List Price:$49.99 Our Price:$31.49 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author: Andrew Stellman
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 2007-11-26
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Label: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Number Of Pages: 778 Features:
Editorial Review:
Do you want to learn C#? Programmers around the world have learned that C# lets them design great-looking programs and build them fast. With C#, you ve got a powerful programming language and a valuable tool at your fingertips. And with the Visual Studio IDE, you ll never have to spend hours writing obscure code just to get a button working. C#, Visual Studio and .NET take care of the grunt-work, and let you focus on the interesting parts of getting your programs written. Sound appealing?
Unlike other C# books, which just show you examples and expect you to just memorize them and move on, Head First C# gets you writing code from the beginning. You're given the tools you need, and then you're guided through fun and engaging programming projects. You'll build programs to play a card game, explore a house, and help lazy programmers manage their sick day excuses. But it's not all fun and games: you'll build business applications too, like a contact database and a program to help a party planner estimate her dinner parties. You'll build a dungeon role-playing game and a fully animated, colorful simulation of a beehive. And by the end of the book, you'll build a fast-paced, full-featured retro Invaders arcade game.
Make no mistake: by the time you're done with Head First C#, you'll be able to build full-scale, complex, and highly visual programs. And you'll have all of the C# tools you need to tackle almost any programming problem that comes your way.
Head First C# is built for your brain, using the revolutionary approach that was pioneered by the highly acclaimed and popular Head First series. You'll never get that bored, "eyes glazed over" feeling from Head First C#, because it guides you through one challenging project after another until, by the end of the book, you're a C# rock star!
Here's what you'll learn:
Core C# programming concepts
How to use the Visual Studio 2008 IDE to build, debug and run your programs
Important .NET 3.5 features, including generic collections, Windows forms, GDI+ graphics, streams, serialization and more
Using object oriented programming concepts to help you build well-designed programs
How to build robust applications with good error handling
The latest C# 3.0 features, including LINQ, object and collection initializers, automatic properties, extension methods and more
Throughout the book, you'll confront and conquer advanced C# concepts. Some of the most mysterious ideas are demystified and explained with clear examples: how Unicode works, events and delegates, references versus value types, the stack versus the heap, what's really going on with garbage collection, and more.
Thousands of readers have learned C# using this innovative book, including:
Beginning programmers who want to learn programming from the ground up
More advanced programmers who are proficient in another language (like Visual Basic, Java, SQL, FoxPro) and want to add C# to their toolbox
Programmers who understand basic C# syntax, but are still looking to get a handle on how objects work
Anyone who's tried to learn C#, but had to deal with books full of dull examples and nothing but boring console applications
Lots of people who just want to learn how to build cool games!
Head First C# is built to work with any version of Visual Studio 2008, including the free express edition. (It can also can be used with any version of Visual Studio 2005.) Cached date: AWS Called=true You may also be interested in these products:
Make sure you don't by the 11/07 edition 2008-07-05 There are over 43 pages of corrections (errata) to the first edition (11/07) of this text. It is inexcusable. You can go to O'Reilly's site and print the errata lists, three of them, to use as cliff notes to decode this book. I have purchased three other titles in the Head First series that are excellent. The quality of this one is horrible. Not only do some of the programming examples have minor syntax mistakes, but entire sections of code are incorrect. In one case the errata recommends downloading a pdf because the text has been substantially revised "to enhance clarity and quality of learning".
If you want to purchase this book, make sure you get the latest edition.
Kevin
Outstanding and Innovative 2008-07-04 This book also represents an innovative way to learn and not only C# knowledge itself. Have you ever tried to learn something and end up being frustrated with the way it is being taught? This book not only explains C# but it also explains how to learn quickly and how to obtain your edge on learning itself!
Sloppy and Confusing 2008-06-25 There's a reason why there is no "Search Inside" feature for this book...in my opinion. This thing is a train-wreck. This book is like the Robin Williams of technical books...It jumps around all over the place, it's not funny and you can't wait to slam it against something. There's pictures of dogs, cats, cups and couches. It's way too busy...If you grab one end of the book and you flip through the pages as fast as you, I think you can actually give yourself a seizure...in my opinion...
Great Book 2008-06-19 This book is great, if you're looking for a book to learn C# this is it. I wish all books had pictures. (sigh)
Great book to start with 2008-06-08 This is my second Head First Book (first was HTML), and I really enjoy the style of these books. You don't just sit down and read through these books (and fall asleep like most others I've read). You will be at your PC working through the exercises, doing more coding than reading. That's why I wanted to learn C#, to write programs, not just learn a language.
Experience is the best teacher. The exercises in this book are followed with solutions to help you over the rough spots in your learning. There are also 3 labs where no solutions are provided, so you are challenged to solve these on your own. But, you're not completely on your own. Head First has a forum dedicated to each of its books, and the C# forum is the place to ask questions and share ideas.
If you're looking for a place to start I highly recommend this book.
2008-07-05
2008-07-04