Aimed at the reader with some previous programming experience, C# and the .NET Platform provides an enjoyable and well-paced tutorial for learning C# and Microsoft's new .NET Framework. This well-written guide is all you need to get onboard with the latest in Windows development.

Today, there are a growing number of titles available for C#. This text strikes an excellent balance between a basic language tutorial with an authoritative presentation of what's new and better in .NET with coverage of the some of the inner details of the platform, including deployment. The author's patient writing style is never dull or overly technical, which will mean this book is a good choice for a wide range of readers approaching C# from a variety of languages including C++, Java, and Visual Basic.

At certain points, the author looks at "intermediate language" (IL) bytecodes that underlie the C# language. This is particularly informative in chapters that look at assemblies and deployment. As a tour of the basics of the C# language, this book distinguishes itself with short, effective examples (many of which use a set of classes modeling cars). Coverage of programming Windows Forms is really good, as is the chapter on getting the older COM and .NET components to interoperate. The focus of this book is mostly on traditional client-side development, though it does cover the latest in Web development with sections on basic ASP.NET and Web services, which round out the book.

The author does a good job at explaining how .NET works while bringing readers of different abilities up to speed with C#. Experts will appreciate the detail on class design, COM, and Web services, while beginners will be able to follow the author's well-organized tour of the basics. In all, this combination of strengths makes C# and the .NET Platform an attractive choice in the growing list of titles on Microsoft's latest programming language. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction to the .NET platform Common Language Runtime (CLR) The Common Type Specification (CTS) The Common Language Specifications (CLS) Assemblies Basics of C# classes Constructors Flow control and iteration Arrays and strings Boxing and unboxing Object-oriented programming in C# (encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism explained) Exception handling Garbage collection Implementing the ICloneable and IComparable interfaces Introduction to .NET collections (including custom collections) Custom indexers, delegates, and events explained XML-based documentation In-depth guide to .NET assemblies (including shared assemblies) Versioning techniques for side-by-side deployment Multithreading and synchronization Type reflection and attributes Windows Forms tutorial (design options, survey of components, menus and other UI widgets) Programming the Windows registry GDI+ graphics tutorial (including fonts, brushes, images, and using .NET resources) Input and output (directories, files, and streams) COM, COM+, and .NET interoperability Tutorial to ADO.NET for database programming (including DataSets and XML basics) Introduction to ASP and ASP.NET programming for Web development Web services basics (including SOAP, WSDL, and the Discovery Service Protocol, DISCO)

Dr. Dobb's Journal
"...the one book on [C#,.NET] you not only should have, but will want to keep next to your keyboard."

Software Development Magazine
C# and the .NET Platform by Andrew Troelsen is a 12th Annual Jolt Awards Nominee!

Book Description

C# is the native language for Microsoft’s .NET platform. In this book, Andrew Troelsen shows you how to use C# for developing virtually every possible kind of .NET application. From Windows-based to Web-based applications, it's all here. This book includes detailed discussions of every aspect of .NET development and useful examples with real code.

Relentlessly practical and complete, C# and the.NET Platform begins with a brief overview of the C# language and then quickly moves to the key technical and architectural issues facing .NET developers. Troelsen covers the .NET framework intensively, and even includes coverage of trickier areas, such as proper thread usage. You will learn to use C# for GUI applications, and you’ll receive a complete discussion of Windows Forms and GDI+. This book contains useful discussions on how to use C# and .NET for Web development, Web Services, and data access using ADO.NET. Troelsen even includes complete coverage of the subtler issues involving .NET and COM interoperability.

Written in the same five-star style as his previous titles, this book is to many the final word in C# and .NET development. See what the experts have to say:

#1 in Programming Category at Waterside Conference
At the 13th Annual Waterside Publishing Conference held in Berkeley, a panel of industry experts, in conjunction with Books 24x7 and Waterside Productions, selected Andrew Troelsen's book from among thousands to receive the prestigious 2003 Referenceware Excellence Award.

Jolt Product Excellence Finalist
Software Development magazine announced Andrew Troelsen's C# and the .NET Platform as a finalist for the 12th Annual Jolt Product Excellence and Productivity Awards. See: http://www.sdmagazine.com for further details.

Interested in learning directly from the author?
Check out Andrew's workshop courses.

Download Description

C# and the .NET Platform is #1 in Programming Category! At the 13th Annual Waterside Publishing Conference held in Berkeley, a panel of industry experts in conjunction with Books 24x7 and Waterside Productions, selected Andrew Troelsen's book from among thousands of books as the top dog. Apress Publisher, Gary Cornell, was on hand to accept the prestigious 2003 Referenceware Excellence Award on Andrew's behalf. Congratulations Andrew!

Jolt Product Excellence Finalist! Software Development Magazine announced its finalists for the 12th Annual Jolt Product Excellence and Productivity Awards. Andrew Troelsen's, C# and the .NET Platform, is a finalist in the "Books" category.

C# is the native language for Microsoft’s .NET platform. In this book, Andrew Troelsen shows you how to use C# for developing virtually every possible kind of .NET application. From Windows-based to Web-based applications, it's all here. There are detailed discussions of every aspect of .NET development and useful examples with no toy code(tm).

Relentlessly practical and complete, C# and the .NET Platform starts with a brief overview of the C# language and then quickly moves to key technical and architectural issues for .NET developers. Not only is there extensive coverage of the .NET framework, but Troelsen also shows you what you need to know(tm) about such necessary but subtle areas as the proper use of threads. You will see how to use C# for GUI applications with a complete discussion of Windows Forms and GDI+. There are equally useful discussions of how to use C# and .NET for Web development, Web Services, and data access using ADO.NET. Since traditional COM applications aren't going away anytime soon, Troelsen includes complete coverage of the subtle issues involved with .NET / COM interoperability.

Written in the same five-star style as his previous book, this is the comprehensive book on C# and .

Book Info
The most comprehensive book on using C# for .NET applications. Based on BETA 2 code. Softcover.

From the Publisher
Another great title in the Apress and Intertech-Inc Instructor Series.

About the Author
Andrew Troelsen is a partner, trainer, and consultant at Intertech-Inc., and is a leading authority on both .NET and COM.Troelsen has a degree in mathematical linguistics and South Asian studies from the University of Minnesota and is a frequent speaker at numerous .NET-related conferences. He currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife, Amanda, and spends his free time investigating .NET and waiting for the Wild to win the Stanley Cup.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

C# is the key language for Microsoft's next generation of Windows services, the .NET platform. This new programming language is fast and modern and was designed to increase programmer productivity. C# enables programmers to quickly build a wide range of applications for the new Microsoft .NET platform. The .NET platform enables developers to build C# components to become Web services available across the Internet.Relentlessly practical and complete, this book starts with a brief overview of the C# language but then directly moves to applying C# for essentially every possible kind of .NET application. From Windows based to Web based applications it's all here. There are comprehensive discussions of such important issues as the .Net Framework, threading, ASP.Net and ADO.NET. At more than 950 pages, this book will be and will always remain the most comprehensive book on using C# for .NET applications. Being based on BETA 2 code it is likely to remain accurate and what's more, Apress will be offering free electronic updates to keep the book absolutely current as C# moves towards its final release in the Fall of 2001. Andrew Troelsen is currently the Vice President of Instruction at Intertech Incorporated. He has a degree in Mathematical Linguistics and South Asian Studies from the University of Minnesota. He currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife Amanda, and spends his free-time investigating .NET and waiting for the Vikings to win a Super Bowl. He is the author of the five star book on building COM applications with ATL that has become the standard reference for this older approach towards building Windows applications.

SYNOPSIS

C# is the key language for Microsoft's next generation of Windows services, the .NET platform. This new programming language is fast and modern and was designed to increase programmer productivity. C# enables programmers to quickly build a wide range of applications for the new Microsoft .NET platform. The .NET platform enables developers to build C# components to become Web services available across the Internet.

Relentlessly practical and complete, this book starts with a brief overview of the C# language but then directly moves to applying C# for essentially every possible kind of .NET application. From Windows based to Web based applications it's all here. There are comprehensive discussions of such important issues as the .Net Framework, threading, ASP.Net and ADO.NET.

At more than 1,000 pages, this book will be and will always remain the most comprehensive book on using C# for .NET applications. Being based on BETA 2 code it is likely to remain accurate and what's more, Apress will be offering free electronic updates to keep the book absolutely current as C# moves towards its final release in the Fall of 2001.

FROM THE CRITICS

Lou Grinzo - Electronic Review of Computer Books

Truly major platform shifts don't happen that often in the programming world, even if it feels like we have to endure one every six months. By any rational measure, Microsoft's introduction of .NET and C# qualifies as big news, as it marks Redmond's attempt to trigger a massive shift from desktop or client/server programming to loosely coupled network programming. If anything, the fact that this is not the conceptually familiar network computing/Java/thin-client model, but a fat client-plus-software-as-service model, makes it an even bigger adjustment for programmers. (And it also reminds us once again of the oft-quoted observation that Microsoft is no longer the shark in the ocean, but the ocean itself in which we're all swimming.)

Not surprisingly, this large an undertaking from Microsoft has triggered a title wave (pun intended) of new books that's just starting to break. One of the first and definitely the most ambitious to date is Andrew Troelsen's massive C# and the .NET Platform (CNP). In one volume of nearly 1000 pages, Troelsen tackles teaching you about C#, the basics of Windows programming with C#, and web-based application development, including using ADO.NET, the latest incarnation of ADO. Along the way, the author throws in mini-tutorials on HTML, COM, and numerous other goodies. The biggest surprise is that this book isn't 1500 pages long.

Which begs the obvious question: How well can a book cover that much ground in a coherent and usable way? The answer in this case is surprisingly well, thanks to two key things Troelsen does well. First off is his no-nonsense tone. Despite the topic being red hot, Troelsen avoids political comments and sticks to a straight-and-narrow presentation of the technical details. Second, and more subtle, is his avoidance of a problem we see endlessly in computer publishing: The book that tries to tell the reader everything about a given topic, including the Byzantine details that perhaps 5 percent of them will actually need. Instead of using this traditional, depth-first treatment, Troelsen presents the material breadth first and includes material from different disciplines that you will most likely need when picking up .NET and C#. You won't find an exhaustive treatment of much here beyond the C# language and the .NET basics, but the whole package hangs together remarkably well if you have a background in Windows programming.

C# and the .NET Platform contains 15 chapters, with one devoted to .NET's philosophy and the rest devoted mostly to C#, the remainder being web programming and .NET. The C# material is particularly well done, although you would be forgiven for getting tired of the same car example that appears in almost every conceivable permutation.

Perhaps the strongest part of C# and the .NET Platform is how well it works as both a tutorial and a reference. In particular, Troelsen makes heavy use of well-chosen and well-written examples. It's not hard to imagine most programmers reading this book cover to cover, and then going back to certain Post-It-note-flagged sections repeatedly to check Troelsen's examples related to topics such as calling unmanaged code (raw C in DLLs, for instance), retrieving or updating data from a database, basic GDI+ graphics programming, object serialization/deserialization, creating a web service, or any of the dozens of other topics.

My one criticism of C# and the .NET Platform is that it's organized in a somewhat odd way and is slightly out of balance. For example, the first chapter, "The Philosophy of .NET," is 52 pages long and includes a lot of information on VS.NET tools, an explanation of the common datatypes in the Common Language Run-time (CLR), which is shared by all .NET languages, and other decidedly nonphilosophical information. The treatment of web development is a little short and feels rushed in a few places, even though chapters 14 and 15 ("Web Development and ASP.NET" and "Building [and Understanding] Web Services") are combined in 112 pages. Given the amount of ground Troelsen is covering, it's only natural that something somewhere had to get short changed, and in this case it definitely wasn't a major omission or mistreatment of the material. There are also several places throughout the book where he refers you to Microsoft's online help for more detail on some subject. Again, this isn't a serious issue, and if anything we would probably be better off with fewer books that spend dozens or hundreds of pages parroting a vendor's help files instead of focusing on what you really need.

It's worth pointing out that while this book is based on the second beta of the .NET software, the publisher has promised to provide updates on its web site.