A new edition of this title is available, ISBN-10: 0321533925 ISBN-13: 9780321533920             “Essential C# 2.0 pulls off a very difficult task. The early chapters are comprehensible by beginning developers, while the later chapters pull no punches and provide the experienced developer with the detailed information they need to make the most of C# 2.0. Starting with the first chapter, Mark has successfully interwoven tidbits of information useful to even the most advanced developer while keeping the book approachable.” –Chris Kinsman, chief architect, Vertafore, Microsoft Regional Director “How refreshing! This book deals with C# thoroughly, rather than skimming over the whole .NET framework. It is valuable to newcomers and professionals alike.” –Jon Skeet, C# MVP“Essential C# 2.0 is a one-stop shop for an experienced programmer looking to ramp up on one of the hottest languages around today. Mark delivers an intelligent and detailed tour of C#, providing newcomers to the language with a solid foundation of skill on which to build their next generation of applications.” –Stephen Toub, technical editor, MSDN Magazine“This book provides complete, up-to-date coverage of all the programming constructs in C#. Masterfully organized, it allows beginning programmers to get on board and leads more experienced programmers into the world of structured programming. Because of its unwavering focus on the essential programming constructs of C#–such as generics, delegates, and much more–this book is indispensable. For programmers who want to solve their day-to-day programming issues using the latest features this modern programming language has to offer, this book is indispensable.” –Narendra Poflee, IT integration specialist, Itron Inc.“Essential C# 2.0 is an ideal book for all programmers interested in C#. If you are a beginner, you will quickly learn the basics of C# programming and become familiar with the concepts. The flow of the text is easy to follow and does a great job of not repeating concepts that have already been covered. For the experienced programmer, this book has priceless nuggets embedded within its pages, making it a great read for programmers who are already familiar with C#. This will be a book that I will keep next to my computer for years to come.” –Michael Stokesbary, software engineer, Itron Inc.Essential C# 2.0 is a clear, concise guide to C#–including the features new to C# 2.0. The book clearly presents material for beginners and experts and provides contrasts and comparisons between C# and other languages. The C# language is covered comprehensively and each important construct is illustrated with succinct code examples. Complete code examples are available online. Mark Michaelis has organized the material for quick access. Graphical “mind maps” at the beginning of each chapter show what material is covered and how each topic relates to the whole. Following the C# introduction, readers will learn about C# primitive data types, value types, reference types, type conversions, and arrays Operators and control flow, loops, conditional logic, and sequential programming Methods, parameters, exception handling, and structured programming Classes, inheritance, structures, interfaces, and object-oriented programming Well-formed types, operator overloading, namespaces, and garbage collection Generics, collections, and iterators Reflection, attributes, and declarative programming Threading, synchronization, and multi-threaded patterns Interoperability and unsafe code The Common Language Infrastructure that underlies C# C# 2.0 has a multitude of new features that make the language even more powerful, productive, and efficient. These new features are thoroughly covered in this book. A separate appendix on C# 2.0 topics helps readers quickly find new features of the language. Whether you’re just starting out as a programmer, are an experienced developer looking to learn C#, or are a seasoned C# programmer interested in learning the new features of C# 2.0, Essential C# 2.0 gives you just what you need to quickly get up and running writing C# applications.

Table of Contents:
Figures xxiTables xxiiiForeword xxvPreface xxviiAcknowledgments xxxixAbout the Author xliChapter 1: Introducing C# 1Hello, World 2 C# Syntax Fundamentals 7 Working with Variables 14 Console Input and Output 18 Comments 22 Common Intermediate Language and ILDASM 25 Chapter 2: Data Types 29Fundamental Numeric Types 30 More Fundamental Types 38 null and void 49 Categories of Types 50 Nullable Modifier 53 Conversions between Data Types 53 Arrays 60 Chapter 3: Operators and Control Flow 77Operators 78 Introducing Flow Control 92 Code Blocks ({}) 99 Scope 101 Boolean Expressions 102 Bitwise Operators (<<, >>, |, &, ^, ~) 108 Control Flow Statements, Continued 113 Jump Statements 124 C# Preprocessor Directives 130 Chapter 4: Methods and Parameters 139Calling a Method 140 Declaring a Method 146 The using Directive 151 Returns and Parameters on Main() 155 Parameters 158 Recursion 166 Method Overloading 169 Basic Error Handling with Exceptions 171 Chapter 5: Classes 185Defining and Instantiating a Class 189 Instance Fields 193 Instance Methods 195 Using the this Keyword 196 Access Modifiers 202 Constructors 204 Static 211 const and readonly Modifiers 218 Properties 220 Nested Classes 232 Partial Classes 234 Chapter 6: Inheritance 237Derivation 238 Overriding the Base Class 250 Abstract Classes 263 Everything Ultimately Derives from System.Object 268 Verifying the Underlying Type with the is Operator 270 Conversion Using the as Operator 271 Chapter 7: Interfaces 273Introducing Interfaces 274 Polymorphism through Interfaces 275 Interface Implementation 279 Casting between the Implementing Class and Its Interfaces 284 Interface Inheritance 285 Multiple Interface Inheritance 287 Implementing Multiple Inheritance via Interfaces 288 Versioning 291 Interfaces Compared with Classes 293 Chapter 8: Value Types 297Structs 298 Boxing 305 Enums 311 Chapter 9: Well-Formed Types 323Overriding object Members 323 Operator Overloading 334 Referencing Other Assemblies 341 Defining Namespaces 346 XML Comments 349 Garbage Collection 353 Resource Cleanup 356 Chapter 10: Exception Handling 365Multiple Exception Types 365 Catching Exceptions 367 General Catch Block 368 Guidelines for Exception Handling 371 Defining Custom Exceptions 373 Chapter 11: Generics 379C# without Generics 380 Introducing Generic Types 385 Constraints 396 Generic Methods 409 Generic Internals 413 Chapter 12: Collections 419Primary Collection Classes 420 Introducing Collection Class Interfaces 433 Providing an Index Operator 444 Returning Null or an Empty Collection 448 Iterators 448 Chapter 13: Delegates and Events 465Method Pointers 466 Multicast Delegates and the Observer Pattern 482 Events 496 Chapter 14: Reflection and Attributes 509Reflection 510 Attributes 520 Chapter 15: Multithreading 549Running and Controlling a Separate Thread 552 Passing Parameters to Threads 557 Thread Pooling 561 Unhandled Exceptions 563 Synchronization 565 Timers 584 Chapter 16: Multithreading Patterns 591Asynchronous Results Pattern 592 Background Worker Pattern 606 Windows Forms 611 Chapter 17: Platform Interoperability and Unsafe Code 615Platform Invoke 616 Pointers and Addresses 630 Chapter 18: The Common Language Infrastructure 641Defining the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) 642 CLI Implementations 643 C# Compilation to Machine Code 644 Runtime 647 Application Domains 652 Assemblies, Manifests, and Modules 653 Common Intermediate Language (CIL) 656 Common Type System (CTS) 656 Common Language Specification (CLS) 657 Base Class Library (BCL) 658 Metadata 658 Appendix A: Downloading and Installing the C# Compiler and the CLI Platform 663Appendix B: Complete Source Code Listings 667Appendix C: C# 2.0 Topics 693Index 697