Programming C#, 3rd Edition

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Programming C#, 3rd Edition

As the old adage goes, "the third time's the charm." Thisis certainly the case with Jesse Liberty's third edition of his Programming C# book(O'Reilly). In thealready overcrowded C# tutorial book market, Programming C# stands out as one of the best, and the revisionsmade to the third edition aim to keep its pole position for the foreseeablefuture.

The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 thoroughlyeducates you on the syntax and proper usage of the C# keywords and constructs.Chapters cover everything from general object-oriented language fundamentals(classes, objects, inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism, and so on) to themore interesting aspects of the C# language such as operator overloading,boxing/unboxing objects, and working with arrays, collections, indexers,strings, and regular expressions. Part 2 leads you through several real-worldprograms, effectively applying what was learned in Part 1 to liveimplementations. You will construct both desktop Windows and Web-centricapplications that do everything from connecting to databases to consuming andserving Web services. Part 3 is all about specific .NET and Visual Studio .NETdetails as they apply to the Common Language Runtime (CLR). These chapters rangefrom assemblies and versioning, attributes and reflection, marshalling andremoting, threads and synchronization, streams, and .NET and COMinteroperability. An appendix listing and defining C# keywords closes the book.

If you've been won over by the first and second editionsalready, the third edition revisions update the book to reflect changes inversion 1.1 of the .NET Framework, and it uses Visual Studio .NET 2003 toconstruct Web- and GUI-based C# applications. Additionally, Chapter 12 (Delegatesand Events) has been almost entirely rewritten to help clarify this moreadvanced topic. Finally, the new edition is peppered with bountiful tips formigrating C++ and Java developers, accelerating the learning process for thesereaders.

Although the book is geared toward an introductory tointermediate audience, programmers already familiar with the C family oflanguages (C/C++/Java) definitely have an advantage over Visual Basic andDelphi developers due to the C-style syntax of many of the statements andstructures used in C#. Nevertheless, Liberty's writing style is like that of anefficient mentor - he patiently reiterates important points even though anexplanation has been expanded already a paragraph or two earlier. I canpractically hear the voices of my most effective instructors in his writingwhen he practices this tutoring approach.

The other notable tone of Jesse's style is that he isobviously an enthusiastic C# advocate who appreciates the language'ssophisticated advantages while not crossing the line into an advertorial forMicrosoft's new language. Lastly, the content is lean and buffed - virtually nopage filler in this title.

Owners of the previous editions probably don't need topurchase this latest revision, especially if you're actively practicing C#coding techniques in your daily tasks. But if you're a C, C++, Delphi, Java, orVB programmer ready to take the plunge, ProgrammingC# definitely belongs on your bookshelf.

- Michael Riley

Programming C#, 3rd Edition, by JesseLiberty

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Publisher:O'Reilly: http://www.oreilly.com

ISBN:0596004893

Price: $44.95