"Best C# Programming Book(s) for Beginners?"

Yes, it’s true I wrote the book, but my Introductory C# book

 

Learn to Program with C#

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0072222611/104-0983898-9938310

 

The book is out of print, but the rights to the book have reverted back to me from McGraw Hill.

 

You can pick up a new copy from me using the link above---or choose one of the used copies available.

 

You can also save some money by buying directly from my Print On Demand source, Lulu.com via this link..

 

http://www.lulu.com/content/572336

 

Just a few words of warning---Microsoft promised that C# would be available to run on multiple Operating Systems, and as such, when I wrote the book I based it on the Batch C# Compiler that comes with the .Net Framework. On the positive side, that means you don’t need to purchase a copy of Visual Studio or Visual C# from Microsoft in order to be able to follow the book---if you have the .Net Framework installed on your PC (and if you don’t, it’s a free download) you ready to go.

 

Personally, as a college professor of Computer Science at Penn State University, I can tell you I prefer teaching C# (and Java) with no IDE at all---it gives my students a better grasp of the Object-oriented nature of the language.

 

On the minus side, there is no IDE referenced in the book---so if you are looking to learn the nuances of the Visual Studio IDE, you’ll need to find another book, or wait for my book on Visual C# to become available.

 

I hope this helps---by the way, I have some information on C# available on my Website

 

http://www.johnsmiley.com

 

Have a great day.

 

John Smiley

 

It really depends on what you are planning for.

1. If you want to experience the fun of programming C# on Windows you can try Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition. Download Visual Studio C# express for free and start having fun! There are tons of online free courses and tutorial you can take a look before buying any book.
2. If you want to start Windows programming more seriously, you need to enhance your object oriented programming. Again you have this chance to grab a C# or Visual Basic.NET book and create some programs, yet I strongly recommend you to advance your OOP (Object oriented programming) knowledge. You can try Microsoft Visual C# 2005, An Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming that gives an insight on what is OOP and how to employ it in C# properly
3. If you are looking at it as a profession I recommend you to have broader look at programming by trying to be a language independent person. I started with Visual C++ 8 years ago, however, I have tried in these past few years to taste, Java and Ruby on Rails also

Have fun!

Customer Reviews
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another winner, 28 April 2007
By bonzo (Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews

I've used several of the books in this 'for absolute beginners' series and been very pleased with all of them. This is another winner.

Clear explanations, fun examples based on building simple games, and at the end of each chapter a series of 'Challenges' inviting you to develop the ideas a bit further.

Lots of scope for tweaking the examples to see what happens and for trying out your own ideas. You'll probably need other books later, when you want to take your knowledge of C# a bit further, but for a first book this one is highly recommended.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Good book!, 4 Jun 2006
By A. Ross (Kuwait) - See all my reviews


I am already a C# programmer, but I have to teach it to students who have never even heard of programming before. So I wanted something that would make it fun and cover all key concepts, but still keep it as simple as you can for a programming language. This book does all of that.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
excellent book for total n00b, 12 Mar 2004
Reviewer: A reader

I got this book the other day and it is great. I really like the silly little games it uses as examples as it gives you a more relaxed approach to prorgamming which has made it easier for me. It might not be the best for everyone but it is great for me. The best covers a lot quickly as the simple games use lots of different features and the explanations are simple to understand.
If you are looking for a fun way to learn C# then I suggest you give this book a look. The price is nice also. A CD with the sourcecode on would have been a nice extra but I like typing in the example code as you get used to the style of writing and the common special characters you use, etc.

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6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Best beginners programming