ROY PFINGSTEN said
I have never read this book, and know nothing about C#, but I have a desperate need to seem important, so he's what I think. It is black, and when I used it to prop up my nightstand I always stubbed my toe getting up in the middle of the night because it's too black to be seen. My conclusion is that this is a horrible book, although I thought the author's name was kind of cool, so 3 stars. ROTFLMFAO
Thomas M. Wright said
A lot of people are interested in C# now thanks to XNA Games Studio Express and a lot of us have never programmed before. I sat at the book store and read the first few chapters of every C# book I could find and this one is by far the best for beginners like me. I'm through chapter 4 now and realize that if you're looking for a starting point with C#, this is it! It's clear, simple and seemingly written for idiots like me. :)
Frederic Masem said
The book is very easy to follow. The first chapters are really
for beginners. But I regret that the classes methods are explained with
trigonomety examples not that easy to follow even if the explanations
are there. Also it will have been a better idea to explain objects , classes first then later try to explain a class method class. The book is nice but most of the examples use by the author are maths examples and trigonometry, the last think i was expecting is a trigonometry example to explain to me how a method works. Easier method can b e found in : C# 2005 for dummies. Actually the purchase of both books good be a wise idea.
P. Blackburn said
Petzold's 'Programming in the Key of C#' is absolutely for beginner programmers and is written with them in mind both in terms of style and content...sort of.
Late to the C# party, I decided to learn the language prior to a couple of new job interviews. I saw this and grabbed it, thinking it would be just what I'd need. Already knowing Java, C/C++, JavaScript and a bit a Visual Basic, I'm a bit disappointed that the subtitle isn't more specifically addressed to beginning programmers. Programming is a very large subject and all developers/programmers are each at his/her own level. We are all 'aspiring', aren't we? A 'primer' can be quite technical, but this one surely isn't and I blame myself for a wrong purchase -- I should have read a few more paragraphs prior to buying this book.
To wit, the book doesn't even begin discussing arrays (the most basic data structure of them all) until chapter 18. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but many beginning language books address arrays far, far earlier. It's difficult to learn much about a language's capabilities or learn much general information about programming without knowing about and having some experience with the array (specifically the ability to store objects and the ability to create dynamic data structures). The book doesn't even breach linked lists except for one quick mention in passing near the very end of the book. For another example, Petzold only gives one cursory example of recursion (the ubiquitous factorial program) and doesn't really go any deeper than that. Anyone who is an 'aspiring' (absolute beginning) programmer really should be given more than this when presented with such basic material.
Nonetheless, the writing is in a good, easy-to-read style and I've enjoyed skimming through it. Petzold presents background information about the language and uses real-life examples and good little toy programs to illustrate the programming concepts he is discussing. It's altogether a good, easy read. Most of the main topics needed for a very general understanding of the language are presented such as virtuality, inheritance/polymorphism, parameter passage, constructors, etc. and all in a logical sequence that builds up the reader's knowledge.
One serious flaw with this text is the lack of questions at the back of the chapters. In learning other langauges, I've found that a series of questions at the close of a text's chapters helps to hit home the concepts that chapter is teaching. Walter Savitch's Absolute C++ is a very good example of an excellent text that gives the reader much more in terms of small programming assignments, quiz questions, and review lists of terms and concepts.
Although I already know much of the material here, I'm giving this book only 3 stars not because its content is so simple; rather, it is too simplistic. Beginners need a thorough grounding. Since this is the audience for this text, I expect one can do better.
David G. Hong said
Programming in the key of C# aims to introduce the programming language, C#, at a basic level. It covers fundamentals of modern objective programming features such as namespaces, classes and instances. It also reassures readers of what basic data types are supported in C# which follows the footsteps of .NET Framework.
The book is more of a primer than specific (i.e., a book could be based on data structures or producing games). If you are looking to buy a book, and you are an elementary programmer you will find this book very very helpful in terms of learning C#. If you are a regular java, c and c++ developer you will also find this book somewhat helpful in terms of understanding some of the core technologies behind .NET Framework and C#'s language features. Otherwise, if you are looking for something that cover much more integral aspects of C# this book perhaps, isn't for you.
In prelude, it states that the author tried his/her best to avoid making assumptions about any prior programming experience - thus the coverage of some elementary level basics of modern objective programming features.
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