Slightly Disappointed with Writing Style and Typos
First of all, the positive of the book includes:
- The use of simple examples to illustrate the points;
- Good coverage of common noted C# pitfalls and characteristics (such as the standard dispose pattern to clean up unmanaged resources);
However, some shortfalls of the book includes:
- Glaring typos throughout the book, such as words join together without spaces in between (you don't see this often!);
- Some points are not illustrated so well - for example, in Item 6 (value vs. reference types), the author uses this line trying to demonstrate a point:
e1.Salary += Bonus; // Add one time bonus.
which is clearly not a good one, because what that line does is, instead of adding "one time bonus", it is really permanently incrementing the salary once for all.
- The writing style could be more succinct and clearer.
Overall, while the content and intention are good, the book could be better.
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This book is the difference between a programmer who knows C# and becoming a true C# "craftsman". Absolutely recommended!
Could stand a rewrite
This book would benefit greatly from a rewrite. It is often difficult to follow the authors' logic. I get the impression that this book was rushed to print. A simple example of this is the fact that all the left-hand pages are incorrectly indented so that they run into the binding of the book. Please adjust your publishing software!
A must for every C# Developer
This book has helped me identify and made some performance improvements to my C# software code. One thing I like about this book, is that the author cuts right to the chase in his explanations and gives excellent supporting code samples in cases where needed.
Things you should know if you're serious about .Net/C#
While C# is pretty easy to get up to speed with coming from a C/C++ background, the similarities can lead to costly blunders! .Net/C# is a "real" language and as such deserves the respect of any self-proclaimed professional. This book is a great resource for getting that first glimpse to advanced topics that every pro should strive for. It's an easy read and the format (recipe) lends itself very well to quick reading sessions that stick in your mind. Your coding style will invariably change for the best upon closing this book. Simply stated this book should be mandatory reading for anyone joining a .Net project but coming from a traditional language (C/C++).
