Windows Forms Programming in C#

Rating:
Summary: Author takes time to ensure examples are robust and real
Review: I had an incredibly fun time learning Forms with the help of Chris's book. Knowing all that we learned about VB/Java/C++, I knew Microsoft couldn't possibly wait to infuse some great new ideas in The Framework. Chris shows you what it is like to work with this framework, covering gotchas you should come to expect and highlighting hiddens gems.

At times, the tutorial is complete and gentle (but never condescending), at others Chris's in-depth Forms experience and understanding really shows through: C#, Visual Studio .Net and the .Net Framework brings many of the best practices to the table, and you'll be pleased to find Chris using all available facilities. Although everything is crystal clear, I was new to some concepts and I had to reread, your mileage may vary. Having said that, the editing and reviewing is excellent and it shines.

Whenever I read about a topic one would think to gloss over, I find myself reconsidering after reading what Chris had to say. Printing, Forms fundamentals, asynchronous invocations, components, data access, and application settings are just some of these areas which will really open your eyes. It turns out you'll be thinking about them a lot more often than you think, and making the wrong set of calls may reduce future code maintenance efficiency! The author was careful to show you all the most common patterns found in the wild, and takes care to explain why people prefer them, and he concludes by explaining to you why a certain pattern will give you the best mileage--great advices!

The honesty and depth of this work really goes a great distance in giving you the perspective of an experienced Forms coder. The cautions and advices will help you write some solid code in your first production Windows Form app. If all authors take care to expand on key topics with such care, my job would be easier. This is an excellent book to accompany your journey into Visual Studio .Net 2002/2003. You'll find it indispensible.

Follow up notes: Past reader reviews made a relevant observation: this book fills in the holes left by other .Net books--where others stretch your patience by listing every function call but not really explaining common patterns that use or avoid them, Chris's book will do the rest. You'll know which, how, and why to call. I read much of Programming Visual Basic .Net by Francesco Balena and a book from O'Reilly and Associates before reading this book (they are completely different books) and I have to agree, Chris's book fills in the conceptual gaps really well. What the API listings don't do for you, is connect the dots for you in a People-Shoot-Themselves-In-The-Foot-This-Way-So-Do-This-Other-Safer-Better-Thing-Instead--I think Chris's book accomplishes this goal really well. Maybe it is also prudent for you to think about the need to read more than one treatment on .Net, simply because it will give you the best chance of understanding it perfectly. Best of luck with your Windows Forms education! :-D