Do you want to learn C#? Programmers around the world have learned that C# lets them design great-looking programs and build them fast. With C#, you ve got a powerful programming language and a valuable tool at your fingertips. And with the Visual Studio IDE, you ll never have to spend hours writing obscure code just to get a button working. C#, Visual Studio and .NET take care of the grunt-work, and let you focus on the interesting parts of getting your programs written. Sound appealing? Unlike other C# books, which just show you examples and expect you to just memorize them and move on, Head First C# gets you writing code from the beginning. You're given the tools you need, and then you're guided through fun and engaging programming projects. You'll build programs to play a card game, explore a house, and help lazy programmers manage their sick day excuses. But it's not all fun and games: you'll build business applications too, like a contact database and a program to help a party planner estimate her dinner parties. You'll build a dungeon role-playing game and a fully animated, colorful simulation of a beehive. And by the end of the book, you'll build a fast-paced, full-featured retro Invaders arcade game. Make no mistake: by the time you're done with Head First C#, you'll be able to build full-scale, complex, and highly visual programs. And you'll have all of the C# tools you need to tackle almost any programming problem that comes your way. Head First C# is built for your brain, using the revolutionary approach that was pioneered by the highly acclaimed and popular Head First series. You'll never get that bored, "eyes glazed over" feeling from Head First C#, because it guides you through one challenging project after another until, by the end of the book, you're a C# rock star! Here's what you'll learn:

• Core C# programming concepts

• How to use the Visual Studio 2008 IDE to build, debug and run your programs

• Important .NET 3.5 features, including generic collections, Windows forms, GDI+ graphics, streams, serialization and more

• Using object oriented programming concepts to help you build well-designed programs

• How to build robust applications with good error handling

• The latest C# 3.0 features, including LINQ, object and collection initializers, automatic properties, extension methods and more

• Beginning programmers who want to learn programming from the ground up

• More advanced programmers who are proficient in another language (like Visual Basic, Java, SQL, FoxPro) and want to add C# to their toolbox

• Programmers who understand basic C# syntax, but are still looking to get a handle on how objects work

• Anyone who's tried to learn C#, but had to deal with books full of dull examples and nothing but boring console applications

• Lots of people who just want to learn how to build cool games!

Throughout the book, you'll confront and conquer advanced C# concepts. Some of the most mysterious ideas are demystified and explained with clear examples: how Unicode works, events and delegates, references versus value types, the stack versus the heap, what's really going on with garbage collection, and more. Thousands of readers have learned C# using this innovative book, including: Head First C# is built to work with any version of Visual Studio 2008, including the free express edition. (It can also can be used with any version of Visual Studio 2005.)

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 72 Ratings

Make sure you get copy printed on September and on since it has all the "Errata corrected" - 2009-08-14
Reviewer Rating:
Get a copy that was printed after September 2008 since it has all the "Errata corrected" (I checked publisher site before buying) I didn't buy it at Amazon because I wanted to make sure I got the latest printed copy with all the corrections. To my surprise I found printed copy with the date July 2009. This book is amazing. Programming is a huge pain to learn with books. But this is totally a fun experience.

You really learn with this book - 2009-10-02
Reviewer Rating:
The author's dedication to teaching comes through clearly in this book. The exercises are well thought out. By the time you complete the exercises you feel like you have truly learned the subject matter. The bubbles approach makes it a lot of fun to read and serve to drive home each point very clearly. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in starting to write c# code right away.

not pleased - 2009-09-13
Reviewer Rating:
Considerable effort was made to try to make the material "fun" using what amounts to doodles and various cute graphics devices. Sadly, this creative effort was not accompanied by clear didactic style. I read several chapters of the book and decided I needed another book because the chaotic and disorganized approach was actually more confusing than instructive. Any introductory work must be meticulous about not using concepts and terms that have not been previously defined; it should start out simple and build. Seems obvious, yet many books violate this simple rule, and this book is rife with examples. It is also completely unacceptable to have errors in the practice code that won't actually run when executed. It wastes the reader's time and energy. Look elsewhere.

Too many puzzles - 2009-08-26
Reviewer Rating:
When I first bought this book, I was excited about the unique layout and the projects that I'd be creating. At Chapter 6, I am struggling to go any further. I'm bored of doing the crossword puzzles, matching, etc. I just want to write code. At this point, I'm probably just going to skip all the goofy "things to do" and just go through the brief exercises in the chapters.

Excellent Rread. Made Learning C# Fun - 2009-10-28
Reviewer Rating:
I really enjoyed reading this book. The authors did a great job making learning C# fun. I have read several books on C# ranging from beginner to intermediate, though many were excellent, none provided entertaining examples and labs to work on.

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