Looking for C# book recommendation

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gabriel Reid
  • Start date Start date
G

Gabriel Reid

Greetings,

I'm looking for any books that the members of this group may have to
recommend for C#. I have experience with a number of programming languages
(probably most relevant would have to be Java), and have already read 'C#
for Java Developers' from Microsoft Press. I feel as though I have a decent
understanding of C# now, but am interested in taking it to the next level.
In particular, a book with good examples is what I'm interested in.

I'm quite partial to books from O'Reilly (considering getting 'Programming
C#' and /or 'C# in a Nutshell'), but am also open to any suggestions. A
major criteria would be that the book does not require the Visual Studio IDE
to follow its examples. Thanks in advance.


Gabriel Reid
 
Well, since you know the syntax of C# ask yourself what more you want to
learn.
I wouldn't buy a regular C# book, as these are moreover over the language
itself.
I would buy a book like "Component based development in C#" that learns you
more than just the language itself.
I have a couple of books, but I must say, the most I learn from is the msdn
docs. I come across interesting things in there every day!

Greetz,
-- Rob.
 
"Programming C#" (from O'Reilly) is good.

The bright red books from Wrox Press are very good, especially "Beginning
Visual C#" (which is not just for beginners) and the more specialized ones
such as "C# Text Handling," "C# Class Design", etc.
 
Rob Tillie said:
Well,
If everyone does that there will be no more books :(.
Click to expand...

Believe me, those of us who write books have noticed! The computer book
market has collapsed in the past couple of years -- sales are down to maybe
40% of what they used to be (for comparable books, comparing this year's new
releases to earlier years' new releases).

Will people get tired of doing all their writing for free, on web pages?
 
Well, its easier for corps to host all theyre .CHM books on a server and
make it a central repository for a library. Most books come with it on a CD
for that purpose, sure corps buy books but as this is for my personal
reference, i download it. Convience.

Corps invented this money grabbing world, they can pay for it.
 
Gabriel Reid said:
I'm quite partial to books from O'Reilly (considering getting
'Programming C#' and /or 'C# in a Nutshell'), but am also open to any
suggestions. A major criteria would be that the book does not require
the Visual Studio IDE to follow its examples. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I just bought "C# in a Nutshell" yesterday and so far can say I am happy
with my purchase. Most of the other books were just regurgitating the
language reference, etc., but I chose this one because 1) it doesn't assume
I'm an idiot :-), and 2) it has printed references for many (but not all)
of the Framework classes. I liked this because I can just pack it along
when I go out for a walk, and sit down and read anywhere. So, for that
spare 15 minutes somewhere, I can look over the one of those classes or
namespaces I haven't used yet. And the explanations are concise and direct,
rather than rambling on and on.

I haven't seen any references to Visual Studio in it; looks like it may not
use it.
 
Harry Bosch said:
I just bought "C# in a Nutshell" yesterday and so far can say I am happy
with my purchase. Most of the other books were just regurgitating the
language reference, etc., but I chose this one because 1) it doesn't assume
I'm an idiot :-), and 2) it has printed references for many (but not all)
of the Framework classes.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately it's a mostly useless reference, if I remember rightly -
there's too much information to really have in a book, when you usually
need to know details of what parameters are, etc. I find that MSDN is
*much* better for this. (The same is true in Java; I used to use Java
in a Nutshell until Javadocs became frame-based, and I haven't looked
back since.)

Out of interest, have they fixed the error where they claimed that
boolean (or maybe char) was a floating point type? If I remember
correctly, there really are quite a few mistakes in that book. (Not
that it's alone in that, admittedly.)
 
Jon Skeet said:
Unfortunately it's a mostly useless reference, if I remember rightly -
there's too much information to really have in a book, when you
usually need to know details of what parameters are, etc. I find that
MSDN is *much* better for this. (The same is true in Java; I used to
use Java in a Nutshell until Javadocs became frame-based, and I
haven't looked back since.)
Click to expand...

I agree -- when I'm at the computer, I use the online docs from MS (and
also agree about the Java docs). My interest was mostly in something I
could lug around, without up using several ink cartridges printing a
portable copy of own :-)

But you're also right about the amount of information they present. As
they point out in their intro, the framework class library reference
section was generated via the reflection api, so there is little
information other than the class, method, and argument names.

Still, I'm happy with it for what it intends to be. I didn't want
something from which to learn the language. In fact, it may not be a very
good book for someone just starting out with C#.
Out of interest, have they fixed the error where they claimed that
boolean (or maybe char) was a floating point type? If I remember
correctly, there really are quite a few mistakes in that book. (Not
that it's alone in that, admittedly.)
Click to expand...

I haven't seen that error -- yet :-) In the intro chapter on basic types,
neither bool nor char are classified as floating-point types. That's such
a serious error, I'd have to give them the benefit of the doubt and
assume it is a really bad typo (which doesn't forgive it, of course).
Perhaps the error occurs later in the book...
 
If you do not have a copy of C# yet, you might get Microsoft's Visual C
Sharp .NET Step by Step Version 2003 Deluxe Learning Edition. It comes with
VC# Standard 2003. The only problems that I encountered are that you must
pony up for VC# Professional (no longer sold separately, you must by the
studio) to implement the control lessons and the instructions for installing
the database do not work. On the later, I found three separate issues.
First, the book claims that MSDE installer is copied to your folder by the
VC# installer. However, that is not the case. I had to download it. Once
there, the book lists the incorrect SQL Server service name. (You need to
tell Windows to start the service on NT platforms.) Finally, even after I
modified the command that is supposed to install the sample database
(Nothwind) to reflect the correct service name, that command still fails for
an unknown reason. (See my separate post in
Microsoft.public.sqlserver.setup.)

Now if that does not put you off, you might try it. VC# Standard apparently
retails for almost as much as the book (about $119). That alone makes it a
good deal if you do not already have the compiler. Plus, I just happen to
know where you can get a copy for just $79 (what I paid). Try
www.bookpool.com. Yes, this is one of those books with the red cover.

If you do buy a copy, do be aware that Microsoft has been shipping copied
that were missing some or all of the disks. In my case, Bookpool delayed
shipment because it was known that the copies they had were missing MSDN
(which is available at http://msdn.microsoft.com anyway without CD).
Microsoft, for some reason, had just shipped me MSDN separately. When
Bookpool did ship, that copy was missing the compiler (although MSDN was
present). I was given a special number that Microsoft Press customers can
call to order missing items. They shipped me all of the disks that were
supposed to be included in the box -- including MSDN. So be prepared to end
up with 3 copies of MSDN and having to wait a while for your book. Beyond
that, a good book that is just a little tedious for more experienced
programmers, but not tedious enough for the real beginners.
 
Two great books that give a solid foundation and a lot
behind the scenes knowledge:

"Applied .Net Framework Programming (C# version)"
by Jeffrey Richter

"Inside C#, 2nd Ed"
by Archer and Whitechapel

neither book requires VS.net and they are strong on
examples.

you might be able to find them at a half price book store
too.

Jason
 
I just bought "C# in a Nutshell" yesterday and so far can say I am happy
Unfortunately it's a mostly useless reference, if I remember rightly -
there's too much information to really have in a book, when you usually
need to know details of what parameters are, etc. I find that MSDN is
*much* better for this. (The same is true in Java; I used to use Java
in a Nutshell until Javadocs became frame-based, and I haven't looked
back since.)
Click to expand...

It's the book that I learnt C# from a couple of months ago..

I swap between languages alot (I used Java, C and Ada last term at uni), and I
find that the O'Reilly Nutshell books are really good. I didn't need a book
that would go through the basics, just something that told me the syntax.

I tend to Google alot when I'm coding, but I like to have a reference book
close at hand aswell (if only just for an excuse to look away from the screen
for a few seconds..).
Out of interest, have they fixed the error where they claimed that
boolean (or maybe char) was a floating point type? If I remember
correctly, there really are quite a few mistakes in that book. (Not
that it's alone in that, admittedly.)
Click to expand...

I've not noticed any errors so far (that I can remember anyway..).
 
If everyone does that there will be no more books :(.
I am in no way condoning piracy, and I don't think it's not a problem.
But I don't think it's fair to blame the whole 40% decrease in sales
on piracy.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't mean to blame piracy at all. The World Wide Web has really
cut into the market for books because so much information is so easily
available without going to the bookstore. There's nothing morally wrong
with this at all -- I'm not one of those people who whine "unfair" whenever
something cuts into their market share.
Consider that there are far fewer programmers employed now
than in recent years, that those who are employed have less money to
buy books left and right, and that the book expense budget of most
companies has decreased from where it was in recent years. All of
those things add up to fewer tech books being sold.
Click to expand...

Yes, the overall weakening of the economy affects us a lot. Books are one
of the first things a contract- or free-lance programmer will try to do
without when his income drops.
 
Back
Top