C# in a Nutshell provides everything programmers need to know about the C# language in one concise and accessible volume. Designed as a primary reference for daily use, it also includes all the essential background information to become productive quickly. Not a ''how-to'' book or a rehash of Microsoft's documentation, this book goes to the source of the C# language and the APIs of the .NET Framework to present the content in a way that professional programmers will value above all other books.
Brief introductions to the language and .NET runtime provide the needed preparation for programming with the C# language, whose keywords and syntax are then detailed in subsequent chapters. Next, C# in a Nutshell presents key namespaces and types of the .NET Framework base class library which provides much of the functionality and power of the language. Using C# examples, the .NET Framework covers each core area, including:
- Strings
- Collections
- XML
- Networking
- Input/Output
- Serialization
- Assemblies
- Reflection
- Custom Attributes
- Memory Management
- Threading
- Integrating with Native DLLs
- Integrating with COM Components
- Diagnostics
Determined to provide even more value, C# in a Nutshell moves into a comprehensive language reference, plus syntax, XML documentation tags, naming and coding conventions, and the various C# development tools--the kind of reference material programmers will use every day.
Next, an extensive and quick reference to the API is presented, featuring the System namespace. Particularly useful are the many figures and tables that present the main features of the namespace. For those looking create alternatives to Microsoft's implementation of the C# Programming Language and the Common Language Infrastructure as submitted to ECMA (an international standards organization), each element included in the ECMA submission is clearly labeled. Finally, the entire reference is based on Version 1 of the .NET Framework and generated by tools written in the C# language itself.
Every once in a while, a book becomes the de-facto standard for a technology, operating system, or programming language--which is exactly what C# in a Nutshell aims to do in a single straightforward and easy to use volume.