Many publishers have released books for learning C#
programming. But some of these books cover only certain aspects of the C#
language such as ADO.NET, Windows Forms, ASP.NET, etc. There are only very few
books which examine the C# language completely. Moreover, these books are too
bulky to handle. Core C# and .NET covers almost all aspects of the C#
language in a concise format. This book is neither too bulky nor too small but
provides information right from the fundamentals.
This book has been divided into four parts and eighteen
chapters with two useful appendixes. Chapter 1 provides a basic introduction of
the Microsoft .NET Framework and C#. It examines CLR, .NET Framework class
libraries, various tools, and C# Compiler. Chapter 2 examines the core concepts
of the C# language such as operators, loops, strings, arrays, etc. with the
help of source codes.
Chapters 3 and 4 delve deep into various aspects of C# such
as classes, methods, delegates, events, operator overloading, generics,
exception handling, and serialization. You should note that generics are a new
addition to C# 2.0 and have been covered with the help of a complete example.
Chapter 5 provides a comprehensive explanation about strings, StringBuilder class,
streams, and regular expressions.
Chapters 6 and 7 will help you to learn about Windows Forms
and the various .NET controls such as Button, CheckBox, ProgressBar, Timer, etc.
An important point to note is that the functioning of each control has been
explained with the help of relevant codes and screenshots of the final output
produced by each code.
Chapters 8 and 9 provide brief coverage of graphics, images,
fonts, and printing. Chapter 8 includes a sample project: Building a Color Viewer.
I feel that sample projects will surely help a reader grasp the concepts very
easily. Chapters 10, 11, and 12 examine the core concepts such as XML, ADO.NET,
and data binding with Windows Forms controls. Among other topics, you will
learn the usage of GridView class with the help of Chapter 12.
Chapters 13, 14, and 15 throw light upon some of the
advanced concepts such as asynchronous programming and multithreading. These
chapters also cover remoting, security, deployment of applications, and much
more.
If you are a .NET addict with a craze for Internet, then the
chapters inside Part 4 are for you. These chapters examine ASP.NET Web Forms,
usage of code behind techniques, master pages, usage of the web.config file,
caching, Web services, WSDL, SOAP, and lot more. I feel that a project about
developing a shopping cart application would be an added bonus for this part,
and I hope the author will consider this when writing the next edition.
The final section of this book contains two appendixes. One
is about C# 2.0 features, and the other provides information about events and delegates
included with DataGridView controls in a tabular format. At the end, the author
also provides answers to all the questions included with the exercises in each
chapter. I feel that this will be useful for readers who want to know the
answers to all those questions.
Each chapter ends with a short summary and also provides
test questions under the heading “Test Your Understanding”. I found that each
chapter is written in an easy-to-understand language with complete source code.
Some books tend to give portions of code along with explanations, but Core
C# and .NET provides complete source code.
I feel that this book should come with a CD containing the
source code files and some of the freely available editors for programming with
C#. However, the author maintains a website
for the support of this book. The site contains complete source codes, errata,
sample projects covered on the book, links to some of the important websites,
and a useful C# quick reference card in PDF format.
Finally, Core C# and .NET is an exhaustive and
accurate encyclopedia for learning C#. It is an ideal reference book for all
levels of developers. No doubt this book deserves a five-star rating.
About the book
Core C# and .NET by Stephen C. Perry (Prentice Hall
PTR)
Price: USD 49.99
