Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform, Fourth Edition (Windows.Net) by Andrew Troelsen Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform, Fourth Edition (Windows.Net)
Book Review: The Best C# Book, Then Period .
Summary: 5 Stars
Any serious C# Developer out there gotta have that profound, well structured textbook. I would like to thank the author for his continuing effort to not only sharpen every new version, but also his clear and simple way of explaining the subject. I've already got the Pro C# 2008 and THE .NET 3.5 Platform. What are you waiting for? Go order a copy at the amazon web site and let the fun begin.Book Review: Really good book to learn C# 3.5, but ...
Summary: 4 Stars
Few reasons why this book was not given 5*****
1. Size of the book. I believe it doesn't need to be this big
2. Order of the chapters is bit distracting. For ex. Linq is introduced in CH14 and no further discussion until CH24
3. Some of the examples are copy and paste from several versions of the same program with minor modifications. So there are slight incompatibilities. Not show stoppers though
4. Real hard topics (Understanding Object lifetime, Behind the scenes of Linq etc.) are more like touch and go type
More or less this is a great book for a bit experienced programmer (C++/Java/C# 2.0). Not for new comers, I guess.
Book Review: Professional, Credible, Insightful...
Summary: 5 Stars
If you have tinkered with C# at all this book is going to take you to levels, that in retrospect, will leave you wondering how you have grown so much. I have read approximately 150 pages of the 1000 plus document and already understand to a great degree the logic and structure behind the .Net Framework.
This book points out very early the fact that C# is directly related to the .Net Framework on an intimate level that will profoundly influence your understanding of and approach to developing systems in the .Net vein with C#. This document will enliven your strategy and empower your ability to leverage technology from a number of different angles within the scope of the .Net Framework as it pertains to C#.
Some really excellent points that are touched upon include: specialized tools for decompiling .Net assemblies, tools for the optimizatiofn of your code and systems, tools that enable you to effectively document your code, some simple examples along with a little tutorial involving the Mono Framework (a.k.a - Linux .Net), and reviews as well as setup instructions for various .Net development tools like Sharp Develop (a free open source C# development IDE that can even be run from a USB Flash Drive).
This book is a defacto tool for anyone wishing to become competent and proficient with C# and .Net cohesively. I actually look forward to reading again and "Pro C# 2008 and the .Net 3.5 Platform" is a hard one to put down. It seems as though that every time I re-read the the material I am seeing something new or finding inspiration to explore topics in a different way. This is probably why I haven't made it past page 150 and that is incredible as in that short a time span I've come to understand and question so much.
This document is truly magnificent. The author is a Microsoft .Net MVP programmer and makes educational software products for children and adolescents. Troelson's expertise hits the mark relentlessly with a delivery that I have yet to find an equal. He cashes in on his own experiences with a damn the torpedos approach and gets you to the town hall ahead of schedule. This man is a master craftsman and should not be overlooked or underestimated and Apress does a fantastic job of showcasing his wisdom with a nicely layed out and sturdy bound hardcover that is still worth the [..], here it's [..] roughly, that I paid for my copy.
If you design or program in C# and you feel that you can take or leave this book do yourself a big favor and check out a few preview chapters of it at the Apress site and see for yourself. Otherwise I would have to merely look on and wish you the best.
Book Review: Wonderful Reference For C# and .NET 3.5
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though I find the Apress look and design to be a bit dry and blah, the content of their books cannot be ignored. With 'Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform', Apress continues their wonderful tradition of great books and this 4th Edition is no different.
With long books like this I like to give a Chapter Overview as I feel it gives a good flavor for BIG books which is necessary:
01. The Philosophy Of .NET
02. Building C# Applications
03. Core C# Programming Constructs, Part I
04. Core C# Programming Constructs, Part II
05. Encapsulated Class Types
06. Inheritance And Polymorphism
07. Exception Handling
08. Object Lifetime
09. Interfaces
10. Collections & Generics
11. Delegates, Events, Lambdas
12. Indexers, Operators, Pointers
13. C# 2008 Language Features
14. LINQ
15. .NET Assemblies
16. Type Reflection, Late Binding, Attribute-Based Programming
17. Processes, Appdomains, Object Contexts
18. Multithreaded Applications
19. CIL And Dynamic Assemblies
20. File I/O And Isolate Storage
21. Object Serialization
22. ADO.NET Part I: Connected Layer
23. ADO.NET Part I: Disconnected Layer
24. Programming With LINQ APIs
25. Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
26. Windows Workflow Foundation (WFF)
27. Programming With Windows Forms
28. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) + XAML
29. WPF Controls
30. WPF 2D Graphical Rendering, Resources, Themes
31. Building ASP.NET Web Pages
32. ASP.NET Web Controls, Themes, Master Pages
33. ASP.NET State Management Techniques
A. COM & .NET Interoperability
B. .NET Development With Mono
As can be seen, this is a VAST book that spans a ton of topics. The only "problem" with books of this sort is that they are not great teaching books in my opinion. You can learn from them, but they are better served as references and a book that has more brevity used to learn the topics here. I would advise the same thing. Programmers that open this book up should have a solid background with a programming language already and if this is the case they will have a lot easier time mucking their way through this text.
Another issue to bring up is that a book this large cannot focus specifically on one topic too much or the length would be 2-3x larger which certainly doesn't work for a 1,500 page book as is. If you need the focus to be web development, this book does a good job of introducing the reader, but only around 100 pages are spent over a couple of chapters. When picking this book up, keep in mind that you are getting a full overview of C#. If you do that you will find this book immensely useful and educational.
***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Book Review: Unabridged information for the serious learner
Summary: 4 Stars
I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about learning C# and is coming from an older .NET platform or from previous C/C++ experience. The book is extremely thick, yes, but wastes little space. The examples are detailed in explaining the topic at hand but do not carry extraneous details that could distract from the current topic.
I would also recommend this book to anyone who might not have constant access to a computer to test out the topics. I find this book to be one of the few programming books that I can sit down with in front of the fire and read without having to get up every five minutes to see how an example really works. This book manages to fully explain the topics in such a way that the explaination is complete; a visit to the computer to try and understand the text is rarely needed.