Concise but thorough, C# Essentials introduces the brand-new Microsoft C# programming language and the Microsoft .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) and Base Class Libraries (BCL) that support it. The compact format and terse presentation of key concepts serve as a roadmap to the online documentation included with the Microsoft .NET Framework SDK; the many examples provide much-needed context. In addition to overviews of C#, the CLR, and the BCL, C# Essentials includes coverage of:

• Every C# language element and its syntax, in reference format

• The major C# datatypes, with code examples

• Basic C# programming tasks

• Interoperations with legacy Win32 APIs and COM components, and the use of C/C++ style pointers within the managed context of the CLR.

C# Essentials is an inexpensive way for experienced programmers to get up to speed quickly on the language best suited to developing web applications and services on the new Microsoft .NET platform.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 22 Ratings

Short and to the Point - 2006-03-17
Reviewer Rating:
Cruising through book stores, I usually encounter the 800 page behemoths that 'teach you programming in 24 hours' or something similar. I suppose those are good for getting you programming with lots of examples.

However, I like to think I'm a pretty good programmer, having grown up with Pascal, C, and C++. I may be aging myself with that first one, but anyway.

I had thought C# was a toy language, ranking right up there with VB. That was until I encountered a powerful .NET financial development package out there on the 'net from SmartQuant. That started me thinking there must be something to this language. I started reading The C# Essentials on one my connections to SaharaBooks online.

Having a programming background, I was able to quickly grasp the basics of the language as they compared to what I already knew. The concepts of delegate functions and events took a while to wrap my head around, after being used to C++'s pointers and function passing. Once understanding the power of events, and how they manage multiple registrations as well as static and object based instantiations, I was sold.

However, I think C# loses it's power due to de-emphasizing the deconstructor and reverting to automated garbage collection. I can see the benefits, but I enjoyed the manual tuning I do with C++.

Well, having digressed to the language itself, now back to the book. The book covers the language itself, in what I think is a very fine balance. The examples are short, sweet and succinct in showing many of the fine points of the language specific it is covering.

I must admit though, that there are language features discussed in the book that do have examples, but still leave me wondering what they mean and how they fill in the big picture. I think they will fall into place as my experience grows, and I find scenarios where they start to make sense.

The book does not cover the .NET run-time library. That is best left to the 800 page reference behemoths, or simply the online reference library provided by the Integrated Development Environment.

I give the book two thumbs up. After a year of programming C#, it is still my primary quick reference on basic language idioms.

Complete Waste of Money; Look Elsewhere - 2006-11-06
Reviewer Rating:
Although I have MCSD and MCDBA credentials, I found this book to be so brief that it is all but useless. Throughout the book, arcane topics (e.g. event accessors, attribute classes, position to member operator, the IClonable inerface, the IFormatable interface, etc.) are introduced with absolutely no hint of what they might be used for. I suppose if you know what all this stuff is already, but need to refresh your memory, the book might be OK. But for anyone who is trying to learn C#, look elsewhere.

Review for C# Essentials - 2009-10-03
Reviewer Rating:
Very good. I would suggest anybody who is starting to learn C# to read this book first.

Not for beginners - 2008-02-25
Reviewer Rating:
If you didn't see the list of topics this book covers, then I suggest reading it before continuing on with the purchase. This book is not for beginners. It's a jump into the deep end of C#, with only a brief look at the basic differences/advantages of C# over Java and C++.

Class-based programming is nothing new. However, class-based component orientation programming is a more robust, extensible concept. My favorite aspect of C# is the near-elimination of pointers, and the headache they bring along in C++.

The book is full of syntax help, which is invaluable for anyone attempting to branch out from C++ into new programs in C#, or possibly even for the advanced.

It's deep, and this book will serve those already familiar with object oriented programming much better.

The best first C# book I know of. - 2007-03-17
Reviewer Rating:
I have been writing in C# for over 4 years now. This was my first C# book, and the one I have used the most. Though I have several other, substantially longer C# books, this is the one I go to first. It's odd. When I can't find something I need to know in this book, I often can't find it in the larger books either. Despite the others having significantly more pages, they don't seem to provide me that much more information. One review I read mentioned the book is concise, and that is its greatest asset to me.

However, if you do not know how to program, then this book is not for you. If you are not comfortable writing code in either C, C++, or Java, this is not the book for you. If you know C, but lack OO knowledge, this probably isn't the book for you. Other than that, I highly recommend this book.

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