[kevin_mchugh]

Hello All,

I am looking for help and advice on which "How to" book I should be picking up. I have been to most of the major books stores in Edinburgh and found either empty spaces where C# books should be or only the more advanced stage books left on the shelf.

Normally I would purchase my books from Amazon but as I am not looking for a particular book, I ideally wanted to be able to see the book before I purchased it.

Since that isn't really logistically possible I have come here to ask you all for advice and help.

Ideally what I am looking for is a book that starts as close to the foundations of of the subject as possible.

Also as this is something I am planning to work through over my summer holidays (Three months of freedom becomes old real quick!) I would like step-by-step type thing ("Learn C# in 24 Hours/21 Days" etc).

The biggest must have though is a focus on Object Orientated Programming as I am only just getting my head around these concepts and am looking to strengthen my grasp on the subject over the summer.

I don't ask for much do I

Finally my second question, Is there a difference between C# and Visual C# or am I just being a bit of a tool

Before I go I just wanted to say thanks for the help and advice and apologies to the moderators if I have posted this in the wrong place.

If I have missed anything out or you need more information the please feel to throw sticks at me until I follow up this post.

Regards

Kevin McHugh

[SixOfEleven]

Microsoft's Visual C# is an IDE for creating C# applications. C# itself is the actual language. You could also use a product like SharpDevelop to create your C# projects. Or, you can just write them in a text editor and compile them yourself. I was on Amazon yesterday. There is a feature called look inside. Just click the look inside image and you will get a preview of the book. The books I have are old, from 2003, and there have been many new features added to .NET since then such as generic collections.

[Martyr2]

Personally I love the Deitel series of books to start a fresh new language from the beginning. Especially if you know a little programming from another language they are great. What makes them great is...

1) They are comprehensive (these are thick books full of everything from the beginning hello world up through networking, databases etc)

2) Tons of examples and are often syntax highlighted or highlights the key changes between examples.

3) Many of them have practice questions at the end of the chapter to help you review how much you have learned (not all of them do though, so this is a hit and miss)

The one drawback to these is usually the price. We are talking over 100 bucks usually for it. But as a book with about 800+ pages, they are well worth it.

The first six books that you see at the following amazon.com listing are all great choices. Read the covers to get an idea of what is in them as well as the reviews.

Amazon.com: C# Deitel results

From there you can then check out the more advanced books and recommendations I have for C# on my blog at the link below...

Martyr2's Programming Underground - Book Recommendations for a Variety of Languages

Enjoy!