The outstanding strength of this text is its in-depth language tutorial on C#, with complete coverage of basic and advanced object-oriented programming techniques. New language features like properties, indexers, and attributes get full coverage, alongside the basics of using classes and inheritance.

The book relies on using Visual Studio 6.0 and the command-line .NET tools for running programs. (Visual Studio.NET, the next version of Visual Studio, was unavailable when the book was written.) First to market with an in-depth language tutorial, the focus of Inside C# is on basic and advanced language features. By viewing generated code (using the ILDASM disassembler tool), the author examines how class design features work under the hood.

The language tutorial digs into features, beginning with a "Hello, World" program and delving into class design features before moving on to more basic features like expressions, operators, and flow control. This sequence makes the book best suited to the experienced developer, since some excellent in-depth material on the most advanced features of C# is presented before the basics of the language. Throughout, you'll learn the newest features of the language, how to use it, and a sense of its personality.

There's also plenty of material on the underlying Microsoft .NET platform, from the basics of the Common Language Runtime (CLR) to assemblies (used to deploy .NET applications), plus getting older COM components to interoperate with the newer .NET standard.

For anyone who's programmed before and wants to learn C# quickly, this in-depth guide anchored with plenty of short, effective examples provides what you need. Inside C# shows off the unique strengths of this new and exciting language and provides a solid introduction to the .NET platform. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: <ul><li>Introduction to C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework <li>Tutorial for object-oriented programming <li>A "Hello, World" program in C# <li>Command-line .NET tools (including the C# compiler and the ILDASM disassembler) <li>C# types <li>Boxing and unboxing variables <li>In-depth guide to C# class design (including members and methods, constructors, constants and read-only fields, garbage collection, and inheritance) <li>Method overloading <li>Virtual and static methods <li>Properties <li>Arrays <li>Indexers <li>Attributes <li>Interfaces (declaring and implementing interfaces, plus interfaces combined with inheritance) <li>Expressions and operators in C# (including operator precedence) <li>Program flow control <li>Exception handling classes and techniques <li>Operator overloading <li>Delegates and event handlers <li>Multithreaded programming techniques (including thread safety and synchronization) <li>C# reflection and metadata <li>Using unmanaged code and pointers from within C# <li>COM interoperability <li>Assemblies and deployment in C#</ul>

It's no secret that many computer books are pretty much devoid of an authorial personality. This title is a winning exception. The author is able to weave in clever examples (using such topics as his own long experience in computing, his dog, <i>Star Trek</i>, etc.) without being coy or getting in the way of presenting real technical information. Liberty's wide experience in computers and general writing skill shows, as he is able to draw on a wealth of examples to move his text forward.

These are a couple of goals at work in Programming C#. First, it's an excellent language tutorial, certainly one of the smartest and best available guides to C# as a language. Early chapters explore basic and obscure language options using inheritance, delegation, interface, and the conventions in C# used to implement these techniques. The middle part of the book turns toward the .NET Framework itself, with two useful (and somewhat introductory) chapters on both Windows Forms and Web Forms, for standalone and Web-based applications, respectively.

Later sections crank up the technical knowledge again with several advanced topics on understanding .NET assemblies and deployment in detail, as well as "reflection" APIs that allow .NET programs to essentially modify their code at run time. (One technique, reflection emit, which literally writes bytecodes, will definitely interest expert readers, though it's unlikely most programmers will need to do this.) Final sections look at the .NET stream classes (rivaled only by Java's for complexity). Liberty looks at basic file and network I/O as well as how objects get serialized and marshaled both for SOAP and Web services and "normal" .NET remoting.

The author's sure hand here in navigating the difficult waters of C# and .NET makes for a relatively concise text that is chock-full of useful information on C#. Filled with notably clever and inventive examples, this book is possibly this veteran computer author's best title to date, and it's sure to be a noteworthy resource as experienced developers tackle C# for the first time. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: <ul> <li>Introduction to C# and the .NET platform <li>A "Hello World" example in C# <li>Tutorial to C# as an object-oriented programming language (types and variables, operators, namespaces, and preprocessor directives) <li>Defining classes in C# (including static members, finalizers, overloading, and read-only fields) <li>Inheritance and polymorphism implemented in C# <li>Operator overloading <li>Structures in C#, interfaces, arrays, and indexers <li>Built-in .NET collections, strings, and regular expression support <li>Structured exception handling <li>Delegate and events <li>Introduction to programming with Windows Forms <li>ADO.NET database APIs (including basic XML support) <li>Quick introduction to Web Forms and ASP.NET used with C# <li>Introduction to Web services (SOAP, WSDL, and Discover services described) <li>In-depth guide to .NET assemblies (including metadata, versioning, private and shared assemblies) <li>C# support for attributes and reflection (including reflection emit techniques) <li>Marshaling and remoting (with and without SOAP) <li>Threads and synchronization <li>Tutorial to C#/.NET streams (including basic I/O techniques, Web streams, and serialization) <li>COM and .NET interoperability </ul>