Robert Scott said
I suspect by the title and the way most of the book is written that the book is for beginners. Why then do you throw "binary tree theory" into a chapter where the reader is trying to learn about Generics. The example is then continued on into the next chapter. It seems to me that example makes learning Generics needlessly hard by throwing a data structure into the mix that is itself difficult enough to understand.
Other than that, I have had no problems with the book.
Salvador M. Ursua said
I've been through many books in programming. I have 4 books of Sam's Teach Yourself in 21 days. And others by different publications. Quite expensive though. But this I have to say about C# Step by Step of John Sharp. I have found his book truly amazing. I am only half through the book yet I can attest that it is one of the finest books I have come to read.
The style is not boring like some comments you read hear. Programming books are not for entertainment. If you are looking for entertainment then you ought to buy a novel for yourself.
Every page if very informative and the sample programs in the separate CD seems like to cement the theories to your brain. They are easy to follow and that it also include completed codes of the sample programs just in case you have difficulty completing the projects. I also love the quick reference area after each chapter. They reinforces rather than just give a summary.
To those who are serious in studying C#, this is a straight forward book for you. You will easily digest all the ideas on every page. Even experienced C# programmers will make this a good reference while doing some coding.
John sharp, you are amazing. Thank you so much. I hope to read more of your books after this one.
J. Webster said
Hi,
I have to admit I was disappointed with this book.
Part of the problem was confusion as to target audience.
In the first console applications your hand is held while every mouse click and keystroke needed is fed to you. Midway through the book you're working on esoteric classes called binary trees. In a scant 300 pages you've supposedly gone from absolute beginner to a savvy developer who would know how an advanced recursive algorithm operates so well that virtually no explanation is needed.
And ironically, despite the sudden inclusion of advanced CompSci concepts midway through the book, most of the time the author is churning out one trivial example after the next. Yes I recognize that small programs are useful in illustrating basic ideas. But small programs are boring. And the more you do the more you feel like sawing off your hand so you don't have to do another one. It's like being promised a meal and being handed one crumb after another... just imagine it's an actual meal!
A good counterexample is the book 'Beginning Visual Basic 6 Database Programming'. In this book the author (John Connell) actually walks you through the construction of a usable, well-built database application all the while illustrating the ideas. This is so much more interesting and allows you to actually see why the given programming techniques are used.
Is there useful information in the book? Yes. And at the least all of the examples work properly, as written. I bumped it up a point to three stars for this reason. The right reader might find this to be a good choice. Personally I found it painful and am still looking for a good book on C#.
Jeff
Robert Gonzales said
This book has been really useful, I am always interested on the step by step books as provide me with a nice journey that takes me to the heart of the technology.
This book hasn't failed to deliver, the author is very well respected and was one of the reasons why I bought the book.
There section about generics is just amazing, it is not an easy topic but the author has really simplified the model.
4 stars because it fails to deliver more advanced operations, they are mentioned but the out of scope paragraph annoyed me a bit.
Gordon Padwick said
This book is the best I've found among various books about C#, but it does have problems.
The first 21 chapters provide a good beginner's tutorial about working with applications in a console window, The author carefully explains each subject as it is introduced.
From chapter 22 onwards, the subject changes to Windows and Web applications that most readers will be most interested in. In these chapters, the author introduces many new concepts without explanations.
I've spent many hours trying to follow through the directions in chapter 22 onwards, but without success.
So, I recommend this book to people who want to gain a basic understanding of C#. I do not recommend the book for people who want to create Windows appplications.
Comments