No comments about Learning C# 3.0.

5 comments about Mastering Visual C# .NET.

1. Overall, I'd say this a great book for learning C#. Prior to reading the book I had knowledge of C++ fundamentals. For the most part, I didn't have any issues digesting most of the material in the book. Although, I will say that I didn't catch on to Mike Gunderloy's writing style quiete easily. I could tell something was different in the quality of the writing later on in the book and then realized (from the examples) it was Mike's writing. Maybe cause his topics were a bit more advanced. Knowing more now, I look back at it all and say its a good book to learn from scratch and a useful reference later on.



2. As mentioned in the title of my review, this book is without a doubt the best general instruction (how-to) and reference book on Visual C# .NET that I have found anywhere. The topics are very clearly explained, the code snippets are concise enough that you aren't wading through a single project that grows as the chapters progress.
   
   Instead, the author begins with an into to C#, and starts with the basics. I am only half-way through the book and have been very pleased with the content, its presentation, and the manner in which the author communicates.



3. As the title says, this book may be the best way to jump to C# from another language. I knew a lot of VB6, but I found it slow and cumbersome, so I bought this book. This book quickly shows you how C# works. There no stupid humour or blabbering, it gets straight to the point and teaches you C# step by step.
   
   It has extremely many code samples and it's a bit boring to read, but it's the fastest way to learn C#.



4. This book is the best programming book i've ever read. The layout and examples are easy for me to understand. It shows short example followed by explainations why such & such should be then shows the fully coded example. For me, i like that especially the explainations which i did not get to understand from other books. I suppose this book is not for veteran programmer because you can just browse throught the Part1 which i think it's for beginners. Overall, it's 5 star.



5. This book covers quite a bit of material but not sufficient enough in any area to bring a person to mastery level in Visual C# as it's name implies. The book lacks in three main areas: depth, consistency & challenge. It covers the basics very well for C# console applications but does not cover much of the "visual" aspects of Visual C# as it focuses almost entirely on console applications and the SDK version of the compiler. ie: It shows how to create and use an event for a console application but I had to do a web search for examples how to create and use Windows forms events.
   It lacks in consistency where the authors have admittedly shortcutted much of the example code, it is difficult to find an example of well written code in one place. ie: constructors are a vital part of class building but most examples do not show constructors or access properties such as set and get but instead make fields public to save time.
   The book also lacks in providing a challenge for the readers. If you are trying to learn to speak a new language you learn faster and better if you talk as well as listen. The book provides alot of poorly written code and does not challenge the reader with problems to solve programmatically.

5 comments about Professional C# (Programmer to Programmer).

1. When this book first come out, there were NO good books on C# and the .NET framework, therefore I was glad I brought it as it is not the worse book I have read. However there are now lot better books on the market.
   
   It is what you would expect from a book that was written by a LOT of different people in a very short length of time before anyone had any real file experience of the .NET platform.



2. This book did have understandable information and was a help to me when I first got it. However, it is way too long (and sometimes using more words than necessary to explain a thing can make it harder to understand.) Also, some of the things it said just aren't quite correct.



3. I really feel that this book is under rated, it's a great book because it provides an enormous amount of content. I had the C# Beginning book by Karli Watson, one of the co-authors of this book, and even that book had an incredible amount of content in it. However, it really didn't have some of the things like multi-threading, regular expressions, delegates, event handling (callbacks), deadlocks, reflections, generics, concurrency, and such that I wanted to learn. These weren't easy concepts, and I couldn't find a tutorial that could enlighten me on these topics. So those are why this book completes the circle for me.
   
   
   The only downside about this book is that the writing is actually not too friendly --- at least for me it isn't. Much like the earlier book, C# Beginner's it will not be something to read if you don't have a good incentive or a motivation. If you are a strolling mind, looking just to advance casually in C# get "CLR via C#, Second Edition (Paperback)" by Jeffrey Richter. His book provides an incredible amount of insight on C# and a lot of the important content this book has to offer, but in a much better writing style. I almost regretted getting this book over that one, but then I realized that Jeff's book didn't mention Regular Expression. Anyway, both books are very great for advancing with C#.
   
   
   Another thing that I would like to address is that this book DOES start from bottom to top in terms of syntax; but, not so much in terms of theory. So you can learn C# language from bottom to top if you've already advanced to an OOP level in another language with this book. A lot of people underestimate the content in this book just because it goes over the fundamentals, that is DEAD WRONG... DO NOT underestimate the content in this book.........
   
   In conlusion, I would say:
   - Get this book if you have an direct incentive to learn something; or, if you intend to seriously use the contents within for a project.
   
   - Get Jeffrey Richter's book, "CLR via C#, Second Edition" if you're just trying to probe for knowledge and insight on C#. His book provides great insight C# and covers all the important contents C# has to offer.



4. I was disappointed for several reasons, especially since this book is labeled as being part of the "Programmer to Programmer" series:
   
   1> Overly long with trite examples covering up the real essence. They often take several pages to convey an idea which, assuming the reader is an experienced programmer, should only take a few sentences.
   
   2> That this is a collective effort shows. Some chapters are half-way decent, others are rather poor.
   
   3> No help for the programmer on how to leverage existing code in C# .NET modules.
   
   4> Very little on how things work, or why they are the way they are. This makes remembering the quirks of the language / framework rather difficult.



5. I am fine with the book's overview of C#, but quite disgruntled with its treatment of .NET details. I consulted the tome on three issues - database access, Windows Forms, and file read/writes - and in each case came away with no answers to a few basic, bread-and-butter questions. (If I had to rate coverage of the three topics, the grades would be B-, F and C). There has to be a better book.

No comments about Professional K2 [blackpearl].

5 comments about MCAD Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C#(TM) .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio(R) .NET Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram 70-315) (Exam Cram 2).

1. This is an excellent reference if you want to quickly brush up the topics for the exam. If you do not have hands-on experience in ASP.NET, I would suggest the Training Guide by the same author. I used the training guide initially and then used this as a quick refresher. The practice exams were excellent. They had a few questions on ADO.NET, XML and Security which were not covered in either book. I used MSDN/www.codeclinic.com (esp. for ADO.NET, Security and XML) as a supplement. Transcender was very helpful too. Overall a great CRAM book for 70-315.



2. This certification study-resource from Author Amit Kalani, served as a rather indispensable part of the revision portfolio for Exam 70-315 (Web-based Application Development with C#.NET).
   
   like the 70-320 Exam Cram book -(also by Amit Kalani), it is a very useful & sound comprehensive reference for Exam 70-315.
   
   It served greatly in gaining both an overview of all the elements that would appear on the 315 exam,but also served well in my overall review and revision endeavours for the 70-315 Exam.
   
   using this resource got me to the place where i felt i had covered the core objectives for the exam and was ready to move on to the next phase ie: having a go at tackling past question scenarios.
   
   Indeed , i was glad i bought it.
   
   what i liked about this book :
   - it is a comprehensive read at slightly over 400 pages -ie:[404pages],the 2 Testing chapters non factored)
   - there are exam questions after every chapter, relating to that chapter
   - Answers with explanations are provided with every question featured in the book.
   - The book comes with a CD which offers a .pdf, e-version of the book.
   
   I purchased the book in question as a pair with the 70-315 Exam Training guide counterpart -(equally written by the same authors: Amit Kalani + Priti Kalani) from Que press ISBN: 0789728222.
   
   the two books complement each other very well and provide a very fine balance between the need to train & equip the reader with the strong hands-on .NET web-application development skills he/she will require in order to thrive as a C#.NET web developper; whilst at the same time fully framing these necessary hands-on expertise , in the context & framework of the exam the reader probably seeks to take at the end of working/ploughing his/her way through the book.
   
   Afterall...studying the material and arriving at a place where one is confident of ones capacity to develop a really functional web application is most desired, just as much as passing the exam & obtaining the certification validates this acheivement & know-how.
   
   In addition to this 70-315 Exam Cram book, those starting out with C# may need a pure C# language reference book, in order to learn about how things are done in the C# language ie: about OO programming ie :Classes & Constructors,Abstraction & abstract data types, Structures, Casting, Encapsulation & Delegation, Inheritance,Polymorphism, Namespaces, Methods & flow control, Events & delegates, Enumerations, Interfaces,Attributes et cetera.
   
   these are the C# language basics and need reviewing in order to understand the how & where of everything working,fitting & sitting together in C#. otherwise, things can get rather confusing come Visual C#.NET development time. (# see review for Exam Cram:70-320; ISBN: 0789728974)
   
   Checking to verify that the .NET developper possesses this knowledge has also become a requirement at Microsoft, especially with the new .NET series of exams for Framework 2.0 ; while versions of what is essentially the Framework 3.0 Beta is already being used & embraced by lots of companies already.
   
   the featured Exam 70-315 Exam Cram book and the 70-315 exam training guide from Que go quite some way in equipping one with this C# background knowledge, but one might still need a separate text or reference for good measure.
   
   After working through the 70-315 ExamCram resource and using the Training guide i felt set for the next phase ie: going on to tackle past exam questions.
   
   using Transcender and Testking more than sufficed to ensure & assure success at the exam;
   
   Take & Ace the exam with ease: 150minutes & 43 questions.
   
   The passing mark is 700 ie: 70%. i sat the exam on monday (10th October 2006); scored 91% ie: 910.
   
   Good luck.
   
   cheers :-)



3. This book is just the perfect learning resource for studying for the 70-316 exam. I also bought Microsoft's MCAD book but i realised by now that buying only this book allows one to prepare for the exam. You simply code up the lesson examples whenever you are not sure and you will score above 90% on the practice tests. Considering that 70% is the pass mark, it is not too bad.
   It is also a compact book, so you do make progress in it too that cheers you up since time is limited for all of us i guess. The book also has 2 sample exams. The CDROM too, has practice exams and the complete book is in pdf as well on the book so once you sell the book, you will still have a perfectly organized pdf version of it too. All this for 34.99USD is way better then buying Microsoft's MCAD/70-316 book.



4. O produto é bom, é fácil de comprar, mas como a compra é internacional levou aproximadamente um mês para ser entregue. De qualquer forma valeu a pena.



5. Read the whole book, learned a few new things. Did all 3 practice exams included with the book (1 on CD). Passed the certification exam, barely. But it got the job done. Can't complain.

5 comments about Windows Developer Power Tools: Turbocharge Windows development with more than 170 free and open source tools (Power Tools).

1. This book is an excellent source of useful tools and mini-howto guides. I especially like the layout where each tool is described along with links to the code, a summary of its abilities and a mini-howto on how to get started with the tool. The book gives a nice cross section of tools for all occasions, broken up by category. If you are new to development or are needing a tool to help you develop code then this book will probably point you in the right direction.
   
   The reason for 4 stars rather than 5 is more because of the topic rather than the book itself or the authors. By its very definition some of the tools were outdated by the time of the book's release. It is a limitation of the publishing process. The authors simply have no way of knowing what tools will be available at the time of the books release. Therefore readers should not assume that each tool is the best in its category. Nor should readers assume that the howto guides are completely accurate for the current version. This book could have really used a CD containing each of the tools at the time of the writing so readers could get a feel for the tool without: a) having to download the tool separately, and b) try to match the current version of the tool to the version discussed in the book. Even better would have been a VPC image that users could run without having to install all the tools on their own system.
   
   I'm hoping the authors put out a new edition later and, perhaps, include a CD of the tools. Until then this is one of the best books available for getting information on some really useful developer tools.



2. I'm big into using the right tools for the right jobs. One can find a gazillion of tools out there on the internet, so it's hard to decide which ones are actually worth checking out. This book remedies that by giving you a consolidated list of tools that everybody developer should at least have a look at.
   
   I also blogged about this book at:
   http://claudiolassala.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E2A4B22308B39CD2!356.entry



3. [...]
   
   Until reading this book, I did not realize how much productivity I stood to gain.
   
   When I first agreed to review this book I didn't know what I was really getting into. I expected a brief catalog of fairly standard, well-known tools which would only come as a surprise to fresh graduate. I expected I getting a small pocket-sized book which I could devour in one train ride. I could not have been more wrong.
   
   The book covers over 170 Open Source tools across a wide variety of development domains from Windows Forms and Web Development, to working with Databases and XML data. Each tool will in some way enhance your productivity in some way, allowing you to do the things your really enjoy about writing software on the Microsoft Windows platform. The productivity gains vary from being able to generate the tedious 80% of your project to those 5 second boosts which all add up and prevent RSI.
   
   Each of the 23 chapters is targeted at a particular issue or development task and opens with one or two pages describing this task. These are so well written that I think the opening of Chapter 9 [Analyzing Your Code], which gives a quick explanation of code metrics, is my favorite section of the whole book. This means that the book is not just an encyclopedic reference of tools, but also of modern development techniques.
   
   After the introduction a very brief description of each tool follows. These are great memory refreshers once you have read the book and are repeated on the companion web-site. Each tool is then given its own section and the chapter closes with a bibliography for people interested in finding out more.
   
   This structure of "Introduction, Overview data, Full text, Where to get more information" is repeated for each tool. The overview data includes such information as:
   
   The version covered
   The home page
   The license type
   Which versions of the .NET Framework are supported
   A collection of related tools for cross-referencing purposes
   
   The full text of each tool explains where to get the tool, how to install it and how to get started using it allowing you to jump straight in and leverage the tool. This section is often littered with useful screenshots which give you a glimpse at the experience you will find when using the tool. The text for each tool closes with instructions for getting support on the tool and often a brief passage from the tools creator explaining the thinking behind creating the tool.
   
   If that weren't enough, the book also has a companion website at www.windevpowertools.com where all of the tools are listed and tagged, each with a download link enabling you to download one straight from the site. You can even create your own "toolbox" and add tools from the site to it, allowing you to quickly and easily provision new machines from the web site itself.
   
   All in all I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I would have liked to have seen more information about the selection process for the tools and readers would do well to remember that a tools inclusion (or lack of inclusion) in the text is not necessarily an indicator of its maturity or usefulness. Be sure that you have a lot of time if you buy this book as you are likely to download, install, and play with many of the tools. If you do then using a virtual machine is highly recommended. None of the tools did anything harmful to my computer, but having 170 tools running at once just isn't advised!



4. Windows Developer Power Tools: Turbocharge Windows development with more than 140 free and open source tools (Power Tools)
   
   Overview
   
   Open-source and free developer/performance tools can be found in abundance on the internet today but one of the few issues that generally comes up after you've gotten hold of one is "how does this work?".
   
   On occasion you'll start to use a tool or add-in only to find out later on that there's a much better way to utilise the power you suddenly have at your hands - but by then, you've spent hours already "mis-using" the tool.
   
   This book arms you with information, tips and tricks, how-tos and descriptions on a host of known, and possibly unknown, tools that will seriously help you speed up your development - so why not be the hero of the office and start developing smartly!
   
   Over the last couple of years i've been in and out of windows and web development and felt that i was comfortable in both arenas. But after reading this book I knew that I could have been a much more efficient developer if only I'd known about the tools it explores.
   
   The book is divided into suitable chapters, making it very easy to use the book for fast reference if you suddenly remember that you once read (somewhere?) about a tool doing exactly what you're trying to achieve in the old fashioned way - doing it yourself from scratch.
   
   Each chapter (or tool/tip/add-in) is presented in an easily to understand english, with a logical order that makes reading this book a pleasure. Some books comes across with technical jargon without explanations for the varied levels of developers out there, but this book can easily be enjoyed by both the experienced developer and the starting rising star.
   
   Some of my most favorite tools are included in this book, such as Anthem.Net, which encapsulates web forms and extends AJAX capability without having to write a single line of JavaScript.
   
   Other tools which was new to me, included CopySourceAsHTML, and the experience with which i've had with posting code over the years, or including snippets in documentation, has just been greatly improved.
   
   Conclusion
   
   What i found most pleasing about this book, is the consistency in which it presents each topic for you. The authors has gone to great length to make it a flawless experience in reading this book and even though many has contributed to the content, the layout is flawlessly simple.
   
   A very easy read and a bookshelf essential! Five stars...



5. 'Windows Developer Power Tools: Turbocharge Windows development with more than 170 free and open source tools' is one of the most cost-efficient books I have ever read in my life. As the title says, this book is jam-packed with some of the most helpful and needy tools that you can ever find for Windows all put into one huge TOME of a book (1250+ pages).
   
   Spread over 23 chapters, content is broken up into topics like Windows Form, creating documentation, testing, bug tracking, XML, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. There is so much here is would take quite a while to read but that's not a bad thing in this case. If you are an administrator, developer, or just anyone that wants to learn to use Windows more efficiently, you NEED to pick this book up today.
   
   Love it Love it Love it Love it Love it!!!!!
   
   ***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

5 comments about Learn C#.

1. This is the best of the best C# learning book available on market today.
   It is focused in really teaching everything so you realy understand.
   The author doesn't care to show you that he knows a lot and that he is proficient in explaining things like a cientist. He explains concepts so you catch them without need to read an explanation again.
   
   Congratulations for the first book of about 4 I have tried to read, but couldn't finish due to useless exhaustive explanations, that made me more confused than before.
   
   The author explains concepts like Generics, Classes, Methods in a way thay I could finally understand, with its simplicity and calm way to teach.
   
   A hundred times better than those best sellers, that achieve that condition due to marketing. This book will achieve the status of a really language teaching book, not one more of those printed MSDN Documentation books.



2. A quick starter's guide for C#. Not many details are involved though. This book should be your first book for C# if you do not have much computer programming experience.



3. I bought this book because of the good reviews it received on the Amazon web site. I am a very experienced programmer, having used C, C++ and Java for a total of over 25 years, and from reading the book, I see that conceptually C# does not introduce that much new in terms of programming features, the only difference is the level of direct integration into the C# language of features such as listeners and multicast objects.
   
   Given this, I found the book too simplistic for my needs, because as I said, I was already familiar with the concepts and I would have rather had a book that explained useful C# programming idioms rather that explaining how listeners work.
   
   I few years back I had bought a C# primer by Stanley Lippman, but I never got to read it, and now it is a little out of date (C# 2.0). However, assuming he has updated this book, I'd recommend him, as he as a fantastic writer, based on having read "Inside the C++ Object Model".



4. I found that this book was extremely helpful in learning the key basics of the C# language. I am a novice programmer and trying to learn C# in order to become a developer and eventually take the MCPD (Microsoft Certified Professional Developer) exam. I am currently in college and have taken a class on C but this book with the examples provided the basics I need to continue forward. The author only shows examples of console application but from a beginner's standpoint I think this is a great place to start. The language throughout the book was easy to understand and having examples to support what the author was trying to teach was helpful. The book has tutorials, examples, and drills that helped me to better understand what I was studying.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone that has some basic programming skills and wants to learn about the C# language.



5. I normally take time to digest computer books I acquire, but this one took my by surprise. Precise and concise, it focuses on important points of the C# language, without losing time in superfluous details. After each concept, a practical example is given that helps its reinforcement.
   I read the book in one shot and it constitutes a reference on my desk, for my every day work.
   I only regret that the C# 3.0 chapter is too short and seems to have been added to an earlier edition.

5 comments about .NET Gotchas.

1. I got this book as a gift. I'm not sure that I would have bought it myself. Pros: good technical information, one of the few books to give both VB.NET and C# versions. Cons: very dry writing style and the topics seemed disconnected somehow. So, I give it a 5 for technical and a 1 for writing, for an overall of 3.0. I think this is a book you'll like a lot or dislike a lot.



2. Are you among the many programmers who have come to appreciate how powerful Microsoft's .NET Framework can be as a platform for development? If you have, this book is for you! Author Venkat Subramaniam, has done an outstanding job of writing a great book that shares his .NET experiences with developers, to help them avoid the gotchas!
   
   Subramaniam begins by discussing the features in the CLR and the Framework that can impact the behavior and performance of your application. Next, the author focuses on Visual Studio- and compiler-related gotchas. Then, he delves into gotchas at the language and API level of the .NET platform. The author continues by discussing the issues of language operability gotchas. In addition, the author next focuses on concerns related to garbage collection, and how to write code that handles it effectively. He also discusses, the things you need to be aware of in the areas of inheritance and polymorphism so you can make the best use of these important concepts. Next, the author addresses the general problems with threading, the thread pool, asynchronous calls using delegates, and threading problems related to Windows Forms and Web Services. Finally, he focuses on details you should be aware of to make interoperability work for you.
   
   With the preceding in mind, the author has done an excellent job of writing a book that focuses on the .NET Framework and language features that have consistently exhibited behavior that is not obvious to the programmer. So, why should you be interested in learning about these unexpected features? Because, knowning these little gotchas will help you avoid mistakes!



3. ... for many reasons, foremost in my mind - the format makes for very efficient reading - and if all you have is 30 minutes a day, a gotcha or two a day and in a month you are done. That being said, I found some of the topics rather esoteric, so chose to revisit those at some point in the unknown, er, future.
   
   Superb succinct read.



4. I made the mistake of buying this book based on recommendations I had read here on amazon.com -- don't make the same mistake. If you are looking for practical techniques that will help you write .NET applications, this is NOT the book you want. Now this book is sort of interesting and points out weirdnesses of .NET but nothing that I hadn't seen online. So, check this book out first by browsing through a hard copy in a bookstore to see if it's what you want. I wish I had.



5. This book is written with determination and care. Every aspect is explained at length and the examples are abundant.
   
   But this book is not for everyone. If you want to learn .NET, C# or VB.NET programming from it, you won't be able to do it. Also, if you have time to search through zillions of MSDN pages in order to seek various details on .NET and/or .NET languages, then this book is not for you either.
   
   But if your time is tight and you want to have many .NET common mistakes at your fingertips with no effort from your part, then this book is for you.

5 comments about Windows Forms Programming with C#.

1. I don't care if you've been coding for years, if your moving to .Net and are learning the basics of c# and the framework, you won't find a better starting place.
   
   I've had a few attempt at .Net, but this book lays out in a clear and precise way what you need to know to get you started. I would suggest its a cover to cover type of book, building on previous examples that are easy to follow, developing an application that touches all concepts of "Windows Forms (desktop)" development. If you want to write n-Tier, ADO.Net ASP.Net or Web Services apps then there are other books out there, but you need a base to build from and this is the book to provide you with that knowledge.
   
   Thank you Erik for providing the best computing book I've read in 10 years, and I've read a few.



2. Most programming books takes two routes: a.)they shorthand the explanations of the code in keep things moving at lively pace or b.) they give such a lengthy, terse description of every line in the code that you could die of old age just thinking about it.
   
   "Windows Forms Programming with C#" brings just the right balance that is oh-so-rare in programming books. It explains everything that happens, but is also brisk enough to keep you from being bored.
   
   The book builds, almost exclusively, a single image viewer application where you get to apply nearly every one of the dozens of Windows Form components. An explanation or every form component, it's attributes, and it's uses are explored in this book, but without being overly academic.
   
   Another great feature are the conventions used in this book. A lot of programming books add little notes and factoids that really contribute nothing. In this book, there are class explanations and action-results tables that are surprisingly well used.
   
   There really isn't anything bad to say, except for that the code does use some Hungarian notation at times (an area of irritation for some). Windows Forms are going to be an important topic for as long as the eye can see, and if you want to learn everything there is to know about them, this is easily the book of choice to read.



3. I love this book and when I upgraded to Visual Studio 2005 I picked it up again to re-do all of the examples. I knew there would be some changes but Microsoft changed Menus considerably more than I expected in VS 2005 and I was left slogging through the mud in Chapter 3. I finally gave up because I don't have the time to spare. I understand a new version of this book has gone into production and may be on the shelves in April 2006. I plan on buying the new book.



4. This book might be useful to a beginner with no experience who needs step-by-step guidance for even the simplest things, but for anyone else it is tedious at best.
   
   The text is needlessly wordy, and the presentation of certain information is regrettable. For example, the properties, methods, and events of each control are listed in a table; but the items are presented in alphabetical order rather than by order of importance or frequency of use. No context is provided about the C# language or the use of Windows in an a production environment.
   
   Even a beginner could learn more easily by experimenting and reading the documentation that comes with Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. And there are much better books on the market.
   
   I'm sending my copy to the recycle bin.



5. This is a decent step-by-step book for programming using Windows forms in C#. The entire book is well written in a tutorial format. Plenty of examples present key how-to-use features of the Windows forms. It's an excellent entry level book for GUI programming with C#. However, as some reviews mentioned, the details on some specific topics, such as progress status bar and the multi-threading, are missing.
   
   Buyers/Readers be aware: this book is a bit out of date. The examples in the contents are different from you will find in Visual Studio 2005 or later.

5 comments about C# For Experienced Programmers (Deitel Developer Series).

1. It's not for Experienced Programmers. If you are a VB programmer then this is a good book for you but if you are working with C, C++ or Java then get another one like Professional C# or C# and the .NET Platform.



2. I found this book great for getting up to speed on .NET and C# in a short time but certainly not for experienced programmers.



3. 
   I work many years with C++, and needed a good book to
   give me a solid and educational foundations of C# in
   a solid way, and the book helped me a lot with the great
   examples. The educational approach helps you to get the
   core of the language, and then you can use the online
   manuals to complete the little details
   
   Recommended for experienced programmers who move to C#



4. This book is what you need if you do not know C# or .Net and need to write a non-trivial application in C# soon. I picked it up when I was already an experienced Java developer with a good knowledge of OO and UML. While some topics covered in this book seemed to be way too trivial to be included in a book with 'experienced' word in the title, it does it job pretty well.



5. Although Deitel's "How to Program" books are primarily intended for use as textbooks in intro-to-programming college courses, the books tend to be around 1,500 pages long and contain a lot of code examples and breadth of coverage of more advanced programming topics, making the books useful to experienced programmers wanting to learn a new language. But unlike college students who are required to purchase a specific textbook for their programming class, professional programmers are less willing to pay exorbitant prices, so the "Deitel Developer Series" offers slightly cheaper, abridged versions of the "How to Program" books, targeted at professional programmers.
   
   "C# for Experienced Programmers" is one of two abridged versions of "C# How to Program." The "C# for Experienced Programmers" book retains full coverage of the more advanced topics while condensing treatment of basic intro-to-programming concepts, such as control structures and arrays, and removing the end-of-chapter exercises. Chapters on control structures and arrays are still there, albeit in condensed form, so if you need to know, for example, how to declare an array in C#, you can look it up. Object-oriented programming is covered in full, in case you're not already familiar with it from another language like Java. More advanced topics covered include exception handling, multithreading, networking, graphics and multimedia, SQL, ADO .NET, XML, ASP .NET, and Web Services.
   
   Although "C# for Experienced Programmers" is essentially an abridgement, it does contain one (1) chapter not included in "C# How to Program." The chapter is about Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit, which is used to develop applications for wireless platforms such as cell phones. Also, "C# for Experienced Programmers" includes all of the appendices in printed form, whereas "C# How to Program" has many of the appendices in electronic form on an accompanying CD. If you buy a used copy of "C# How to Program," the CD might be missing, in which case you would not have access to these appendices. However, the appendices are mostly nonessential or not directly related to C# programming. For example, there are four (4) appendices on writing HTML and XHTML.
   
   The other abridgement, "C# A Programmer's Introduction," focuses more on basic programming skills like control structures and arrays, and omits or condenses treatment of more advanced topics like ASP .NET and Web Services. Experienced programmers and anyone familiar with basic programming concepts and the C++/Java/C# style of syntax will probably want to avoid "C# A Programmer's Introduction" and choose either "C# for Experienced Programmers" or "C# How to Program."
   
   So which one is the better buy for an experienced programmer? I ultimately decided to buy "C# for Experienced Programmers": it's cheaper and includes the full, unabridged content of the later chapters and appendices, minus the exercises. "C# How to Program" has a lot of introductory material on basic programming concepts that you don't really need (although I suppose it's easy enough to skip over stuff you already know). Plus, "C# How to Program" isn't even in full color like previous Deitel "How to Program" books. Full color makes reading code examples easy (e.g., comments are in green), but "C# How to Program" instead uses a black, white, and red color scheme. "C# for Experienced Programmers" is in black and white, which I personally prefer over monochromatic red. "C# for Experienced Programmers" also has sturdier pages than "C# How to Program" -- the only downside is that the pages are also thicker and cause the book to be much larger and somewhat unwieldy.
   
   There is also a second edition of "C# How to Program" now available, updated for the new version of .NET. Apparently the Deitels decided that it was too confusing having two "for programmers" versions of their "C# How to Program" text, so instead of "C# A Programmer's Introduction 2/e" and "C# for Experienced Programmers 2/e," there is only one second-edition "for programmers" book, called "C# for Programmers (2nd edition)." As with the two first-edition "for programmers" books, the end-of-chapter exercises are missing from "C# for Programmers 2/e," but otherwise the only difference I noticed in comparing the tables of contents available from the Deitel website was that "C# How to Program 2/e" has a few more sections in the very first chapter, one of them entitled "What is a Computer?"