Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C#

"This book really demonstrates Bill's strengths as a writer and programmer. In a very short amount of time, he is able to present an issue, fix it and conclude it; each chapter is tight, succinct, and to the point."

—Josh Holmes, Independent Contractor

"The book provides a good introduction to the C# language elements from a pragmatic point of view, identifying best practices along the way, and following a clear and logical progression from the basic syntax to creating components to improving your code writing skills. Since each topic is covered in short entries, it is very easy to read and you'll quickly realize the benefits of the book."

—Tomas Restrepo, Microsoft MVP

"The book covers the basics well, especially with respect to the decisions needed when deriving classes from System.Object. It is easy to read with examples that are clear, concise and solid. I think it will bring good value to most readers."

—Rob Steel, Central Region Integration COE & Lead Architect, Microsoft

"Effective C# provides the C# developer with the tools they need to rapidly grow their experience in Visual C# 2003 while also providing insight into the many improvements to the language that will be hitting a desktop near you in the form of Visual C# 2005."

—Doug Holland, Precision Objects

"Part of the point of the .NET Framework—and the C# Language, in particular—is to let the developer focus solving customer problems and deliver product, rather than spending hours (or even weeks) writing plumbing code. Bill Wagner's Effective C#, not only shows you what's going on behind the scenes, but shows you how to take advantage of particular C# code constructs. Written in a dispassionate style that focuses on the facts—and just the facts—of writing effective C# code, Wagner's book drills down into practices that will let you write C# applications and components that are easier to maintain as well as faster to run. I'm recommending Effective C# to all students of my .NET BootCamp and other C#-related courses."

—Richard Hale Shaw, www.RichardHaleShawGroup.com

C#'s resemblances to C++, Java, and C make it easier to learn, but there's a downside: C# programmers often continue to use older techniques when far better alternatives are available. In Effective C#, respected .NET expert Bill Wagner identifies fifty ways you can start leveraging the full power of C# in order to write faster, more efficient, and more reliable software.

Effective C# follows the format that made Effective C++ (Addison-Wesley, 1998) and Effective Java (Addison-Wesley, 2001) indispensable to hundreds of thousands of developers: clear, practical explanations, expert tips, and plenty of realistic code examples. Drawing on his unsurpassed C# experience, Wagner addresses everything from value types to assemblies, exceptions to reflection. Along the way, he shows exactly how to avoid dozens of common C# performance and reliability pitfalls. You'll learn how to:

• Use both types of C# constants for efficiency and maintainability, see item 2

• Use immutable data types to eliminate unnecessary error checking, see item 7

• Avoid the C# function that'll practically always get you in trouble, see item 10

• Minimize garbage collection, boxing, and unboxing, see items 16 and 17

• Take full advantage of interfaces and delegates, see items 19 though 22

• Create CLS compliant assemblies that use noncompliant C# language features, see item 30

• Improve reliability and maintainability by creating small, cohesive assemblies, see item 32

• Leverage the full power of .NET's runtime diagnostics, see item 36

• Know when—and when not—to use reflection, see items 42 and 43

• Preview the major enhancements in C# 2.0, see item 49

• You're already a successful C# programmer—this book can help you become an outstanding one.

Bill Wagner is co-founder of and .NET consultant for SRT Solutions. A nationally recognized independent expert on .NET, he has been a regular contributor to ASP.NET Pro Magazine, Visual Studio Magazine, and the .NET Insight newsletter. In addition to being a Microsoft Regional Director, he is also active in the Southeast Michigan .NET User Group and the Ann Arbor Computing Society. He is author of The C# Core Language Little Black Book (The Coriolis Group, 2002).

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