C# 3.0 Unleashed: With the .NET Framework 3.5 (Unleashed)

Whether you need an approachable on-ramp to .NET or you want to enhance your skills, C# 3.0 Unleashed is a comprehensive, in-depth guide to the solutions you seek. You?ll learn to do more with the new tools that are available, including Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework Class Libraries. Throughout this book, you?ll get a practical look at what can be the most useful tools for any given task. You?ll also learn common traps to avoid and learn insightful tips that will save you time and help you be more productive.

 

C# 3.0 Unleashed contains complete coverage of the C# programming language. The author covers all the essential syntax, but keeps the focus on practical application. The chapters are arranged to take you step-by-step from the core of the C# language to elements of the .NET Framework, and further into advanced concepts on distributed n-tier Internet applications. Additionally, C# 3.0 Unleashed shows you how to debug, monitor, and scale enterprise applications, enabling you to use the C# programming language to ship the right code at the right time.

 

What?s included in this book:

A complete reference for C# syntax, object oriented programming, and component programming with C# Comprehensive data coverage through ADO.NET and LINQ An introduction to UI technologies, including Windows Forms, WPF, ASP.NET Ajax, and Silverlight Coverage of traditional ASMX and WCF Web Services Coverage of multiple .NET technologies, including networking, instrumentation, interop, and multi-threading In-depth discussion of platform concepts including CLR, Garbage Collection, Type System, Assemblies, and Code Access Security Guidance on design and architecture for a big-picture view and essential help in piecing together all you?ve learned

User review
Solid, but that's about it.
When I decided to get into .NET development many years ago, I bought Mastering Visual C# .NET by Sybex Publishing. It was an excellent choice and got me up and running very quickly. Now, many years later in C++ programming, I decided to get back into C# and .NET and this is one of the books I considered among many others. After checking the Table of Contents and what it offers I was pretty sure this the right thing. However, I must say that I am disappointed. Many reviewers complained about spelling mistakes, but I am not going into that. A book of 1000+ pages is bound to have mistakes and these mistakes do not give ambiguous meanings. They just unfortunately occurred. So, why am I giving it three stars? Well, although Mr. Mayo spent a lot of time on planning what to cover and defining informational contents, he failed in one important thing. This is a book on programming and this book needed more complete codes and solutions. This is especially true of Chapter 18 that covers lambda expressions. Lambda expressions and LINQ go hand in hand and lambda is a big thing when it comes to anonymous types and LINQ, but the chapter 18 is very small, poor coding examples and the explanations of certain aspects on lambda are coming like a torrent at you. There is so much different information in each paragraph that I got an impression that the author just wants to get this chapter over with. At the end I spent more time checking MSDN for clarification.
Quite a handful of chapters at the beginning are awesome, but they are good for those who are already comfortable with C#. Beginners will have hard time figuring some parts of the language and technology. If you want to learn XML reading and writing look somewhere else for in-depth details. The chapter on ADO.NET Entity Framework and ADO.NET Data Services are very small and poor, but this is quite justified because these two technologies deserve their own books.
On the bright side, I enjoyed Part 8 of the book. It describes N-Tier technologies, working with and developing patterns, etc. This is a nice part of the book and beginners should really check this out and begin practicing these guidelines.

To make a long story short, this book is not entirely for beginners. It lacks quality code samples. Partial code is good for seasoned developers but beginners would want to see the code in action. Authors that write books on programming languages should follow Deitel and Deitel's style of writing and provide exercises.

User review
Alright, This Guy Can Really Write a Great Explanation
I'm an intermediate level .NET, C# programmer and I was a bit fuzzy on the concept of generics. A few pages into the topic, and I had the answers I was looking for to solve my specific problem. I now know when to use them, why, and how best to go about it. A really amazing reference.

User review
Excellent book for Experienced developers!
Prior to opening the book, I didn't expect a guide for novices and once opened, was pleasantly rewarded to learn that my expectations held true: per page 2 `Novices may want to start with something at the introductory level,,.`; this book isn't about learning the basics - although, a reasonable amount of time is spent on the tarmac before the reader takes flight (heck, even the back cover of the book lists the USER LEVEL as INTERMEDIATE and certainly not beginner!).

No real issue here about the amount of code in the book: complete code for the examples is available on the web - which just about covers the code delivery method for most tech books.

I can't talk about author's intent but can say that some of the snippets were bare to the point of reticence. But, an interesting thing happened while mentally working those examples. I found myself turning approaching them from many angles and ultimately gained a deeper understanding. It's kinda like being given all the cues and the mental nudge to mentally unlock a puzzle - I found myself having the proverbial moments 'oh I get it!' many times over. I suppose novice programmers might find this approach challenging but those who've been around the block may appreciate the mental exercise and the rewards received :)

Focusing on aspects that without question inspire, I think the book really shines in terms of the depth. The author deeply covers lots of material. A discussion that really stands out for me is his discussion on ENUMERATIONS - it really hits the spot! Generics and in particular LINQ are hot topics for me,,. I once had the notion LINQ was all about SQL - but that's not true. It's all about Generics and the infamous IEnumerable - powerful stuff !!

All in all, the book serves not only to teach (and reinforce the fundamentals) but also to think about 'the new stuff' and how it might be applied to both existing apps and those yet to be created. I recommend this book to you and hope that you get out of it as much as I did :)


User review
OMG, the errors
This book in no way deserves 5 stars. It is, in my opinion, quite well organized and a thorough introduction. But the editing errors are absurd. One reviewer called it `one or two per chapter`, but he obviously lost track. It's literally at least every few pages. Incorrect/swapped diagrams. Code samples in the wrong place. Code samples with incorrect output. Chapter 5 on strings, the material is almost indecipherable until you realize that you need to simply ignore the code samples, because most of them omit the output that would be what you're looking for, some omit setup steps, and some are just incorrect. (Those are the big ones; then you need to add in things like the -- operator being replaced by an n-dash,,.)

It is literally wearing me out trying to figure out exactly what the author meant in spite of all the errors. I own and have read hundreds of technical books, and this is by far the poorest job of editing I've ever read. All the more pity because if it had been competently edited, it would really be a 5-star book!

And a minor quibble: I really wish he hadn't decided to refer to `implementing` methods when he meant `call` or `use` or even `invoke` if he felt the need to use a fancy word.

User review
Good for intermediate programmers new to C#, useless for beginners
I am a 20-year veteran programmer who needs to transition from VB to C#. On the recommendation of a few peers, I bought this book.

My first observation: This book is obviously written by an expert who has no business attempting to write an introductory book. This book is NOT FOR BEGINNERS. If you are a beginner programmer and are contemplating buying this book to learn C#, save your money. The author simply makes far too many jumps and leaves too many gaps - skipping over things that are no problem for me, and that he obviously didn't think to explain - but that will leave a beginning programmer mystified.

The layout of the book is good, and the progression is what you would expect. For me, the book was an excellent `here's what you need to know about C#` book. Some of the chapters I was able to skip entirely. However, in my opinion, the author has simply tried to cram too much stuff into 1300(!) pages, meaning that every topic is briefly discussed, with no real detail on anything. This book will be useless as a reference book in the future, because it does not go into enough depth, and doesn't completely cover every topic.

So for me, it was a good book to get me up to speed. But it does have one SERIOUS PROBLEM: Errors. Whoever did the editing on this book should be fired. The number of blatant errors I found in even just the first few chapters are obscene. Things like diagrams listed in the wrong order, code snippets with missing or incorrect lines, or just outright wrong or contradictory information in the text. Several times I found myself puzzling over trying to comprehend some information that the author was attempting to convey, only to discover that the reason I wasn't `getting it` is because of an error in the book. I found myself reading this book with a pencil, so that I could mark my own corrections, should I need to come back to this book in the future. That is frustrating. One or two errors is to be expected in a 1300-page book. One or two errors per CHAPTER is inexcusable.