C# book for the casual, beginner, C# programmer?

Question

Before you down vote this question, I realize there are a few other questions but they are all asked with the notion that the OP wants to be a master, long-term, C# programmer. my question is different in that I don't want to be a master C# programmer, nor do I want to 'switch' to C# so I can program everything in it.

I am wondering if anyone knows of any good books, or online resources, that have the assumption that you want to program in C# for 20 to 40 minutes per day? I have been looking at C# as a language and it interests me, but I would prefer to use C# casually. The book, Learning Perl, by Randal L. Schwartz, Tom Phoenix, brian d foy has the assumption that you are a casual Perl user and you want to be able to write useful and effective scripts in only tens of minutes per day. I am looking for the C# equivalent that has 'no fluff' and allows you to get started writing C# in a short amount of time.

I realize C# and .NET are large in scope and features so if there is a book that allows you to get quick-started with C# but also covers more advanced features, that is fine as well.

I have taken a look at Jon Skeet's review page and will take those books into consideration but I have also found the book Essential C# 3.0: For .NET Framework 3.5 (2nd Edition) and it looks like a good book. It has positive reviews, too.

Answer 1

HeadFirst C# or Murach's C# 2008 or Wrox's Beginning Microsoft Visual C#

I am also a beginner. I have the Following C# Books:

• HeadFirst C#
• Murach's C# 2008
• Wrox's Professional C# 2008
• C# 3.0 Cookbook

Answer 2

I went through the 2005 version of this book, it was a great resource and it's still on my desk.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Books/11298.aspx

Answer 3

For the beginner I would recommend Inside C#, 2nd edition.

See here.

Answer 4

I highly recommend Essential C# 3.0 (as you seem to have found)

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-3-0-Framework-Microsoft-Development/dp/0321533925/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236773066&sr=8-1

It has both beginner and advanced boxes as you read though the topics. Which do not interrupt the flow of reading but do help you out if your new to a concept (Beginner) or if you want to know advanced stuff.

It covers all Major topics of C#, including the run time. If your new to programming it's explanation of classes, inheritance, interfaces and so on is very good.

Best of all it's easy to read and concise. Also very modular in that you don't need to read from start to finish. Each chapter can be read at anytime without assumptions you have read any other chapter (it will recommend other chapters that are related though). As a result it can be used to target your learning to concepts you need to improve/understand as well as a permanent reference.

Excellent book IMO.

Answer 5

I found the C# Programmer's Cookbook from ms press to be invaulable for learning the language - especially if you're not coding c# all the time. Loads of small worked examples for doing a lot of the simple dev tasks (file IO, db access etc) that could have you struggling when looking at c# and the .net framework without much experience in it.

AFAIK it's not been updated from the .Net 1.1 version (!) so it won't explain linq, generics etc but the c# and .net basics are well covered.

Answer 6

I would definitely recommend Pro C# 2008 and the .NET platform, Fourth Edition

Answer 7

I think that all the books above cannot point your request. For a simply reason: those book start from beginnins, that is, you have to read the previous chapter to understand the next one. Not always, of course, but that's true for the most part. You should identify the context of your problem. Choose the classes of framework or code snippets that face that.For this approach, I'd like to recommend C# Cookbook link text. A problem-solution style. No need to be a guru in OOP, but a copy-and-paste can save your time, sometimes, specially if you need C# casually.

Answer 8

Have you looked at some of the online tutorials? I know you're asking about a book, but if you want to get started in a short time, online tutorial might be the place to start.
E.g. http://www.csharp-station.com/

Answer 9

This is the book for who want to understand the WHY and HOW in OOP using C# 3.0 for beginners. You don't want to miss it. Beginning C# 3.0: An Introduction to Object Oriented Programming

Answer 10

you can get ebook Murach’s C# 2008 from this link download Murach’s C# 2008