Murach's C#

this book is for…
This book is for anyone who wants to learn how to use Microsoft C# .NET for developing professional Windows applications using Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. That includes the entire range from beginning programmers to experienced Java, C++, and Visual Basic programmers.

To be able to work equally well for beginners, experts, and everyone in between, this book uses a unique, modular instructional method that allows you to set your own pace through the material. For example, section 1 expertly guides you through the basics of using the Visual Studio IDE and the .NET Framework. Whether you are a Java or C++ programmer or a complete beginner, you can get up to speed quickly with this development environment by reading this section and doing the exercises at the end of each chapter. On the other hand, if you’re a Visual Basic programmer who is already comfortable with this IDE and Framework, you can skip or skim this section.

Sections 2 and 3 use the same modular, self-paced approach to methodically teach the coding skills that you need to become productive with the C# language. If you’re already familiar with another language in the C++ family, such as Java, you should be able to move through this section quickly, focusing on the classes and methods that are available from the .NET Framework. Conversely, if you’re already familiar with .NET, you can focus on the details of the C# syntax. Either way, you’re going to learn C#, and you’re going to learn it at a pace that’s right for you.

Once you complete the first three sections of this book, section 4 shows how to use ADO.NET to develop database applications with C#. Unlike most other C# books that only have one introductory chapter on ADO.NET, though, this book has five chapters! And these five chapters show how to develop ADO.NET applications the way they’re developed by the best professionals. In fact, we think you’re going to find that this is really two books in one: a C# book and an ADO.NET book.

From the Author
When Joel and I set out to write this book, we realized that one of the biggest problems with C# is that the .NET Framework is enormous. With thousands of methods, properties, and events available, how does a beginner separate the wheat from the chaff to determine which parts of the framework are useful for everyday programming?

As a result, we set out to cover those topics that would be most useful for Windows forms applications. To our surprise, we found that most books completely ignore many of these topics, or cover them only superficially. For example, most books almost completely ignore data validation. We cover it thoroughly, showing you how to develop a Validation class with static methods for common validation requirements. And while most books offer just one chapter on database, we devote five chapters to ADO.NET database programming because we know database programming is at the heart of almost all C# development.

We also included a complete section on the practical use of object-oriented programming techniques, including topics such as inheritance, interfaces, operator overloading, and so on. However, instead of illustrating these concepts with make-believe objects such as dogs and cats as most books do, we show how you use these techniques with real-world business objects such as customers and products. And we show you how to develop database classes that populate these business objects with data – an important topic that most books leave you to figure out for yourself.