C# Precisely, 2nd Edition

C# is an object-oriented programming language that is similar to Java in many respects but more comprehensive and different in most details. This book offers a quick and accessible reference for anyone who wants to know C# in more detail than that provided by a standard textbook. It will be particularly useful for C# learners who are familiar with Java. This second edition has been updated and expanded, reflecting the evolution and extension of the C# programming language. It covers C# versions 3.0 and 4.0 and takes a look ahead at some of the innovations of version 5.0. In particular, it describes asynchronous programming as found in 5.0.

Despite the new material, C# Precisely remains compact and easy to navigate. It describes C# in detail but informally and concisely, presenting lambda expressions, extension methods, anonymous object expressions, object initializers, collection initializers, local variable type inference, type dynamic, type parameter covariance and contravariance, and Linq (language integrated query), among other topics, all in aabout 250 pages. The book offers more than 250 examples to illustrate both common use and subtle points. Two-page spreads show general rules on the left and relevant examples on the right, maximizing the amount of information accessible at a glance.

The complete, ready-to-run example programs are available at the book’s Web site, http://www.itu.dk/people/sestoft/csharpprecisely/

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Compiling, Loading, and Executing C# Programs
Chapter 2 Names and Reserved Names
Chapter 3 C#NamingConventions
Chapter 4 Comments and Program Layout
Chapter 5 Data and Types
Chapter 6 Variables, Parameters, Fields, and Scope
Chapter 7 Strings
Chapter 8 String Builders
Chapter 9 Arrays
Chapter 10 Classes
Chapter 11 The Machine Model: Stack, Heap, and Garbage Collection
Chapter 12 Expressions
Chapter 13 Statements
Chapter 14 Struct Types
Chapter 15 Interfaces
Chapter 16 Enum Types
Chapter 17 Delegate Types
Chapter 18 Type dynamic (C# 4.0)
Chapter 19 Nullable Types over Value Types
Chapter 20 Exceptions
Chapter 21 Threads, Concurrent Execution, and Synchronization
Chapter 22 Task Parallel Library (C# 4.0)
Chapter 23 AsynchronousMethods: async and await (C# 5.0)
Chapter 24 Mathematical Functions
Chapter 25 Input and Output
Chapter 26 Generic Types and Methods
Chapter 27 Generic Collections: Sets, Lists, and Dictionaries
Chapter 28 Linq, Language Integrated Query (C# 3.0)
Chapter 29 Namespaces
Chapter 30 Partial Type Declarations
Chapter 31 Assertions and the Debug.AssertMethod
Chapter 32 Attributes
Chapter 33 Main Differences between C# and Java
Chapter 34 Resources