Microsoft Silverlight Books

Not a book for those wanting to progress from beginner to intermediate in C#

I have to echo Michael Beane's comments:
"This would be a rough way to try to learn C#. The stylistic hallmark is short declarative sentences which are accurate but not necessarily helpful to the learner."
I am an experienced programmer wanting to move on to C# and I started with the Excellent SAMs C# 24 hr book -
a delight to use.
Now seeking an intermediate level book I bought this book - and as soon as I started to read it - I regretted my purchase!
The opening "hello world" programme with its unnecessarily complex code (defeats the purpose of the simple - introductory code example?) and equally obscure and unhelpful comments is an indication of what is to come.

In no way is this a book for those wishing to progress in visual C# - I can't tell whether it is helpful to already experienced C# programmers.

The level indicator on the back cover is misleading and should be revised upwards before any future print-run is published.

All I would say is notwithstanding it may be technically excellent but the writing style is abysmal - I certainly wont be buying any more books from either this author or series!!!

richard willis


Richard Willis
18 May, 2010

Don't Use 1-Click Ordering or Purchase Elsewhere

Unfortunately, this review of this product has to get one star only because of Amazon.com's poor 1-Click Ordering. Granted I don't buy from Amazon.com frequently as I can find the same items from other online websites; however, I decided to purchase this product using 1-Click Ordering. Doing this, I was charged the Standard Shipping versus given a choice to select the free Super Saver shipping. I reviewed my options and I couldn't set the shipping settings to select Super Saver shipping. I call Amazon.com's customer service, and unfortunately and expectantly, absolutely nothing can be done for me as my order had been already shipped.

Peter Tran
24 February, 2009

This book will make sense to you if you already know C#

This would be a rough way to try to learn C#. The stylistic hallmark is short declarative sentences which are accurate but not necessarily helpful to the learner. For example, consider this gem of a definition of generic methods from chapter 7: "Generic methods have type parameters. These parameters can be used in the method header or body. An open method has type parameters, which are nonspecific. A closed method has type arguments, where specific types are substituted for type parameters. For a generic method, the type parameters are listed after the function name. The type parameter list is enclosed in angle brackets. Each parameter is comma-delimited." Accurate? Sure. Will you know how to write a generic method, or why you would want to? Hardly. This is by no means an isolated example.

The alert beginner will know they are in trouble in the first chapter, when the obligatory "Hello, World" program is presented. This one includes a wrinkle I have not seen before and hope not to see again: it uses delegates, a fairly advanced C# feature. The explanation that follows the program source says, "Delegates define a type of function pointer." That's it. Next!

You really get the sense that the author's purpose is more to demonstrate how much he knows about the subject than to help you understand it. I am not looking for hand holding of the "3 comes after 2, am I going too fast?" variety. But this is ridiculous. The organization of the book -- broad and fairly thorough coverage of C#, with extensive coverage of .NET and Visual Studio as well -- might lead you to believe it is an appropriate first book. It isn't.

Michael Beane
02 December, 2008

Another great resource from Donis Marshall

This is an excellent resource for developers who want to learn C#. It includes code samples and advanced topics that can be applied to help even a basic C# programmer build robust applications. I recommend this as the only reference you will need for Visual C#.

Amy Vargo
14 July, 2008

A MUST have C# book

Anyone can learn C# in order to complete a given task. Mastering C#, however, is another matter.

While one can combine several resources (magazine articles, web pages, friends, colleagues, etc) along with considerable time to learn C#, what one often needs is a good book. A GREAT book will guide you through the design of the language and help you understand how to use all its features to accomplish more with less effort.

Donis' book is a great example of a really GREAT book that will save novice C# developers weeks of effort and will help experienced developers solidify their knowledge and skills.

And unlike many existing texts, this book is bang up to date covering some of C# 2008's awesome and much misunderstood features such as generics and anonymous methods.

In short, if you want to REALLY get to grips with C# and master this amazingly powerful language, this book is an essential purchase that will pay for itself many times over.

Rich Turner
09 July, 2008