C# Essentials

Rating:
Summary: The essentials of C#
Review: Although written for the Beta1 release of .NET, I found very few version related problems with both understanding the text and running the sample code. In fact, any version inconsistencies were more related to the BCL than they were the language specification. If you are a programmer, and more specifically, a programmer already familiar with OOD principles, I think this is a great book. Please, note, however, that this book is not meant to be a thorough explanation of the .NET Framework itself, nor is it a tutorial in OOD. It is a quick dive into the C# language. This book will be a great reference to have on the shelf.

_howard

Rating:
Summary: Needs to be updated when .Net is final.
Review: Being a professional, I didn't want a "dummies" book. I didn't want an abstract. I wanted the "essential" so that I could start developing today.

This book is absolutely the "essentials" and I got what I needed. If you are only going to buy one C# book (and you know what you're doing with programming languages), this is a good one.

My only complaint with this book was the lack of discussion on using C# in ASP.NET. (Probably should be another book altogether, but it should at least be mentioned.)

Next, I need a definative reference of the .Net framework. Does anybody know of any released?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Concise Book
Review: Book is written for Beta 1 (see obsolete).

Rating:
Summary: A great reference, Concise, Complete, great value for price.
Review: C# Essentials by O'Reilly is a small, yet complete reference of the C# language. In less than 200 pages it contains a complete specification of the language. Having worked with C# since before it was public beta, and the only documentation that existed was a specification within Microsoft, I was surprised to open the book and learn new things about the language that I was not aware of.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
The first chapter gives a brief introduction to the language and it's relation to the .NET programming paradigm. The one issue I had was the use of the term "Component orientation." The use of the overloaded term "Component" to describe a single class has confused many people and its use in here was no different.
Chapter 2 - C# Language Reference
Chapter 2 is a complete reference of the syntax and features of the language. This chapter really shines. It provides complete explanations of the language features without being too wordy. Additionally, it provides real world contexts for using the features that keeps the usefulness out of academia.
One piece that's incongruent with the recommended coding standards published by Microsoft is that the author places curly brackets on the same line as the construct, rather than moving them to the next line.
Chapter 3 - Programming the .NET Framework
Chapter 3 gives a great introduction to the .NET framework as it relates to C# and covers things such as string use, collections, regular expressions, attributes, threading, COM interop, and others.
Chapter 4 - Framework Class Library Overview
Chapter 4 gives a brief overview of where to find major functionality within the .NET framework. It doesn't go into detail of how to use the class library, but does give an overview of where things are. This chapter probably could have been left out, since the framework is well organized into pretty descriptive namespaces, and the book didn't elaborate enough to be useful.
Chapter 5 - Essential .NET Tools

Being only 4 pages, this chapter could have probably been called an index. It lists out the utilities distributed with the .NET framework and provides an abstract of their function.
Conclusion
Chapter 2 and 3 alone are worth buying this book. If you're looking for a concise C# reference, or are looking to migrate from C# from another language, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction
Review: Good introduction for Java/C++ programmers. I have only one objection: nothing is said about Async delegates. They should have been mentioned in Delegates section.

Rating:
Summary: Over the top!
Review: I often hestitate to review books because I'm an author and because most of the books I really like are written by my friends. Still, C# Essentials was so over the top that I had to say something. Disclaimer: Peter and I both work for DevelopMentor, so I may be biased.

This book is *not* an in depth look into every nook and cranny of .NET, which is why I can recommend it so highly. It's a great overview of C#, touching on more than just the essentials, as well as a great overview of .NET with just a little about the .NET Framework thrown in for good measure. I would absolutely use this book as a way to get started in any of the important technologies in .NET and then branch out using the docs, the samples and the mailing list [1]. The shear approachability of this book, coupled with no errors that I noticed, made this book a joy to read. Well done!

[1] http://discuss.develop.com/dotnet.html

Rating:
Summary: Get into C# quickly.
Review: If you are interested in programming in C#, just curious or want a reference text then this is a very good book. Being at around 185 pages this book gets right to the point, so it is for programmers familiar with languages like Java, C/C++ or those that are experienced. It contains a language reference and introduction into the .NET framework and class library. It does not cover using Visual Studio .NET and RAD application development. Topics pertaining to the .NET framework are restricted to a few areas, with a few small examples, with pointers given to where to look in the framework SDK online help. If you want to pursue your interest in C# then you can get a more thorough book to follow C# Essentials, but this is still useful as a small quick reference to the language.

Rating:
Summary: Short and to the point
Review: The joy of O'Reilly books is that are concise. You can pick up this book and read it in two days and start writing C# code immediately. This book covers all of the major elements of C#, but without lots of handholding.

If you're a beginning developer, this will be a poor choice. However, if you you're a fairly experienced C++ developer, I would strongly recommend this book.

I've printed out the C# Language Reference. I know all the answers are in it somewhere, but it's nearly 300 pages of dense writing. Rather than wading through it, I paid $15 for this book and I'm now writing C# code steadily and easily. I refer back to this book for quick reference questions (what's the format for setting a property, what does a COM interop call look like etc.) and then go online or to the language spec for deeper questions.

If you want to get up to speed on C# quickly, this book should meet your needs well.

Rating:
Summary: My go-to book
Review: When I first got into C# programming, I bought about $...worth of books on the subject. This has become my "Go-to" book - I go to it first, and usually don't have to bother with the other books.