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)

The first edition of thise book was released during the 2001 TechEd conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Since then, C# and the .NET Platform has been translated into eight different languages, nominated as a 2002 Jolt Award Finalst, and named winner of the 2003 Referenceware Excellence Awards in the best programming book category.

For those of you who have read the first edition, we're happy to report that the text has gone through a substantial upgrade. You will find that every chapter has been updated with additional fresh content. Several new chapters exist, including coverage of the .NET Remoting layer, core CLR atoms, and a much deeper treatment of ASP.NET. As always, the story is told using a friendly and approachable voice.

If you are checking out this book for the first time, understand that this text is intended for developers who already have some experience in a modern object language. The mission of this text is to provide you with a solid foundation of the C# language and the key aspects of the .NET platform (assemblies, Windows Forms, Web Forms, etc.). Once you read and absorb these twenty chapters, you will be in a perfect position to apply this knowldege to your specific programming assignments, and you will be well equipped to explore the .NET universe on your own terms.

C# and the .NET Platform, Second Edition 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 Andrew Troelsen also shows programmers what they need to know about such necessary, but subtle, areas as the proper use of threads and how to leverage the new .NET remoting protocol. Readers will also see how to use C# for GUI applications with a complete discussion of Windows Forms, custom controls, and GDI+.

There are equally useful discussions on how to use C# and .NET for Web development, Web services, and data access using ADO.NET. 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).