Back in early 2001, when Visual Studio.NET public beta was released I rushed out and bought a copy of VB.NET Programming With the Public Beta & C# Programming With the Public Beta. Recently I had the pleasure of working as a technical reviewer on both of the sequels: I am a time-poor developer and architect and rely on ensuring that I have access to quality information and value greatly a concise real-world professional explanation.

Generally, as busy developers, we do not have the time to read a book from cover to cover but I found that the Fast Track book is actually well-suited for this because it is so well written and full of interesting issues; although it is also great to use simply as a reference book. But what really sells me on this book is its professional and friendly atmosphere; the craftsmanship of the authors; choice of content and clarity of explanation.

A risk facing many VB.NET developers is that they will not comprehensively understand full Object Orientated programming nor the broader functionality of .NET; having been nurtured on legacy VB's. A C++ or Java developer moving to C# will have an enormous advantage over a legacy VB developer; however this book provides an excellent chapter that simply and clearly articulates the new object-orientated capabilities of our language in a manner that quickly offers the opportunity to bridge the gap.

Apart from the expected syntax and ADO.NET chapters there is excellent discussion of creating a Windows Service, Installation & Deployment and the big issue of Interoperability and Migration (invoking COM and calling Windows API's and using the migration wizard).

The book is full of explanations that simplify complex issues, that are well supported by short, realistic & pragmatic examples and offers a comprehensive understanding of our new & very powerful development paradigm.