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I've read several of the sections off and on, and I get the feeling that the authors are writing from experience and with a practical deliberation. First, don't be put off by the irony of an 800+ page nutshell book.I like how the authors explain some advanced topics, such as delegates, events, lambda expressions, anonymous methods, and contravariance. They seem to do in one paragraph what eludes most other authors. This approach seems to fit well with the spirit of a nutshell book, where you are looking to cut to the chase.This is not a beginner book, and a reader would benefit from some previous knowledge/experience with C#. However, it is also written well enough so that a beginner would not be completely lost.
C# is the star of this show, and the authors stay out of its way. If you don't know what a variable is, or a control loop, then you should seek a more rudimentary text before diving into this. C# 3.0 in a Nutshell is just about perfect. So, don't come into this book looking for clever anecdotes or immature silliness that often pervades other titles.The book can be read from chapter-to-chapter, or used as a desktop reference. It's a must have for anyone wanting to learn the language, those who need a language-specific supplement for their other related avenues of learning, or a trusty desktop reference for the language. This book has one purpose - to document C# 3.0. This book will fill in the gaps that resources on those other technologies neglect to explore.Take note that this book is NOT meant for beginners.
Keep those caveats in mind when deciding whether or not to make a purchase.There's not much else to say. It describes the language and the relevant.NET libraries in a clear, concise way, with meaningful examples and a much appreciated lack of author interference. This book won't teach you how to program - instead it documents one of many available programming languages available for use. No more, no less. It's the perfect supplement for those already learning other Microsoft technologies, such as ASP.NET. C# 3.0 is a text that has a specific job to do, and it does it well. Highly recommended.
Very concise and easy to understand. I used this book as a reference while porting code from C++ to C#. First four chapters gave me a great overview of the language. The rest of the book handles the more specific mechanisms in C# and.NET
Start with the 'using' reference, explain that, then go to some of the common entry points and explain those, etc. That hasn't already been stated in other reviews.Basically, if you have any experience with structured scripting languages whatsoever - even basic JavaScript - you can learn (or freshen up) C# with this book quite easily. You don't learn about 'using' until like 50 pages into the book, even though that's 9 times out of 10 the first line in the code.Small nitpick, but it did affect me a bit, so I felt it necessary to note here in case you feel the same.I suggest if you can find this book at a Borders or Barnes and Noble and can flip through it before buying (and I would suggest buying it from Amazon to save $10 if you like it), please do so. It presents the information in a way that is easy for those who learn by definition: Telling you what each reference is and what it does, then showing you an example of how it's used and what the outcome will be.My only real complaint, and it may not be a complaint for you, is that there doesn't seem to be a plan or methodology, no linearity, in the way the information is given. It jumps around in a way that is a bit difficult to follow; the content is easy to understand, but I was hoping for something that more closely emulates stepping through an actual script. Make sure the layout of the book works for you. The content is guaranteed to.
This is indeed a well written book that I rarely finds in the category of language references.This book covers huge array of C# features without loss of technical depth. I'll keep it on my desk all the time.
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