Sebastopol, CA--After Jesse Liberty was introduced to C# back in 2000, it took him less than a day to decide to switch his career. He set aside programming in and writing about C++ for an exclusive focus on C# and .NET, saying, "I won't go back and you can't make me." The key feature that was so attractive in 2000 was garbage collection. With .NET 2.0, there came a much enhanced development environment, generics, and a number of other features that greatly expanded what could be done and the ease of development.
And now it's even better. "C# 3.0 represents a maturation, both of the language, the framework (.NET 3.5), and the tool (Visual Studio 2008), and may represent, along with Silverlight, the most significant step forward for Windows and Internet development since the release of .NET 1.0--if not the release of Windows 3.1," says Liberty.
And Liberty adds that Programming C# 3.0 (O'Reilly, US $49.99) is certainly the most important revision to a book he's ever done. The work was do daunting and so comprehensive that he brought on board a coauthor, Donald Xie, with whom Liberty has worked with and trusted for more than a decade. "I can easily say that we spent more time reviewing and editing this book than we did writing it. Even chapters that have not been significantly changed since the first or second edition were substantially reviewed and revised."
Both authors agree that such exhaustive treatment was spurred by the release of C# 3.0. "With version 3.0, C# has evolved from fully object-oriented C++ for .NET into a modern programming language," observes Xie. "The new C# features such as LINQ and anonymous types have made C# a versatile language that greatly simplifies the development of .NET applications. For people who are considering picking up C# and broadening their exposure to .NET programming, there has never been a better time."
Nor has there been a better guide for learning. Now in its fifth edition, the bestselling Programming C# 3.0 teaches the essentials of the C# and the .NET Framework Class Libraries, and explains how to use these tools for developing windows and web applications. Written for beginning to intermediate programmers. As Liberty says, "This is a comprehensive tutorial that tells the story of C# 3, it does not reiterate the Microsoft documentation, but rather walks you through the language, putting each feature into context with example code, best practices, and highlighting not only what you need to know, but why you need to know it and how you will put it to use."
More information about Programming C# 3.0, including table of contents, index, author bio, and samplesProgramming C# 3.0, Fifth Edition
By Jesse Liberty and Donald Xie
ISBN: 0-596-52743-8, 607 pages, $49.99 USD
For those who are ready to put the new capabilities of C# 3.0 right to work, authors Jay Hilyard and Stephen Teilhet have updated their bestselling title, C# 3.0 Cookbook (O'Reilly, US $54.99). The new edition offers more than 250 code recipes to common and not-so-common problems that C# programmers face every day, including a new chapter on LINQ (language integrated query), two expanded chapters for recipes for extension methods, lambda functions, object initializers, new synchronization primitives and more.
According to Hilyard and Teilhet, revising the book allowed them to experience closely how the language has evolved with the addition of LINQ, extension methods and other constructs that allow a more functional style of programming, while continuing to be a great object-oriented language as well. "We tried to convey how LINQ and functional programming can blend with object-oriented programming," they explain. "This allows programmers to pick the best method for solving their problems and lends a lot of flexibility and power."
Moreover, the new edition shows how to use a declarative style of programming in everyday problems. "Once you understand LINQ and the supporting pieces in C#, you can do amazing things," say Hilyard and Teilhet. "We've tried to help shorten the learning curve for our readers." The new edition is also complemented by a public wiki, which not only includes all of the C# 2.0 recipes from the previous edition unchanged by the release of C# 3.0, but invites readers to suggest better ways to solve those tasks.
More information about C# 3.0 Cookbook, including table of contents, index, author bio, and samples
C# 3.0 Cookbook, Third Edition
By Jay Hilyard and Stephen Teilhet
ISBN: 0-596-51610-X, 886 pages, $54.99 USD
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