This tutorial is divided into three parts. In Part 1 (chapters 1 to 12), the author describes the details of the C# programming language. In Part 2 (chapters 13 to 16), he uses C# to write both desktop applications and Web applications on Microsoft’s .NET platform. In the final part (chapters 17 to 22), he considers the relationship of C# to the common language runtime (CLR) and the base class library.

The first three chapters introduce C#, starting with the “Hello World” example and summarizing the basic language constructs. The brevity of this introduction makes clear that the book was written for experienced programmers looking to switch to C#, and that this is not an introduction to programming. Typical concepts of object-oriented programming--classes, inheritance, polymorphism, and interfaces--are discussed in more detail. Operator overloading and structs, which are considered a lightweight alternative to classes, are also included. Chapters 9 and 10 exemplify the use of the .NET framework by presenting the collection classes, as well as string manipulation and pattern matching. Complete examples illustrate how to take advantage of predefined features. Part 1 finishes with a discussion of handling exceptions and using delegates to specify methods at runtime and to implement events.

The second part starts with creating Windows forms, using either a text editor or the more comfortable Visual Studio .NET, and the Windows forms framework. The author gradually develops a nontrivial example, a file copier, and eventually presents the complete source code. He also illustrates the facility to generate XML documentation. Chapter 14 concerns accessing databases with ADO.NET. The author briefly introduces the basic notions of relational databases and Structured Query Language (SQL). He then explains how to extract a subset of a database (not necessarily local), and how to work with it. Examples cover updating, deleting, and adding records. The two remaining chapters of this part are shorter than the previous ones. Chapter 15 considers programming Web applications, and the last chapter briefly illustrates implementing a Web service in C#.

At the beginning of Part 3, there is a discussion of the architecture of assemblies as the basic units of .NET programming. The next chapter considers reflection as a means to explore and to examine the contents of an assembly. A detailed example illustrates how to create new types at runtime. Chapter 19 demonstrates how objects can be marshaled across the Net; for example, so that business objects are centralized, whereas the user interface runs on the customer’s desktop. In the last three chapters, the author discusses threads and synchronization, streams (using both TCP/IP and Web protocols), and finally, the support .NET provides for importing ActiveX controls and component object model (COM) components.

The author writes well, and states clearly at the beginning of each chapter what that chapter will cover. He presents complete examples, emphasizing statements of interest with bold face. Thus, the reader gains experience of well-structured source code. He or she can use these examples as guidelines to write good programs. The book focuses on the aspects of object orientation and distribution, strongly adapted to the world of Microsoft. People working on other platforms may not profit so much from it.