Beginning C# 2008 : From Novice to Professional

This book is for anyone who wants to write good C# codeeven if you have never programmed before. Writing good code can be a challengethere are so many options, especially in a .NET language like C#. If you want to really get the best from a programming language, you need to know which features work best in which situations, and understand their strengths and weaknesses. It is this understanding that makes the difference between coding and coding well. Beginning C# 2008: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition has been written to teach you how to use the C# programming language to solve problems. From the earliest chapters andthe first introductory concepts, youll be looking at realworld programming challenges and learning how C# can be used to overcome them. As you progress through the book, the problems become more involved and interesting, while the solutions become correspondingly more complex and powerful as C# features interact to achieve the results that you want. This second edition has been revised and improved to now include the SQL Server 2008 release and explain how you can integrate SQL Server 2008 with your C# applications. By the time youve finished reading this book and worked through the sample exercises, youll be a confident and very competent C# programmer. You will still have many explorations of the .NET Framework API to look forward to, but you will have a firm foundation to build from, and you will know exactly where to go to find the things that you need to progress confidently in your projects. What youll learn Everything to get you started with C# 2008 from scratchfrom installing the tools to writing your first applications. The core concepts of .NET 3.5 programming: from decision trees to data structures, from exceptions to lambda expressions, and from objects to components. Learn what LINQ is, why functional programming can be important, how generics make your life easier, and much, much, more! Who this book is for This book is for anyone whos just starting out to learn about C#. It doesnt assume any prior knowledge of objectoriented programming, of the .NET Framework, or of coding in general. It simply assumes that youre an intelligent person who wants to learn and starts the journey from there.