Operator overloading
• Structures in C#, interfaces, arrays, and indexers
• Built-in .NET collections, strings, and regular expression support
• Structured exception handling
• Delegate and events
• Introduction to programming with Windows Forms
• ADO.NET database APIs (including basic XML support)
• Quick introduction to Web Forms and ASP.NET used with C#
• Introduction to Web services (SOAP, WSDL, and Discover services described)
• In-depth guide to .NET assemblies (including metadata, versioning, private and shared assemblies)
• C# support for attributes and reflection (including reflection emit techniques)
• Marshaling and remoting (with and without SOAP)
• Threads and synchronization
• Tutorial to C#/.NET streams (including basic I/O techniques, Web streams, and serialization)
• COM and .NET interoperability (including importing ActiveX controls in .NET projects)

Review
'A well-written book that gets straight to the point of all the topics it covers.' Computer Shopper, Dec (HIT!) 'Overall, I'd say the book is a valuable resource to refer to for anyone learning, or wanting to learn more about C SHARP.' - Drew Durkin, new@UK, December 2001 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly; 2 edition (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596003099
• ISBN-13: 978-0596003098
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (206 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #756,799 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O'Reilly does it again, August 10, 2001

By	Geoff T. Moller "Mojo" (Santa Monica, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Programming C# (Paperback)

Direct and Intuitive...these are my two words to describe this book. Jesse has exceeded an already high O'Reilly standard with this offering.

I have a basic web background (HTML, XML, JavaScript, CSS, Graphics) and was looking for the one (hopefully) book to help me catch on to C# and the many advanced object oriented concepts that come along with it.

Jesse knows exactly what the object oriented newbie is going to ask, and lets you know exactly what is happening. He knows what will confuse you (me), and clarifies IMMEDIATELY. Having this kind of foresight makes it possible to read this book cover to cover without jumping back to re-learn something that was explained poorly in the first place. The layout in this book is top-shelf.

As C# is completely dependent on the .NET Base Class Libraries, any text on the matter is incomplete without examples of and references to Windows and Web Forms. This book covers Windows Forms, Web forms, Web Services and ADO.NET. (The ADO.NET section is OUTSTANDING)

(If you are ever in doubt about an O'Reilly book, they have the table of contents listed for every item at their site)

I have yet to find a more efficient and easy to read text. Every time I think O'Reilly can't do any better, they come up with something like this.

Your money is well spent here.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for learning C#, November 9, 2002

By	Kevin Pike (Concord, MA) - See all my reviews

This is a great book for learning C#. The first part is an excellent tutorial in the language, just right for experienced C, C++ and Java programmers and for advanced VB6 programmers.

The second part introduces how to use the language to create .net programs. This is a bit superficial, but his goal was only to provide an introduction, and it is a very good introduction. For more detail on really building advanced applications you will need an additional book (like his book on ASP.NET).

The third part of Programming C# goes into advanced topics you won't easily find elsewhere, with excellent coverage of (for example) threading, remoting, reflection, streams and so forth.

Liberty writes well, his examples are terrific, and he makes complex material easily understandable. Further, he supports his book on his web site where he provides not only source code but a discussion center where you can ask questions.

I highly recommend this excellent tutorial.

44 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars O'Reilly quality continues with this great book, July 25, 2001

By	F. P. G. Geerlings (Eindhoven, NB Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Programming C# (Paperback)

As with most other O'Reilly titles, "Programming C#" functions as both a good read and an in-depth work of top quality information.

Programming C# gives an in-depth first look into the C# language that, according to Microsoft, is going to be a very important part of it's .Net strategy, and thus the future of software development. The first part of the book introduces all important concepts that can be found in the C# language. Syntax and object oriented design principles behind the language are explained. (and really, with it's garbage collection, type safety etc. etc. it is almost a 100% Java copy). Part II focusses on some common programming areas where C# is supposed to become big: web-applications, (relational) database handling, and next-generation Windows applications. Special attention is given to topics like ASP.net and ADO. Maybe this chapter could have included some more real-world examples, but as it is it's still quite a realistic look at these areas for C# usage. The last part introduces you to C# and it's hooks to the rest of .Net. This again is a typical example of why you should spend some money on a book by O'reilly and not run out and buy the first "Jumbo 4000 pages .Net Resource Kit" you encounter in a local bookshop from Microsoft Press. You'll get non-bloated information on C#, without all the marketing blah blah Microsoft is surrounding it's new puppy-language with these days. Basic object-oriented principles should be familiar to the reader, since these are not really explained. (but of course, we don't even want that, since we already know all about that, don't we?)

Currently this is without a doubt the best C# book on the market. If now only Bruce Eckel could start with a Thinking in C#...