Head First C# is a complete learning experience for object-oriented programming, C#, and the Visual Studio IDE. Built for your brain, this book covers C# 3.0 and Visual Studio 2008, and teaches everything from language fundamentals to advanced topics including garbage collection, extension methods, and double-buffered animation. You'll also master C#'s hottest and newest syntax, LINQ, for querying SQL databases, .NET collections, and XML documents. By the time you're through, you'll be a proficient C# programmer, designing and coding large-scale applications.

Every few chapters you will come across a lab that lets you apply what you've learned up to that point. Each lab is designed to simulate a professional programming task, increasing in complexity until-at last-you build a working Invaders game, complete with shooting ships, aliens descending while firing, and an animated death sequence for unlucky starfighters. This remarkably engaging book will have you going from zero to 60 with C# in no time flat.

What you need for this book

We wrote this book using Visual C# 2008 Express Edition, which uses C# 3.0 and .NET Framework 3.5. All of the screenshots that you see throughout the book were taken from that edition, so we recommend that you use it. If you're using Visual Studio 2008 Standard, Professional, or Team System editions, you'll see some small differences, which we've pointed out wherever possible. You can download the Express Edition for free from Microsoft's website—it installs cleanly alongside other editions, as well as previous versions of Visual Studio.

Media Reviews

"For computer programmers who do not have a solid understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP), learning the C# programming language can be rather challenging, even if they have experience with C or C++, which at least would give them a head start over non-C programmers. Any developer in this situation may well want to begin the learning process with a book that aims to teach both OOP and C# in as gentle a manner as possible, with plenty of patient explanations and illustrative diagrams—such as those found in the book Head First C# by Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene."

—Michael J. Ross, Slashdot

"Head First C# is absolutely the best introduction to the C# language for C# beginners...I have already expressed myself elsewhere on the Head First Series and my enthusiasm remains strong. And, I would like to remind the reader not to skip around in the text; rather, they should work methodically through the various steps and sections in order to benefit from this structured teaching style. Trust the authors; and, let the book work its magic on you. (What? No "Hello, World!" program?!)"

—Will Wagers, C# Online

Advance Reviews

"I've never read a computer book cover to cover, but this one held my interest from the first page to the last. If you want to learn C# in depth and have fun doing it, this is THE book for you."

—Andy Parker, fledgling C# programmer

"Head First C# is a great book for hobbyist programmers. It provides examples and guidance on a majority of the things [those] programmers are likely to encounter writing applications in C#."

—Peter Ritchie, Microsoft MVP (2006-2007), Visual Developer, C#

"With Head First C#, Andrew and Jenny have presented an excellent tutorial on learning C#. It is very approachable while covering a great amount of detail in a unique style. If you've been turned off by more conventional books on C#, you'll love this one."

—Jay Hilyard, Software Developer, co-author of C# 3.0 Cookbook

"Head First C# is perfect blend of unique and interesting ways covering most of the concepts of programming. Fun excercises, bullet points, and even comic strips are some of the catchy and awesome works that this book has. The game-based labs are something that you really don't want to miss. [This book is] a great work... the novice as [well as the] well-experienced will love this book. GREAT JOB!"

—Aayam Singh, .NET professional

"Head First C# is a highly enjoyable tutorial, full of memorable examples and entertaining exercises. Its lively style is sure to captivate readers—from the humorously annotated examples, to the Fireside Chats, where the abstract class and interface butt heads in a heated argument! For anyone new to programming, there's no better way to dive in."

—Joseph Albahari, C# Design Architect at Egton Medical Information Systems, the UK's largest primary healthcare software supplier, co-author of C# 3.0 in a Nutshell

"[Head First C#] was an easy book to read and understand. I will recommend this book to any developer wanting to jump into the C# waters. I will recommend it to the advanced developer that wants to understand better what is happening with their code. [I will recommend it to developers who] want to find a better way to explain how C# works to their less-seasoned developer friends."

—Giuseppe Turitto, C# and ASP.NET developer for Cornwall Consulting Group

"Andrew and Jenny have crafted another stimulating Head First learning experience. Grab a pencil, a computer, and enjoy the ride as you engage your left brain, right brain, and funny bone."

—Bill Mietelski, Software Engineer

"Going through this Head First C# book was a great experience. I have not come across a book series which actually teaches you so well…This is a book I would definitely recommend to people wanting to learn C#"

—Krishna Pala, MCP