Book with example

[simonZ]

I would like to buy a book with some windows application example in C# net ,
but all books I have found are only about theory. I would like to have a
book, where is explained how to create application from begining to the end.
Is there any book with any practical example?

Thank you for yours help,
Simon

 

[Mike]

I haven't found one in C# but I found a few with Java.
In my opinon there needs to be more books like that. Still show the
fundenmentails of the .NET framework but do a complete app (windows or web)
from start to finish so the person reading the book has a better
understanding of whats going on, instead of showing code snippets that half
the time don't compile and the reader is still confused and has to google or
ask questions.

I would like to see a .NET book that covers the creation of an application
from beginning to end,
GUI design, Database connections, testing, deploy to servers, etc, something
like an application that is used in the real world. yes i know every app is
different, but every app has security, accesses a database, shows data,
inserts data, etc and then is deployed to a server. So why not have a book
that shows all of this from start to finish instead of bouncing around a
book and trying to get code snippets to work?

 

[Bob Johnson]

Most any introductory book will start off with a "hello world" sample
applicaiton. That's your "complete application from beginning to end." It
may not be a "complete application" because it is so incredibly small. But
it is still a "complete application." Beyond "hello world" it's so totally
open-ended as to [what a "complete application" even is]; that it is up to
you to define. Do you consider an application to be incomplete because it
does not talk to a database? That would be a totally valid opinion. The
opposite would be equally valid.

What might be helpful is for you dive into one or more [reference
applications]. These are completely functional applications that come with
all source code and necessary resources, and typically thorough
documentation (terse as it may be in the code) including an eBook in many
cases. The idea is that you install a reference application on your
development box, run it, and then dive into the code to see how it works.
This is an incredibly useful learning tool.

Here are some links to a few reference applications. I'm sure you can find
more.
Windows Forms
http://devcenter.infragistics.com/RefApps/Tracker/Tracker.aspx


Web Applications
http://devcenter.infragistics.com/RefApps/Expense/Expense.aspx

http://www.asp.net/downloads/starterkits/default.aspx?tabid=62 (reference
apps, aka "starter kits" here)


WPF
http://wpf.netfx3.com/blogs/news_an...y-show-a-great-wpf-reference-application.aspx

HTH

 

[Mike]

I was just making a comment. I've been coding in .NET since beta and learned
as I coded or buying book after book after book or by using Google to find
what i was trying to do and to 'put the pieces together for my apps.

Is 'hello world' an application? yes. I was just saying I have several Java
books that starts out with 'hello world' as well, but then gets into,
creating a GUI, accessing a database, showing data, updating, data,
compiling the app, deploying the app, security, etc. and by reading that
book it gave me a better understanding of what I need to do when creating an
application within Java from what to look for when compiling, creating a
install package, etc.

yeah now a days there are tons of sites out there that have starter kits
from winform apps, web apps and even some hand held device applications,
which makes development easier for developers these days.
But what I'm seeing (and I'm not saying all developers just a few I've
talked to or worked with) with all of these 'starter kits' and drag and drop
code, and the controls that .NET has now and all of the third party tools
out there, developers aren't really understanding of whats going on. For
example, I have a BA that created this incredible application for his area
and doesn't know much about programming. He used everything that .NET
provides which made it a snap for him to create this app. But when he got
some requests in for some customizations he was clueless because he didn't
know how to write a line of code. He used a starter kit and just pointed his
grid, drop downs, etc to his database,

So is 'hello world' an app? Yes

does every app need to talk to a db? NO

but do developers need to understand how an application works from front to
back without the use of widgets, starter kits, etc,? In my opinon yes.

I agree with eveything you said and the web sites are great learning tools
as well.

its like, there never is a wrong way to code something (unless it doesn't
work) because there are a 1000 different ways to get to that same result.
this is kind of the same thing

Most any introductory book will start off with a "hello world" sample
applicaiton. That's your "complete application from beginning to end." It
may not be a "complete application" because it is so incredibly small. But
it is still a "complete application." Beyond "hello world" it's so totally
open-ended as to [what a "complete application" even is]; that it is up to
you to define. Do you consider an application to be incomplete because it
does not talk to a database? That would be a totally valid opinion. The
opposite would be equally valid.

What might be helpful is for you dive into one or more [reference
applications]. These are completely functional applications that come with
all source code and necessary resources, and typically thorough
documentation (terse as it may be in the code) including an eBook in many
cases. The idea is that you install a reference application on your
development box, run it, and then dive into the code to see how it works.
This is an incredibly useful learning tool.

Here are some links to a few reference applications. I'm sure you can find
more.
Windows Forms
http://devcenter.infragistics.com/RefApps/Tracker/Tracker.aspx


Web Applications
http://devcenter.infragistics.com/RefApps/Expense/Expense.aspx

http://www.asp.net/downloads/starterkits/default.aspx?tabid=62 (reference
apps, aka "starter kits" here)


WPF
http://wpf.netfx3.com/blogs/news_an...y-show-a-great-wpf-reference-application.aspx

HTH

I would like to buy a book with some windows application example in C# net
, but all books I have found are only about theory. I would like to have a
book, where is explained how to create application from begining to the
end. Is there any book with any practical example?

Thank you for yours help,
Simon

 

[gregarican]

I was just making a comment. I've been coding in .NET since beta and learned
as I coded or buying book after book after book or by using Google to find
what i was trying to do and to 'put the pieces together for my apps.

Is 'hello world' an application? yes. I was just saying I have several Java
books that starts out with 'hello world' as well, but then gets into,
creating a GUI, accessing a database, showing data, updating, data,
compiling the app, deploying the app, security, etc. and by reading that
book it gave me a better understanding of what I need to do when creating an
application within Java from what to look for when compiling, creating a
install package, etc.

yeah now a days there are tons of sites out there that have starter kits
from winform apps, web apps and even some hand held device applications,
which makes development easier for developers these days.
But what I'm seeing (and I'm not saying all developers just a few I've
talked to or worked with) with all of these 'starter kits' and drag and drop
code, and the controls that .NET has now and all of the third party tools
out there, developers aren't really understanding of whats going on. For
example, I have a BA that created this incredible application for his area
and doesn't know much about programming. He used everything that .NET
provides which made it a snap for him to create this app. But when he got
some requests in for some customizations he was clueless because he didn't
know how to write a line of code. He used a starter kit and just pointed his
grid, drop downs, etc to his database,

So is 'hello world' an app? Yes

does every app need to talk to a db? NO

but do developers need to understand how an application works from front to
back without the use of widgets, starter kits, etc,? In my opinon yes.

I agree with eveything you said and the web sites are great learning tools
as well.

its like, there never is a wrong way to code something (unless it doesn't
work) because there are a 1000 different ways to get to that same result.
this is kind of the same thing

Most any introductory book will start off with a "hello world" sample
applicaiton. That's your "complete application from beginning to end." It
may not be a "complete application" because it is so incredibly small. But
it is still a "complete application." Beyond "hello world" it's so totally
open-ended as to [what a "complete application" even is]; that it is up to
you to define. Do you consider an application to be incomplete because it
does not talk to a database? That would be a totally valid opinion. The
opposite would be equally valid.

What might be helpful is for you dive into one or more [reference
applications]. These are completely functional applications that come with
all source code and necessary resources, and typically thorough
documentation (terse as it may be in the code) including an eBook in many
cases. The idea is that you install a reference application on your
development box, run it, and then dive into the code to see how it works.
This is an incredibly useful learning tool.

Here are some links to a few reference applications. I'm sure you can find
more.
Windows Forms
http://devcenter.infragistics.com/RefApps/Tracker/Tracker.aspx

Web Applications
http://devcenter.infragistics.com/RefApps/Expense/Expense.aspx

http://www.asp.net/downloads/starterkits/default.aspx?tabid=62 (reference
apps, aka "starter kits" here)

- Show quoted text -

I hear you. That's what I found as a rule with a lot of programming
language books. Common elements of them --- data types, iterators,
operators, etc. are covered but in a rather shotgun approach. Most of
these types of books provide the information without some central
theme to tie them together.

Although not a C# book, one of the best examples of a incremental
application development book I have seen in a long time is The Dolphin
Smalltalk Companion (http://www.a1books.com/cgi-bin/mktSearch?
act=showDesc&code=gbase&rel=1&ITEM_CODE=0201737930#minPrice). The book
starts out small with forms, controls, etc. But each chapter builds
upon the previous one until near the end of the book you have built an
application that is used to manage a car racing team. By that point
the reader has a firm grasp on using the IDE, understanding object
oriented concepts, implementing a MVC/MVP framework, etc. A decent
read that does a similar incremental approach to application
development is Sams Teach Yourself Visual C# 2005 in 24 Hours (http://
www.a1books.com/cgi-bin/mktSearch?act=showDesc&ITEM_CODE=0672327406&WVSESSION_ID=1101229513).
You are building a graphical viewer program.

More books should take an incremental approach so that the knowledge
is practical, applicable, and (perhaps most important) enjoyable.

 

[Bob Johnson]

Hi Mike,

RE:
<< developers aren't really understanding of whats going on >>
and
<< He used a starter kit and just pointed his grid, drop downs, etc to his
database >>

Reference applications are supposed to be _learning_ tools. Perhaps they are
the most powerful learning tools out there.
If someone takes a starter kit and tries to use it as a foundation for a
custom application - then that person did something stupid. It is not an
indictment of [reference app or starter kit as _learning_ tool].

RE:
<< but do developers need to understand how an application works from front
to back without the use of widgets, starter kits, etc,? In my opinon yes. >>

Duh.

Widgets (I suppose you mean 3rd party controls) are big productivity
boosters. They are intended to hide complexity and let you focus on solving
a business problem. Again, if some lazy idiot doesn't understand the
intended role and instead treats the control(s) as a shortcut, then that is
an indictment of the idiot and not of 3rd party controls in general.

When the OP stated he wanted a book to basically hold his hand through the
process, he sounded like someone looking for a better learning experience -
better than learning fragments. Books understandable can't get you the best
learning experience. Thus the suggestion that he grab a relevant reference
application (relevant being the Infragistics link I provided) and get to
disecting and reading.

The process of going through a reference application and its comprehensive
documentation is far from a "free-for-all" fragment presentation that we see
in many books. Having live source code to step through brings the subject
alive. Plus you don't have to plough through chapters that are not
relevant - just to keep up with the author's logical yet arbitrary
progression through the development of the book's sample app.

So please don't criticize perhaps the most powerful learning tool out there
(reference applications) and discourage the OP from pursuing it as such
simply because you are aware that lazy idiots can use a reference app as a
shortcut to understanding what's going on.

-FWIW

 

[Mike]

I'm not criticizing anything or anyone. Learn as you see fit for your style
and ability. Again, I was just making a comment.

 

[Mr. Arnold]

I would like to buy a book with some windows application example in C# net
, but all books I have found are only about theory. I would like to have a
book, where is explained how to create application from begining to the
end. Is there any book with any practical example?

http://www.lhotka.net/Article.aspx?id=1351540e-b941-446a-bacb-e0059cc82ee7