Its been a while since I’ve read a book that’s almost purely about a programming language and C# in Depth does not disappoint. Even though I’ve recently done a couple of Microsoft certification exams and read the relevant preparation materials, those were more about the .NET framework and the .NET libraries more than any particular programming language. This book is all C# though, cover to cover, and Jon Skeet lives up to the hype…
Fear not! There is none of the boring “Chapter 1: What is a class” type of material here. It is assumed that you are already familiar with programming in C# and the material serves more to highlight how the language has evolved from C# 1.1, through C# 2.0 to C# 3.0 and explains how the language version numbers are not the same as the framework version numbers. The book dives right into a preview of the most modern C# trends, before going back to explain how it all got to be that way. Some of it was really mind-blowing stuff to me, and it really shouldn’t have been because that was only the C# 2.0 parts. There is so much potential in the C# 2.0 language and .NET 2.0 framework and they are really under-utilised, possibly due to being overshadowed by the emergence of .NET 3.0 and quickly followed by .NET 3.5 with LINQ.
For those LINQ enthusiasts out there, you really should read this book if you want to understand the fundamentals of LINQ and where it evolved from (a LOT of it is based in C# 2.0 generics and anonymous methods/delegates). If you’re like most of us developers, you’re probably only just moving on to using .NET 3.5 at work and possibly don’t even realise some of the power you’ve been missing out on. Having worked on several corporate projects in 2009, it appears that many larger organisations are still sticking using .NET Framework 2.0. By the way, you can get away with using a lot of the C# 3.0 features on the .NET framework 2.0, since many of the additions are language based or are based on compiler “tricks”. If ever there was a code magician / illusionist – Jon Skeet could be him!
Manning (publishers) are releasing an Early Access Preview of the second edition of this book in electronic form now (the soft-cover is due Summer 2010, according to the Manning C# in Depth website). I’d still recommend the first edition, having most of the same material except for the last few chapters, and its in paperback form so you can read on the run