Pro C# 2005 and the .NET 2.0 Platform, Third Edition - Reup.

Aimed at the reader with some previous programming experience, C# and the .NET Platform provides an enjoyable and well-paced tutorial for learning C# and Microsoft's new .NET Framework. This well-written guide is all you need to get onboard with the latest in Windows development.

Today, there are a growing number of titles available for C#. This text strikes an excellent balance between a basic language tutorial with an authoritative presentation of what's new and better in .NET with coverage of the some of the inner details of the platform, including deployment. The author's patient writing style is never dull or overly technical, which will mean this book is a good choice for a wide range of readers approaching C# from a variety of languages including C++, Java, and Visual Basic.

At certain points, the author looks at "intermediate language" (IL) bytecodes that underlie the C# language. This is particularly informative in chapters that look at assemblies and deployment. As a tour of the basics of the C# language, this book distinguishes itself with short, effective examples (many of which use a set of classes modeling cars). Coverage of programming Windows Forms is really good, as is the chapter on getting the older COM and .NET components to interoperate. The focus of this book is mostly on traditional client-side development, though it does cover the latest in Web development with sections on basic ASP.NET and Web services, which round out the book.

The author does a good job at explaining how .NET works while bringing readers of different abilities up to speed with C#. Experts will appreciate the detail on class design, COM, and Web services, while beginners will be able to follow the author's well-organized tour of the basics. In all, this combination of strengths makes C# and the .NET Platform an attractive choice in the growing list of titles on Microsoft's latest programming language.