Product Description
The unique, visual format of Illustrated C# 2008 has been specially created by author, and teacher of development methods, Daniel Solis. The concise text, use of tables to clarify language features, frequent figures and diagrams, as well as focused code samples all combine to create a unique approach that will help you understand and get to work with C# fast. It was while teaching numerous seminars on various programming languages that the author… More >>
Finally someone who knows how to explain C# visually. Simple clear drawings help you understand the whole proces of compiling and executing code.
If you think the “head first” books are over the top. You really should consider this “illustrated” version. In the “head first” books the graphices can be overwhelming while the illustrations in this book are just complementary to the text. I really love the “head first” books but I recommend them for learning something new but not as a reference book.
I have read other books covering the third version of C# and I must say this book really stands out. It starts at the basics but in the same way simple things are explained the more complex issues are covered. It all seems equally simple. To be able to write it down like that is a gift.
All in all highly recommended.
Rating: 5 / 5
Having programmed a lot in C++, it was time to learn C#. This book is an excellent and efficient solution for the C++ programmer (and likely also the Java programmer) wishing to come up to speed in C#. Most of the concepts and much of the C# syntax are similar to C++.
Each C# concept is covered concisely and to the point – which means it is quick and easy for someone familiar with the general concepts to learn C# in a minimum of time.
I did encounter a few oddities – the concept of a delegate is easy once I realized it is basically a C++ pointer to a function – but with C# safe type checking place. But I had to look at Microsoft’s own documentation to pick that up.
LINQ is a programmatic interface to databases – except none of the examples in the book use it to interface to a database. (For those who might be wondering about LINQ, the Language INtegerated Query is an SQL-like set of program statements for making SQL-like queries into data structures or databases. LINQ is not identical to SQL but close enough that SQL programmers will find this to be a straightforward introduction.)
Illustrated C# is an introduction to C# – this is not a Windows programming text – if you are headed in that direction, you’ll also need good Windows/Windows Forms reference as well.
Overall, I was looking for a book to get me quickly from C++ to C# and this book is perfect to do that. I recommend this book to anyone with existing programming experience wishing to come up to speed quickly. If you have not programmed before, this is not your first book but probably your second or third.
Rating: 5 / 5
Dan Solis’s Illustrated C# 2008 is a pleasure to read and from which to learn, both with concise information and the easy to understand illustrations in it.
The illustrations make this book unique in that they make relatively foreign concepts easy to understand. They are consistent, build one on another, and make sense. He takes the concept of the stack and the heap, explaining how temporary data is stored, right from the beginning. With each new data type, or type member, an illustration shows how it is different from the others, and therefore why that user defined type was developed.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn the basics of a computer language, and especially C#, which is becomming the standard, as well as the language used my Microsoft in their program development.
What a delight!
Rating: 5 / 5
This book is for programmers not individuals new to programming. This book covers C# 2008 pretty well in terms of explaining C# constructs such as how to write a class and explaining all the nuances of it. However, very little to no explanation is given for why you would want to use whatever the author is explaining–the big picture is pretty much missing. This book will work best for someone that already has a basic understanding of the .NET framework and programming and just wants to get up-to-date on C# 2008.
So, why should you read this book?
1) There is a plethora of examples and they all work. I don’t think I have ever seen more sample code.
2) This is a deeply object oriented approach to C#, as it should be.
3) You are a programmer and want to get up-to-date on C# 2008–you are not looking to learn how to program.
4) The functional explanations of C# constructs are clear and complete. Hey, the guy has a degree in English and it shows.
5) The book is not terribly long. You will be able to finish it in a reasonable amount of time (726 pages).
6) I found many illustrations useful even though a few seemed redundant.
7) The author’s treatment of LINQ was done very well and clearly.
8) Once having read the book and worked the examples you will have solid C# 2008 skills and be ready to extend your knowledge with other books and training materials.
9) It is fun and mostly easy to read.
Okay then what’s not to like?
1) My biggest criticism is for the most part there is no discussion of how or why you would apply a particular C# construct being taught. For example, if you were learning to use an auto mechanic’s tools you would learn how to use a box wrench, an open end wrench and an adjustable wrench but no idea of why you would choose one wrench over another for a particular task.
2) Inner Exceptions were not covered in the chapter on exceptions.
3) While almost all explanations of C# constructs were done well I felt events in Chapter 16 needed to be reworked–it just wasn’t that clear.
4) No treatment of ADO.NET
5) No treatment of XML
Rating: 4 / 5
You will not read a better book on C#.
The first edition (2005) was great, this one is even better.
If you only get two books on C# then this should be one of them.
But, if you only buy one book… 🙂 then get this one.
Sorry this review is short on content, but the other reviewer will bring you up to speed. (just the ones with 5 stars)
The 2008 version vs 2005 version
It includes a new chapter on asynchronous programming using delegates.
It includes a new chapter on the new LINQ features.
One small down side in the 2005 version (not sure about the 2008 version)
The author states that fields should begin with upper case letters and local variable begin with lower case. In 2005 chapter on Methods, the author makes the mistake of using upper case for local variables…
This may have been corrected in 2008 version.
Rating: 5 / 5