Windows Forms Programming with C#

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Windows Forms Programming with C#

The subtitle of Windows Forms Programming with C# couldhave been, Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About .NET Windows FormsControls, as it provides extensive detail about every major common control andWindows Form widget that ships with Visual Studio .NET. It also covers indetail the classes behind the controls. Author Erik Brown walks you through theconstruction of the book s central application, an imaging viewing PhotoAlbum application authored in C#. When you re-create this program, you learnhow C# can generate a program with the look and feel of a traditional MFC-basedapplication.

Although the book stays true to its instructionalobjective, it stops short of providing a comprehensive tome on the subject. Apaltry 38-page chapter talks about data-binding controls, which, in my opinion,are the controls Windows Forms applications likely will leverage the most. Italso lacks examples of connecting Web service results with form widgets. Mostdisappointing is the book doesn t cover how to extend the control s baseclasses into user-defined descendents.

In essence, Windows Forms Programming with C#clearly shows the coding advantages of using C# for Windows Forms, but it failsto demonstrate the visual advantages of using C# managed code vs. old-fashionedMFC.

You can download the book s source code from thepublisher s Web site, and Manning Publications has also offered an electronicedition of the book available for $13.50 (plus a $3.50 service charge); you canapply this charge toward the hard copy of the book if you choose to purchaseit. Offers like this are encouraging to see, especially in light of the tabletPCs coming to the masses that will accelerate the transaction and consumptionof this type of content.

Mike Riley

Windows Forms Programming with C#, by Erik Brown, Manning Publications, http://www.manning.com

Rating:

ISBN:1930110286

Cover Price:US$49.95

(752pages)