A perfect book to learn from scratch
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If you've been programming for years, then this book will bore you to tears. But if you've never done any programming before, I would say that this is BY FAR the best teach yourself course I have ever read. Ever. Regardless of the subject.
The writers are clearly educators by profession, and their knowledge of the human learning mechanisms shines through from beginning to end. It assumes that you have ZERO knowledge and takes to up from there, very quickly, thoroughly and easily to a point where youcan cofidently program.
I also bought the Apress' Pro C# 2008 book which is very thorough, I'm sure, but so far (18 pages in), it has just been one long string of jargon.
This Head First publication, on the other hand, assumes that as a beginner you won't know the jargon, so there's no point explaining it to you with more jargon... So they get you started at your compuer instead, creating, experimenting, helping you make mistakes and correct them, and they let you know what's going on all the way. So when they talk about a 'class' you know what hey're talking about because you've personally made one. This is so refreshing compared to Apress' exlanation... try this for size: "Every .NET-aware language supports, at the very least, the notion of a class type, which is the cornerstone of object-oriented programming (OOP). A class may be composed of any number of members (such as properties, methods, and events) and data points (fields)." See what I mean...
Quite simply the best if you want to learn from scratch.
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A guidebook to learning, not a reference manual
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I've read enough books on programming to know what to expect before I even open the cover: intro, jargon definitions, syntax definitions (that gets you about 50% through the book), n-chapters with explanations/examples of major features, a chapter with stuff that didn't fit anywhere else, The End. A bit like learning to speak a foreign language by reading the dictionary and then reading a book on grammar: dry and completely backwards.
Head First C# takes a much more effective approach. From the start you are using what you learn and building upon that base with successive lessons. New concepts are introduced and explained when you have the necessary context to understand them. Examples are not snippets of code in isolation. And praise the heavens, none involve the worn-out Employer/Employee, Customer/Order/Address class cliches. The final project is a Space Invaders clone... code you might actually enjoy writing. What a novel idea.
If I had any complaint it's that the visual style is a bit busy. Mostly because I'm used to reading reference manuals, but I guess the style is what "kids" like these days. I certainly would have preferred a book like this when I was new to the programming game. The lighthearted approach of the does not sacrifice a depth of understanding. Buy this book and a C# reference manual. Learn with this one, and look up the fine points in the other.
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don't bother
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Having read, and absolutely loved Head First Java and Head First OOP I found the style of this book to be a long way from what makes Head First books a joy to read, and therefore an excellent learning tool.
The examples of code are dreary and uninspiring, with very little content or explanation of what you are actually doing. i.e. "just type this, compile and run... cool huh?"
I only managed to get through 40-50% of this book before giving up on it. Spend your money instead on Apress' Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform (4th edition), I found this book to be 1000% better, despite it appearing to be a more serious book, it actually explains everything in simple terms and gives (reasonably) good examples. Apart from the author repeatedly beginning sentences with the word "Understand..." which I find a little bit patronising.
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Head First C#
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Do you have a sense of humour ?
Do you want to learm C#?
If the answer is YES to both questions then get this book as it has no competition :)
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