Firstly I can't easily locate anywhere on the book where it's says Visual Studio .Net is required. Because it isn't. In fact I'd suggest with this work, it's probably a bit of a hinderance, since the entire book uses no graphical elements. A freeware c# editor is probably just the ticket (try before you buy! Why fork outcash to MS for VS .Net anyhow?).To the book.
This books covers a considerable amount of c# (I have a programmers introcution to c# by Deitler and Deitel and Schildt covers topics here that aren't covered there). Right up to Delegates, namespaces and such.
Let's face it, you're looking at this book because you're a beginner. Well this book is written for the beginner with lots of exercises, tips (with ALL the answers!) and mastery tests so you are encouraged to use the learning you have accumulated. And as I said, all the answers are there so if you struggle with an exercise, crack the back and reverse engineer the method. So you're never dumped into a situation where you're truly alone and without help. Herb is always there. This is a good thing for the novice, so you don't feel discouraged and quit.
This book is very easy to read, very focused and very explanatory. I would suggest that if you can't get the concepts of C# as they are presented in this book, with a reasonable amount of effort on your part, then you probably never will. Ultimately that is what it comes down to: effort, direction, purpose and a sense of achievement to keep persisting with whatever it is you're trying to learn. Herb gives you that (all but the effort). If you don't finish this book, feel a sense of accomplishment and feel justifiably knoweable and capable in the basics of C# I'd be surprised. Put the effort in, let Herb teach you and you'll ge there and in good time too. It's cheap as well!
The is a work rich with examples and through explanations of the examples, with elaboration on the point the example is trying to make (also teaches you some clever tricks now and then). Well, okay, this book will NOT teach you the graphical side of c#. But learn the basics (Properly) and then go on and do that and excell at that because you do have a strong grasp of the basics. This is what this book gives you- the basics as promised by the title.
I've used it. I learnt a LOT from it. I like it. And it is a good price! So it isn't thousand page brick...A 500 page book stuff full of good stuff that will be all read is better 1000 pages tome of crap that get's dumped halfway through.
That's my opinion.
Unlike the other reviewers who have commented favourably, I found this to be an appallingly bad text. Although Schildt states that Visual Studio .NET is required, all examples are text based. There is not one example in the book that makes use of a form or even a MessageBox dialogue. Everything is written to the console using Console.Writeline and can be coded using a simple text editor. What a waste of the excellent Visual Studio IDE.The examples are extremely tedious and are reminiscent of a C unit I did some 12 years ago on a Unix box. Come to think of it the whole book looks like a boilerplate job with C# syntax thrown in and a couple of original chapters on OO.
The saddest thing of all is that the text is completely devoid of humour or any sort of personality and as mentioned before the 1-2 page code examples are excruciatingly boring.
Apart from the above, everything else was terrific :) Do yourself a favour and look at alternatives such as John Smiley (Learn to Program with C#) or even John Sharp (Microsoft Visual C# .Net Step by Step).
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