Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Book For What It Is
Review: Looking for an introduction to C#, I read the reviews here and decided to purchase this book. Unlike a couple of other reviewers here, I already own a DICTIONARY, and so I am aware of what the words PRIMER and ASPIRING mean. Those looking for a book about programming .NET should buy a book titled something like, "Programming .NET." Those looking for a book about using Visual Studio.NET should buy a book titled something like, "Using Visual Studio.NET." A book titled, "Programming In The Key Of C# - A Primer For Aspiring Programmers" should present a primer for aspiring programmers. Gee, go figure.Through the years, I have programmed in C, Pascal, Fortran, Cobol, Visual Basic, Delphi, various scripting languages in both the Unix and Windows worlds, Cold Fusion, PHP, and Active Server Pages. I wanted to learn C# from the lowest level and move upward from there so I would have a complete understanding of the language as I move towards my final goal of programming Windows and ASP.NET using C#. Having reviewed the TABLE OF CONTENTS made available here, it was easy to tell that this book would be the primer I was looking for. A previous reviewer claims that this book didn't teach him enough about C# syntax. The syntax in C#, although similar to most other object-oriented languages, is unique to C#. This whole book teaches C# syntax, and also goes into a fair amount of detail of how structures, objects, classes, etc. are handled internally in the computer, and by the C# compiler. I know there is another book written by Anders Hejlsberg which is a most complete coverage of the C# syntax, and I will probably end up buying that book as well to use as a reference. To begin learning C#, however, I wanted to begin in a very comfortable and basic place. I have finished this book, I have purchased and am reading a book on programming Windows with C#, and when I am finished with that book, I will buy a new book that is more specific to programming ASP.NET. I will probably buy books specific to ADO.NET, and who knows what else as I become aware of new complexities that I would like to understand. As a book about learning the basics of programming in C#, Mr. Petzold's book delivers on just what the title implies.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER PETZOLD CLASSIC!!!!
Review: PETZOLD IS THE PREMIER WRITER OF PROGRAMMING BOOKS, PERIOD! IF YOU WANT A VERY GOOD TUTORIAL ON C#, THEN YOU WANT THIS BOOK. JUST LIKE ALL OF PETZOLD'S WORKS, THIS IS LUCID, COMPLETE AND THE VERY BEST PRIMER ON C# TO DATE!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Clear, Concise - What All Programming Books Should Be!
Review: Those wishing to shift into the .NET phase will thoroughly enjoy Petzold's Key of C#. Not only does it teach the fundamentals clearly, it builds off the fundamentals with a clever approach to programming. Programming in the Key of C# promotes experimentation and critical thinking.
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