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Summary: BINGO! Simply the best C# learning book available!
Review: As a beginning programmer(with no background other than a little FileMaker scripting)i have searched the book stores for anything "readable" about the subject. I have spent a great deal of money on all the well known titles, whitch i haven't been able to read and understand properly. But here it is! -And im a very happy man, writing programs in C#!Describe this book in three words: Very Very Fine
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Summary: "A Primer for Aspiring Programmers"
Review: Charles Petzold does an excellent job of introducing C#, the latest OOP from Microsoft. The book is not for an advanced programmer - you would be disappointed if you thought this was a 300 level book, but it does say it right in the name.
What this book does that C# Step by Step does not do is it explains, very clearly, why you are doing what you are doing. It doesn't get bogged down in step 14 of 30. Petzold patiently explains what placeholders are in Console.Writeline() and why they're so useful. He carefully takes you from something you know to something you wish you knew and then explains the how's and why's of everything. His style is almost as if he were talking to you. He uses phrases like "Check this out" to make the reading livelier. I can almost feel his enthusiasm for C# coming off the pages.
If you know C, C++, Java or maybe even Visual Basic this book may be too basic for your needs. But if you're interested in learning C# as a first language this is a great book.
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Summary: Best beginning programming book I have read.
Review: Great not only for C# but for learning basic programming concepts. For a beginning programmer, but exceptional.
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Summary: Good if you never programmed before, otherwise a waste
Review: Hopeful that this book off the Microsoft press would give me a quick start into the new C sharp language, I was disappointed to find this a flat. It fails to effectively address the large audience of Visual Basic, Delphi, and C++ programmers migrating to C#.
Most of the book is simplistic and tries to teach the reader how to "think like a programmer." The problem is that many people learning C# are already familiar with programming to some degree. In addition, this book desperately needs some larger code examples to give the reader an overall perspective, such as a few brief sample programs. A "quick reference" section of the book would be most helpful. This book also sticks purely to the C# language, and does not discuss anything about the compiler or the Visual Studio .NET environment. I am still clueless about some of Visual Studio's automated behavior.
People learning how to write for the first time will find this book an easy to understand introduction to programming. People migrating to C# from other languages will be disappointed. If you do decide to buy this book, I recommend getting a Sam's Teach Yourself C# book in addition so that you have a good reference.
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Summary: The best by far
Review: I bought five different books for C#. All of them containing the same info. Key of C# was str8 forward it started from the very beginning. Eventhough the subject matter is technical it is very well written. If you want to understand the syntax of this language, read this book!
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Summary: disappointed with the book
Review: I found a number of mistakes, both in code, and in printing. The book is absolutely for novices. I breezed through the entire 41 chapters of the book in just one weekend. And yet it lacks many details, even those which I consider basic, and should have been covered. I really think, with all due respect to the author, that he bombed it this time. Nothing is treated in completeness. The material the book provides can easily be had for free from a number of tutorials on the internet, if you type c# tutorial in google. I just liked the first four paragraphs of the first chapter, because they show my sentiments of being a programmer.
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Summary: Old COBOL Developer
Review: I got this book so I could get up to speed with C# and the whole OO philosophy. It contains a lot of material but is a very dry read. I found the Learning C# by Smiley a much more entertaining read and covered basically the same material.
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Summary: Great Book!
Review: I have been looking for a book that would explain the fundamentals of programming. The authors writes in understandable english with clear examples. If you are new to programming and want to grasp the basics this is a must read book.
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Summary: Excellent Book For What It Is
Review: If I were a beginning programmer, I would give this book 4.5 stars. I gave this book a poor rating because it does not clearly state its intended audience, which are beginning programmers. It is NOT intended for those who already are proficient at another language (C,C++,Java, etc.) to learn how to program in C# and .NET. It was too basic and didn't teach me enough about C# syntax nor how to use the Visual Studio .NET environment (it included it's own compiler). The title should have read "Learn to Write Your First Programs, a C# Experience!", or something of that nature.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING! For beginners only!
Review: If I were a beginning programmer, I would give this book 4.5 stars. I gave this book a poor rating because it does not clearly state its intended audience, which are beginning programmers. It is NOT intended for those who already are proficient at another language (C,C++,Java, etc.) to learn how to program in C# and .NET. It was too basic and didn't teach me enough about C# syntax nor how to use the Visual Studio .NET environment (it included it's own compiler). The title should have read "Learn to Write Your First Programs, a C# Experience!", or something of that nature.
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