I see many books on C# 3.0 but also 4.0 pre-orders. What is the big differences? Can I go ahead with C# 3.0 to start now or should I wait and pre-order? Any book recommended?
+8
A:
I would get C# in depth by Jon Skeet. If you order the 4.0 book (second ed.) I believe you get the first version for free.
Kevin
2009-08-26 13:53:30
It says on the page you link to: *"Every purchase includes a free ebook of the previous edition!"*
Fredrik Mörk
2009-08-26 14:04:23
Thanks, I misread. I thought that was a free ebook of the current edition
Kevin
2009-08-26 14:05:59
from what I read it seems like they give you an ebook of the current version that you are buying, I did noticed that if you buy the 4.0 version you can get an option where you are allowed access to chapters as they are released, this may be the one that also gives you a copy of the previous edition?
shogun
2009-08-26 15:19:26
Yup, if you get the early access (MEAP) edition you get the 1st edition as an ebook too.
Jon Skeet
2009-08-26 18:39:37
+5
A:
the changes between C# 3.0 and 4.0 are not huge, while the changes between C# 2.0 and 3.0 were tremendous. if you don't have a decent reference for C# 3.0, get it now.
I recommend "C# 3.0 in a Nutshell" by Joseph and Ben Albahari, from O'Reilly.
Mike Jacobs
2009-08-26 13:55:21
+1: "C# 3.0 in a Nutshell" is excellent and is perhaps my most used dead-tree reference, but it is *not* a tutorial.
Richard
2009-08-26 13:59:41
+1
A:
If your unfamiliar with the new features in C# 2 and 3, I'd learn about them first anyway because it will give you a good feel for how the language has developed through the versions and how the features depend on one another, for example generics in C#2 enabling nullable types and the introduction of anonymous methods in C#2 leading to lambdas in C#3. I recommend C# in depth by Jon Skeet, I learnt loads from it.
Charlie
2009-08-26 13:56:06
A:
I would wait for the C# 4.0 books to come out, and then buy a C# 3.0 book. It should be cheaper that way, and you can find all the 4.0-specific stuff on StackOverflow.
MusiGenesis
2009-08-26 14:24:27
+2
A:
Assumption: Books are cheap and your time is expensive. (And you might be able to get your employer to pay for the books.)
Conclusion: Optimize for what's best use of your time. Get the books you need to start learning now. When you need to learn more about C# 4.0, there will be plenty of documentation available on "what's new in version 4".
The best general introduction to C# 3 for the moderately experienced programmer I've edited is Jon Skeet's "C# In Depth". Mark Michaelis's "Essential C# 3.0" is also pretty decent. If you want to learn good tips and tricks for being a better C# programmer, Bill Wagner's "Effective C#" and "More Effective C#" are excellent. It is also very handy to have a printed copy of the annotated specification "The C# Programming Language, Third Edition", annotated by a great many C# experts.
Eric Lippert
2009-08-26 16:31:36