Don't count on this book to solve big tasks for you. "I need some C# software that integrates with Avaya telephone switches and Siemens databases...:" No. Rather, this book shows you how to do the little jobs (converting an array to a delimited string, monitoring the event log, creating a bounded hashtable, and so on) that can stand in the way of prompt completion of a project. What's more, the coverage isn't limited to code samples. Stephen Teilhet and Jay Hilyard take advantage of the Cookbook series' Problem-Solution-Discussion format to teach you a thing or two about C#. You'll refer to this book often for quick answers and explanations. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to solve small but non-trivial problems in the C# programming language. Each of 17 chapters covers a major area of C# functionality--networking, regular expressions, filesystem, security, and so on--and contains a dozen or two entries on how best to solve programming problems.

While most of today's programming books seem to be trying to outdo one another in sheer page count, this one bucks the trend with an extremely concise--yet entirely thorough--treatment of C#. This is an efficiently packed, language-based guide that's perfect for those with some previous object-oriented programming experience. It covers all C# language keywords, with particular attention to class design constructs. Short code excerpts, rather than full-length programs, are used to illustrate every feature of the language, from basic design types to data types, class design constructs (including all the details of inheritance), and the basics of the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR). You'll learn how to model classes correctly using the most advanced features (such as reflection and attributes) that help make C# particularly powerful and elegant.

Advanced topics include a guide to making Win32 API calls from within C#, new threading options, and how to interoperate with legacy DLLs and COM objects in C#. At just 200 pages, this text still manages to cover a lot of ground with the specifics of C#, and with many of the features that help give C# its personality as a programming language.

Admirably concise, yet filled with expert knowledge for exploiting both basic and advanced features, this title earns high marks as a tutorial for learning Microsoft's latest programming language. It's sure to be a useful choice for any experienced programmer tackling C# for the first time. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: <ul><li>Introduction and tutorial for C# <li>The Common Language Runtime (CLR) <li>A minimal program in C# <li>Identifiers and variables <li>Inheritance <li>Classes and interfaces <li>Arrays <li>Enums <li>Delegates <li>Events <li>Exception handling <li>Attributes <li>Unsafe code <li>Programming with the built-in .NET Framework classes <li>Math and string classes <li>Collections <li>Support for regular expressions <li>I/O and networking classes <li>Threading <li>.NET assemblies and deployment issues <li>Reflection <li>Interoperability with COM and .NET <li>Overview of .NET packages for common programming tasks (including collections, Web services, XML, and Web-based applications) <li>Essential .NET tools <li>References to C# keywords <li>References and format specifiers</ul>