Best Beginners C# Book

[Ben Kim]

Hello all,

Can any of you recommend some good book titles for someone that has decades
of experience programming various in languages (COBOL, Basic, Clarion,
etc.)? I would like a full understanding of the why's, where's and how's.

Also, what type of limitations have you run across with C# if any? Is C#
single or multiple inheritence capable? Are WinForms easy to implement in
C#? And what of WebForms?

Thank you ahead of time!

Ben

 

[Guest]

Hi ben,

welcome to c# .

There are innumberable good books out there waiting for you. I followed c#
programming from O'Reilly initially, and then moved to professional c# from
wrox.

Other members here might have other good books to tell you about. My
favourite has always been internet and there is no better way to learn than
to participate in discussion form and read articles. Try quickstart tutorials
at www.asp.net

one of the limitations is that you need to have CLR installed in the
computer where you want to run your C# managened code. Second is the speed. I
have observed that some graphic routines running slow. But when .net gets
matured we can see these issues sorted out.

multiple inheritance is supported in c#, but the same way as in C++. in c++
you can inherit from multiple classes, but i C# you can have inherit from
just one class. But you can inherit from more than one interface. This can be
counted as one of the limitations.

Winform is very very easy to implement. with just few drag and drop you can
get a good winform written in managed code!.

webform is the greatest thing to happen in the web application scenario.
First time I saw a real drag and drop support to creating web application.
Production time has come down due to many features. The real beauty is the
speed gained through compiled code behind files.

happy programming!!!

PradeepTP

 

[rossum]

Hello all,

Can any of you recommend some good book titles for someone that has decades
of experience programming various in languages (COBOL, Basic, Clarion,
etc.)? I would like a full understanding of the why's, where's and how's.

Also, what type of limitations have you run across with C# if any? Is C#
single or multiple inheritence capable? Are WinForms easy to implement in
C#? And what of WebForms?

Thank you ahead of time!

Ben

I was in a similar position (Algol 60 anyone?). I used C# Programming
by Jesse Liberty from O'Reilly. The Fourth Edition covers C# v2.0,
..NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005. It does not cover everything, but it
certainly gives you enough to get started, and to get a better handle
on using the extensive Help built into Visual Studio.

The website for the book is www.LibertyAssociates.com.

For a lot of book reviews have a look at the accu site: www.accu.org

The limitations of C#:
Single inheritance only, you have to use Interfaces if you want
something like multiple inheritance.

C# Generics are run-time rather than compile-time so there are a lot
of limitations on what you can do. For example it is very difficult
to use operator+ inside a Generic. You can set constraints using
Interfaces, but overall I find Generics less easy to use than C++
Templates.

Advantages:
Very good for Windows and Web development. Think Visual Basic/Delphi
type development interface with a C-like language behind it. The .NET
Framework is huge - there is far too much in there to fit into a
single book. Most of what you want is in there, it is just a matter
of finding it.

For myself if I want to write a console application I will tend to use
C++, if I am writing a Windows or Web application then I will tend to
use C#. Horses for courses.

HTH

rossum



The ultimate truth is that there is no ultimate truth

 

[Eric]

The other posters gave you great advice, but I also want to point out
that you need to learn about the .NET Framework. This is a separate
platform that sits on top of Windows (or other OS, like linux).

Most people start by learning the C# language, and they pick up the
basics of the Framework as they go along.

Later you can learn about the 3 main core areas: ASP.NET (Web Forms),
Windows Forms, and Web Services.

Liberty's Programming C# book gives an into to the core areas just to
give you a basic idea of what they are all about. You'll need
specialized books on those areas to go beyond the basics.

Liberty mostly focuses on the C# language itself. He's already got his
4th edition out, so the popularity of the book speaks for itself.

I also like C# Unleashed by Joe Mayo.

Eric

 

[Sirkku Willie]

For a beginner I would recommend "IN the KEy of C#" by Petzol. I am using
it to teach my 10 and 12 year olds to program. Another great book for a
beginner is Visual C#.NET Step by Step.