Visual C# .NET & Visual Studio.NET
James Foxall has written a book that clearly elucidates the mysteries of the Visual Studio.NET environment. Written in five well-organized sections, this book leads the reader through a step-by-step approach to building basic Windows applications. Using a "nuts-and-bolts" type of approach, the author presents the concepts of object-oriented Visual C#.NET programming via a series of brief, but effective projects found in each of the 24 chapters.
Starting with the fundamentals of objects, Foxall shows how to build a user interface using forms and controls. He then adds menus and toolbars to create workable applications. While performing these tasks, the reader begins to grasp the concepts of properties, methods, and events.
From the user interface, the reader learns the basics of C#.NET by writing brief lines of source code and how to manipulate data. Finally, the concept of designing custom objects using classes fulfills the author's objective of teaching the user how to design their own applications.
This text is indicated as a user guide for the beginning. However, I found it to be ideally suited for any one with even a modest programming background. To an aspiring Windows programmer, this text has good introductory value to satiate even the most curious.
My First C# book
In pursuing to update my technical knowledge, I decided to purchase this C# .NET 2003 book written by James Foxall. I was impressed at the level of detail and easy to understand content. What I was mostly impressed by is how the Author personally answered some of my questions without hesitation. That's something that I haven't been able to obtain from other book author.
I will definetely pursue purchasing from this author in the future.
Thought it was great
As I am new to programming, I thought I would go down the Sams publishing route and find a book that would teach me the basics and foundations for C#. And this is what the book did. I felt the author didn't scare you with technical jargon and slowly introduced you the more high-end stuff. The book is designed at beginner level and was pleased with the purchase.
Material OK, very badly organized for new programmers
The book does a decent job of covering visual C# material. But the way it is organized is so bad for new programmers that I can only give it one star. You keep getting "write this code, I will explain later" that most newcomers to programming will give up withing the first three chapters as all they do is point and click and write tons of code they have no ideah how it works. This book was obviously written by a programmer who doesn't teach new students. We have this book at work and none of the 4 people who used it had any success in learning to program in C#.
This is odd for a SAMS book, as they are usually excellent learning books. I would recommend the Teach Yourself C# in 21 days as a better tool for a new programmer to grasp the language.
Even for experienced programmers (and I have been one for 18 years), the book is hard to follow. Phrases like "now add this code ..." whithout saying where (you are stuck looking at pictures in the book and your source code file to finally figure out where the code is suppose to go) doesn't help one bit.
This is a teach yourself book, it should take you from scratch and teach you. All it does in the first few chapters is confuse you and discourage your from learning. I suspect this book was bought my many who ended up leaving it on their bookshelf thinking they cannot learn to program while the problem is not them at all. That is unfortunate!
Good book, but it doesn't teach C#
I just finished reading this book cover to cover and I'm afraid I don't know C# much better than I did before I started. I am now an expert in using the (really cool and powerful) Visual Studio.Net Integrated Development Environment, but I hardly learned a thing about programming. So, if you want to be able to create cool applications by dragging and dropping and using menus, this book is great. If you want to have a clue about the code behind your applications and/or learn some lessons in Object-Oriented Programming, you'll need another book. (...)
(12 reviews)
