[.ca] Applied Microsoft.NET Framework Programming (ISBN 0735619751)

From Amazon.com:
Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming is a tutorial. It's meant for programmers who already know an object-oriented language and want to apply their knowledge in the standardized environment provided by the Microsoft .NET Framework. The book, written by Jeffrey Richter, a programmer and the .NET columnist at Microsoft's magazine for its developer community, takes a more or less language-agnostic approach to the run-time environment (though many illustrative examples are in C#). It aims to untangle the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and some of the Framework Class Library (FCL), and generally succeeds, particularly at the former. Richter shares his knowledge of the key classes you can instantiate in the CLR, and the kinds of operations you can perform on and with them. You can read this book, or individual chapters, from beginning to end. You'll probably find it more helpful, though, if you read individual sections as you encounter problems or develop an interest in specific aspects of the CLR (ideal for those middle-of-the-night "I wonder how it does..." questions). Richter typically lets his code do most of the talking, and he'll often introduce a section with a prose summary of the CLR way of doing something (sometimes with a supplementary diagram) before unleashing a string of quick examples that illustrate variations on the theme. In an unusual and helpful tutorial move, he makes heavy use of the ILDASM utility to show what goes on at compile time. --David Wall Topics covered: How the Microsoft .NET Framework--in other words, the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and parts of the Framework Class Library (FCL)--runs Microsoft .NET applications, and how to write software for the framework. Shared assemblies, characteristics of CLR types (including their properties, methods, fields, and events), and object orientation all get ample coverage. There's particularly detailed information on text manipulation (including internationalization and localization), arrays, custom interfaces, and the managed environment (garbage collection) in the CLR environment.

Perfection:
You have to love this book. Simply a must read for any .NET software developer. It does a fairly good job of staying language neutral, but you will get the most out of the book if you are comfortable with C#. No other book I have read comes close to explaining the CLR in such a graspable way. There are six or seven different sections of the book I find myself pointing colleagues to everyday. One of the most overlooked, misunderstood and necessary topics has to be boxing and unboxing. This is explained extraordinarily well. I still find myself reading this section over, pleading with my brain to commit some of the trickery of the compiler to memory. Another favorite section is Chapter 11 - Events. Nobody could possibly read this chapter and not feel completely comfortable with designing a type that exposes an event. And then, the cherry on top, he walks you through explicitly controlling event registration... WOW! Great stuff. This book is packed with all the core concepts you need to know to be a successful programmer. The longer you go without it, the more of injustice you do to yourselves and your clients.

Best Book:
This book is the absolute best book for the .NET Framework. It is strange that the used book price ($6.5) for the same book with CD and Poster, The Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming in C# Collection, is much lower than the used book price ($30) of this book, Applied Microsoft .NET Framework Programming on July 14, 2004. I recommend the reader to buy the latest version of the book with CD and Poster at much low cost.

MUST READ for .NET GURUs:
Jeff really shows off his experience with consulting for and working with the .NET framework team in this book. This is one of the very best .NET books and will remain as such for the lifetime of the technology. It covers the internals of .NET, critical to a solid foundation of knowledge for a technical leader in .NET. As such, it's not a "getting started guide". There are dozens of those on the market, but few "must haves" like this one.

A classic book in the field of Microsoft.NET:
This is one of the few classics, programmers should get and learn from it. The easy reading(keeps refreshing the reader on earlier concepts) style makes learning enjoyable and exciting. Even after finishing the book, I still can't help but wonder why System.Threading wasn't covered. Maybe Jeffery should include this topic in his next edition of the book. After finishing the book, the reader should find the concepts covered in other areas of .net easy to handle and understand. After all that's the objective of the book. Five stars from me.

A Must Read for .NET Programmers:
Jeffrey Ricther has written a very thorough yet readable book describing Microsoft's .NET Framework from both 3,000 feet and, at the same time, 1 millimeter. His direct interaction with the Microsoft team that developed .NET has proven to be a competitive edge that other .NET books currently on the market lack. If you're serious about .NET programming in any language, this is a book you need to buy and read multiple times.