The outstanding strength of this text is its in-depth language tutorial on C#, with complete coverage of basic and advanced object-oriented programming techniques. New language features like properties, indexers, and attributes get full coverage, alongside the basics of using classes and inheritance.

The book relies on using Visual Studio 6.0 and the command-line .NET tools for running programs. (Visual Studio.NET, the next version of Visual Studio, was unavailable when the book was written.) First to market with an in-depth language tutorial, the focus of Inside C# is on basic and advanced language features. By viewing generated code (using the ILDASM disassembler tool), the author examines how class design features work under the hood.

The language tutorial digs into features, beginning with a "Hello, World" program and delving into class design features before moving on to more basic features like expressions, operators, and flow control. This sequence makes the book best suited to the experienced developer, since some excellent in-depth material on the most advanced features of C# is presented before the basics of the language. Throughout, you'll learn the newest features of the language, how to use it, and a sense of its personality.

There's also plenty of material on the underlying Microsoft .NET platform, from the basics of the Common Language Runtime (CLR) to assemblies (used to deploy .NET applications), plus getting older COM components to interoperate with the newer .NET standard.

For anyone who's programmed before and wants to learn C# quickly, this in-depth guide anchored with plenty of short, effective examples provides what you need. Inside C# shows off the unique strengths of this new and exciting language and provides a solid introduction to the .NET platform. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Introduction to C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework
• Tutorial for object-oriented programming
• A "Hello, World" program in C#
• Command-line .NET tools (including the C# compiler and the ILDASM disassembler)
• C# types
• Boxing and unboxing variables
• In-depth guide to C# class design (including members and methods, constructors, constants and read-only fields, garbage collection, and inheritance)
• Method overloading
• Virtual and static methods
• Properties
• Arrays
• Indexers
• Attributes
• Interfaces (declaring and implementing interfaces, plus interfaces combined with inheritance)
• Expressions and operators in C# (including operator precedence)
• Program flow control
• Exception handling classes and techniques
• Operator overloading
• Delegates and event handlers
• Multithreaded programming techniques (including thread safety and synchronization)
• C# reflection and metadata
• Using unmanaged code and pointers from within C#
• COM interoperability
• Assemblies and deployment in C#

Top