Microsoft Silverlight Books

A great introduction to the C# language

This book provides an excellent introduction to the C# language. If you're looking for an exhaustive analysis of all of the features in C# through version 3.0, this is not the book for you. However, you will certainly walk away understanding most of the key features of the language.

The topics in this book are explained very well and the author does a good job of explaining in concise detail many of the aspects of C#. For example, delegates are introduced before anonymous methods, which are introduced before lambda expressions, which are then introcuded before LINQ and Events. By the time you get to LINQ, you've become familiar with the syntax lambda expressions and how to interpret them. On the other hand, the section on LINQ is very limited compared to the potential reach of this topic. Many readers will likely find themselves wanting to explore areas of C# further once they have a grasp of the basics in this book.

Although the author does on occasion introduce "best practices" for certain programming patterns as well as common mistakes to avoid, it should be noted that these notes by the author are few and far between. The examples in the book are very simple, all using System.Console. Thus while chapters are completed as the topic has been very well introduced, I sometimes felt like I would have liked to have seen more examples using different applciations. However, I feel the book would have had to be twice as long and the explanations were perfect for the scope of this book.

This author did an excellent job writing this book.

B. McCormack
30 November, 2009

Well organized

1. This book is very easy to understand
2. I love how the author ILLUSTRATE what is being done
3. Author`s approach to the reader is very effective
4. Once a reader get stucked on a line code hard to understand that is considered dead end. But not this book.
5. I have more than 720 books. Most of my engineering books are quite tough to read because author failed how to easily impart information to the reader. But not this author.



E. Antonio
17 November, 2009

Great Introduction to C#

I had previously delved into C# via Wrox Publishing's "Beginning Visual C#" and found it to be a little too convoluted for my taste. I then turned to this book and found that it covered most of the basics of C# clearly and succinctly. While the illustrations certainly helped, the most beneficial aspect of the book is the simple examples (code snippets) that the author uses to demonstrate each topic.

That being said, I do not think that this is a beginning programmer's book. I had previously studied other programming languages (VB, C++, Python) and markup languages (HTML, XML, CSS), and if you have a similar background, you should have no problem launching yourself into C# with this book. If you are new to the programming world, then this book is probably not for you.

All in all, a great place to get started with C#.

D. Call
01 September, 2009

For Experienced Programmers Only

This book is for programmers not individuals new to programming. This book covers C# 2008 pretty well in terms of explaining C# constructs such as how to write a class and explaining all the nuances of it. However, very little to no explanation is given for why you would want to use whatever the author is explaining--the big picture is pretty much missing. This book will work best for someone that already has a basic understanding of the .NET framework and programming and just wants to get up-to-date on C# 2008.

So, why should you read this book?

1) There is a plethora of examples and they all work. I don't think I have ever seen more sample code.
2) This is a deeply object oriented approach to C#, as it should be.
3) You are a programmer and want to get up-to-date on C# 2008--you are not looking to learn how to program.
4) The functional explanations of C# constructs are clear and complete. Hey, the guy has a degree in English and it shows.
5) The book is not terribly long. You will be able to finish it in a reasonable amount of time (726 pages).
6) I found many illustrations useful even though a few seemed redundant.
7) The author's treatment of LINQ was done very well and clearly.
8) Once having read the book and worked the examples you will have solid C# 2008 skills and be ready to extend your knowledge with other books and training materials.
9) It is fun and mostly easy to read.

Okay then what's not to like?

1) My biggest criticism is for the most part there is no discussion of how or why you would apply a particular C# construct being taught. For example, if you were learning to use an auto mechanic's tools you would learn how to use a box wrench, an open end wrench and an adjustable wrench but no idea of why you would choose one wrench over another for a particular task.
2) Inner Exceptions were not covered in the chapter on exceptions.
3) While almost all explanations of C# constructs were done well I felt events in Chapter 16 needed to be reworked--it just wasn't that clear.
4) No treatment of ADO.NET
5) No treatment of XML


Michael Keller
28 July, 2009

Excellent place to start with C#

I think this book is perfect for someone who is coming from another language, but wants to learn C#. The author covers all of the important concepts of the language in a sufficient amount of detail so that you'll get a sense of what the language offers. I wouldn't recommend this book for absolute beginner programmers though because some of the concepts might be hard to digest. But for moderately experienced developers who are newbies to C#, I think this book is excellent.

Paul Gehrman
17 July, 2009