Essential C# 3.0: For .NET Framework 3.5

Praise for Essential C# 3.0 

“If you want to be a C# developer, or if you want to enhance your C# programming skills, there is no more useful tool than a well-crafted book on the subject. You are holding such a book in your hands.”

–From the Foreword by Charlie Calvert, Community Program Manager, Visual C#, Microsoft

“In a time when you can search online for any reference material, Essential C# 3.0 is the one book I still bother to carry in my bag. Any developer can hit F1 for help with the language syntax; this book, however, arms me with the knowledge to make better design and coding decisions (and the confidence to say so). You know when a book has more than twenty pages of index that it’s got depth covered, and although Essential C# 3.0 has introductory chapters, it progresses effortlessly into the lesser known corners of the language, which makes this book indispensible to any level of C# developer.”

–Troy Magennis, C# MVP and creator of HookedOnLINQ.com

“If you are new to C#, as I was, Mark’s book is an excellent way to start. His approach takes you step by step through the structure and syntax of the language, making it easy to understand how things work. I found the code samples extremely helpful and supportive of the concepts being discussed.”

–Robert Stokesbary, senior consultant, Option Explicit

“This book expands on the concepts introduced in Essential C# 2.0 to include C# 3.0 enhancements. One great aspect of this book is that it not only covers the new 3.0 enhancements in great detail, but it also shows where it makes sense to utilize these new features over the existing 2.0 features. While I have been programming C# for many years, I find myself referring to this book often and always seem to find something new buried in the pages. This is a must-read for both the C# newbie as well as the C# seasoned veteran.”

–Michael Stokesbary, senior software engineer, Itron Inc.

Praise for the First Edition 

“Essential C# 2.0 pulls off a very difficult task. The early chapters are comprehensible by beginning developers, while the later chapters pull no punches and provide the experienced developer with the detailed information they need to make the most of C# 2.0. Starting with the first chapter, Mark has successfully interwoven tidbits of information useful to even the most advanced developer while keeping the book approachable.”

–Chris Kinsman, chief architect, Vertafore, Microsoft Regional Director

“How refreshing! This book deals with C# thoroughly, rather than skimming over the whole .NET framework. It is valuable to newcomers and professionals alike.”

–Jon Skeet, C# MVP

“Essential C# 2.0 is a one-stop shop for an experienced programmer looking to ramp up on one of the hottest languages around today. Mark delivers an intelligent and detailed tour of C#, providing newcomers to the language with a solid foundation of skill on which to build their next generation of applications.”

–Stephen Toub, technical editor, MSDN Magazine

“This book provides complete, up-to-date coverage of all the programming constructs in C#. Masterfully organized, it allows beginning programmers to get on board and leads more experienced programmers into the world of structured programming. Because of its unwavering focus on the essential programming constructs of C#–such as generics, delegates, and much more–this book is indispensable. For programmers who want to solve their day-to-day programming issues using the latest features this modern programming language has to offer, this book is indispensable.”

–Narendra Poflee, IT integration specialist, Itron Inc.

“Essential C# 2.0 is an ideal book for all programmers interested in C#. If you are a beginner, you will quickly learn the basics of C# programming and become familiar with the concepts. The flow of the text is easy to follow and does a great job of not repeating concepts that have already been covered. For the experienced programmer, this book has priceless nuggets embedded within its pages, making it a great read for programmers who are already familiar with C#. This will be a book that I will keep next to my computer for years to come.”

–Michael Stokesbary, software engineer, Itron Inc.

Essential C# 3.0 is an extremely well-written and well-organized “no-fluff” guide to C# 3.0, which will appeal to programmers at all levels of experience with C#. This fully updated edition dives deep into the new features that are revolutionizing programming, with brand new chapters covering query expressions, lambda expressions, extension methods, collection interface extensions, standard query operators, and LINQ as a whole.

Author Mark Michaelis covers the C# language in depth, and each importantconstruct is illustrated with succinct, relevant code examples. (Complete code examples are available online.) Graphical “mind maps” at the beginning of each chapter show what material is covered and how each topic relates to the whole. Topics intended for beginners and advanced readers are clearly marked.

Following an introduction to C#, readers learn about 

• C# primitive data types, value types, reference types, type conversions, and arrays
• Operators and control flow, loops, conditional logic, and sequential programming
• Methods, parameters, exception handling, and structured programming
• Classes, inheritance, structures, interfaces, and object-oriented programming
• Well-formed types, operator overloading, namespaces, and garbage collection
• Generics, collections, custom collections, and iterators
• Delegates and lambda expressions
• Standard query operators and query expressions
• LINQ: language integrated query
• Reflection, attributes, and declarative programming
• Threading, synchronization, and multithreaded patterns
• Interoperability and unsafe code
• The Common Language Infrastructure that underlies C# 

Whether you are just starting out as a programmer, are an experienced developer looking to learn C#, or are a seasoned C# programmer interested in learning the new features of C# 3.0, Essential C# 3.0 gives you just what you need to quickly get up and running writing C# applications.