A Programmer’s Introduction to C#, Second Edition

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A Programmer s Introduction to C#, Second Edition

Programmersseeking a quality book to teach them about Microsoft s newest language, C#,need not look any further than A Programmer s Introduction to C#. Thissecond edition updates the original April 2000 release with a more solidifieddiscussion of this powerful language s constructs. And readers need not fretover waiting for the next edition; Apress offers free electronic updates tothis title when a reader registers their ownership of the book on Apress Website.

C# takesthe best programming attributes of Java, C++, VB, and Delphi and combines themin a C++-meets-Java syntax. Though it s obvious Microsoft intends to make C#compete head-on with Java, it is still unclear whether the language will beadopted beyond Microsoft s Windows platform.

AuthorEric Gunnerson has an advantage over other C# tutorial authors because he was amember of Microsoft s C# Quality Assurance design team, and has a solidunderstanding of C# s capabilities. The book includes a foreword written byC# s main designer Anders Hejlsberg, the man responsible for the evolution ofObject Pascal with Borland s successful Delphi IDE.

Unlikethe formal C# reference published by MSDN, A Programmer s Introduction to C#first illustrates basic OOP techniques and shows how C# adopts these. Then itwalks through the unique aspects of C# that make this language a powerfulprogramming syntax to consider. Reading the book brings a greater level ofappreciation for the language s design, and enhances abilities beyond Java byincluding such features as support for multiple interfaces; boxing and unboxing(the ability to make value types look like reference/object types); jumpstatements (including support for the dreaded goto keyword); delegation;threading; calling COM and Native DLLs from C#; .NET Framework built-in supportfor binary, text, and XML (and using XML structured comments to generate codedocumentation); reflection (self-describing class interfaces); conditionalcompiler statements, including assertions and trace; and even the ability tosupport unsafe code (code unprotected by the .NET Framework run time andrequired for fast access to resources and structures via pointers).

Only oneof the many examples in the book recommends using the Visual Studio .NET IDE.Every other code sample can be compiled by simply installing the .NET SDK. Assuch, be prepared to work with Notepad and the csc command linecompiler. And while some readers might be disappointed that no CD-ROM containingthe book s sample code accompanies the title, the examples are short enough toquickly type in, compile, and execute. I found this approach much moreconducive to learning C# because it forced me to reinforce my learning of thelanguage s syntax and behaviors by manually entering the code. The book alsocontains a helpful chapter comparing and contrasting C# with C++, Java, andVisual Basic 6.

Overall,I was highly satisfied with the quality and clarity the author provided in thesecond edition of A Programmer s Introduction to C#. I was so impressedwith the quality and value of this title that I hope we see a follow up by theauthor on advanced C# topics.

Mike Riley

A Programmer s Introduction to C#, Second Edition by Eric Gunnerson, Apress, http://www.apress.com.

Rating:

ISBN:1-893115-62-3

CoverPrice: US$39.95

(540pages)