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Head First C#: A Learner's Guide to Real-World Programming with C#, XAML, and .NET 3rd Edition
There is a newer edition of this item:
$75.99
This title will be released on August 13, 2024.
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Head First C# is a complete learning experience for learning how to program with C#, XAML, the .NET Framework, and Visual Studio. Fun and highly visual, this introduction to C# is designed to keep you engaged and entertained from first page to last. Updated for Windows 8.1 and Visual Studio 2013, and includes projects for all previous versions of Windows (included in the book, no additional downloading or printing required).
You’ll build a fully functional video game in the opening chapter, and then learn how to use classes and object-oriented programming, draw graphics and animation, and query data with LINQ and serialize it to files. And you'll do it all by creating games, solving puzzles, and doing hands-on projects. By the time you're done, you'll be a solid C# programmer―and you'll have a great time along the way!
- Create a fun arcade game in the first chapter, and build games and other projects throughout the book
- Learn how to use XAML to design attractive and interactive pages and windows
- Build modern Windows Store apps using the latest Microsoft technology
- Learn WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) using the downloadable WPF Learner's Guide
- Using the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern to create robust architecture
- Build a bonus Windows Phone project and run it in the Visual Studio Windows Phone emulator
Projects in the book work with all editions of Visual Studio, including the free Express editions.
- ISBN-101449343503
- ISBN-13978-1449343507
- Edition3rd
- PublisherO'Reilly Media
- Publication dateOctober 15, 2013
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions8.27 x 2.2 x 9.25 inches
- Print length1098 pages
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From the Publisher
About 'Head First' Books
We think of a Head First Reader as a Learner
Learning isn't something that just happens to you. It's something you do. You can't learn without pumping some neurons. Learning means building more mental pathways, bridging connections between new and pre-existing knowledge, recognizing patterns, and turning facts and information into knowledge (and ultimately, wisdom). Based on the latest research in cognitive science, neurobiology, and educational psychology, Head First books get your brain into learning mode.
Here's how we help you do that:
We tell stories using casual language, instead of lecturing. We don't take ourselves too seriously. Which would you pay more attention to: a stimulating dinner party companion, or a lecture?
We make it visual. Images are far more memorable than words alone, and make learning much more effective. They also make things more fun.
We use attention-grabbing tactics. Learning a new, tough, technical topic doesn't have to be boring. The graphics are often surprising, oversized, humorous, sarcastic, or edgy. The page layout is dynamic: no two pages are the same, and each one has a mix of text and images.
Metacognition: thinking about thinking
If you really want to learn, and you want to learn more quickly and more deeply, pay attention to how you pay attention. Think about how you think. The trick is to get your brain to see the new material you're learning as Really Important. Crucial to your well-being. Otherwise, you're in for a constant battle, with your brain doing its best to keep the new content from sticking.
Here's what we do:
We use pictures, because your brain is tuned for visuals, not text. As far as your brain's concerned, a picture really is worth a thousand words. And when text and pictures work together, we embedded the text in the pictures because your brain works more effectively when the text is within the thing the text refers to, as opposed to in a caption or buried in the text somewhere.
We use redundancy, saying the same thing in different ways and with different media types, and multiple senses, to increase the chance that the content gets coded into more than one area of your brain.
We use concepts and pictures in unexpected ways because your brain is tuned for novelty, and we use pictures and ideas with at least some emotional content, because your brain is more likely to remember when you feel something.
We use a personalized, conversational style, because your brain is tuned to pay more attention when it believes you're in a conversation than if it thinks you're passively listening to a presentation.
We include many activities, because your brain is tuned to learn and remember more when you do things than when you read about things. And we make the exercises challenging-yet-do-able, because that's what most people prefer.
We use multiple learning styles, because you might prefer step-by-step procedures, while someone else wants to understand the big picture first, and someone else just wants to see an example. But regardless of your own learning preference, everyone benefits from seeing the same content represented in multiple ways.
We include content for both sides of your brain, because the more of your brain you engage, the more likely you are to learn and remember, and the longer you can stay focused. Since working one side of the brain often means giving the other side a chance to rest, you can be more productive at learning for a longer period of time.
We include challenges by asking questions that don't always have a straight answer, because your brain is tuned to learn and remember when it has to work at something.
Finally, we use people in our stories, examples, and pictures, because, well, you're a person. Your brain pays more attention to people than to things.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Andrew Stellman is a developer, architect, speaker, agile coach, project manager, and expert in building better software. He has over two decades of professional experience building software, and has architected large-scale real-time back end systems, managed large international software teams, been a Vice President at a major investment bank, and consulted for companies, schools, and corporations, including Microsoft, the National Bureau of Economic Research, Bank of America, Notre Dame, and MIT. He's had the privilege of working with some pretty amazing programmers during that time, and likes to think that he's learned a few things from them.
Product details
- Publisher : O'Reilly Media; 3rd edition (October 15, 2013)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 1098 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1449343503
- ISBN-13 : 978-1449343507
- Item Weight : 4.4 pounds
- Dimensions : 8.27 x 2.2 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #198 in Microsoft .NET
- #281 in C# Programming (Books)
- #1,928 in Introductory & Beginning Programming
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Andrew Stellman is a developer, architect, speaker, agile coach, project manager, and expert in building better software. He has over two decades of professional experience building software, and has architected large-scale real-time back end systems, managed large international software teams, been a Vice President at a major investment bank, and consulted for companies, schools, and corporations, including Microsoft, the National Bureau of Economic Research, Bank of America, Notre Dame, and MIT. He's had the privilege of working with some pretty amazing programmers during that time, and likes to think that he's learned a few things from them.
Jennifer Greene is an agile coach, development manager, business analyst, project manager, tester, speaker, and authority on software engineering practices and principles. She’s been building software for over twenty years in many different domains including media, finance, and IT consulting. She’s worked with teams of excellent developers and testers to tackle tough technical problems and focused her career on finding and fixing the habitual process issues that crop up along the way.
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Just open the book up and look... Unlike most boring computer programming books, this one has TONS of drawings, notes, captions, pictures, and other intriguing little tid-bits on EVERY SINGLE PAGE. I've never seen a text-book that is jam-packed with as many little side-notes, useful hints, and illustrations. The authors of this book clearly consulted professional research when they wrote the blueprint for how this book was going to be presented.
Another extremely important thing is... It's accurate. VERY accurate. Despite the book being written in 2013, I am using Visual Studio 2015 and have yet to encounter any problems whatsoever. The authors provided workarounds for version differences in the appendix but you barely even have to use them. If you do, they are written just as well, with all of the same illustrations, as the main pages in the book. I haven't even seen ONE little typo in this book, which is extremely important for a programming guide. Great job!
Honestly, this book has pretty much left me speechless otherwise... It's THAT good. I haven't programmed a single line of code since I was 13 years old, I'm now 27 and I read half the book in a couple weeks and completed every exercise so far. Thanks to this book, I am easily able to write up my own code and understand most people's code.
But perhaps the best part of the book is not that it teaches you C#... It teaches you how to THINK like programmer. Being a programmer is much more than just knowing the language. This book teaches you how to draw up class diagrams, plan out your programs with optimal structure, and most importantly, it gives you assignments and you have to FIGURE THEM OUT. This is how programming professionally is. It's not reading some boring book, memorizing syntax, and then just toying around. You have to be able to convert someone else's ideas and designs into a working product and that is what this book has you doing.
I see some negative reviews on here... I honestly don't get it. Yeah, maybe if you're a seasoned programmer you may not like it because it may bore you. But if you're a seasoned programmer, what the heck are you doing buying a book entitled "Head First C#" in the first place? Clearly, this book is written for beginners. This book would also benefit experienced programmers who are new to objected-oriented programming.
I would not buy this book solely to use as a reference, it is not written as a reference. Instead, you'd be better getting C# 6.0 in a Nutshell: The Definitive Reference .
As a recent convert from Java to C# (and from about a dozen languages before Java), I have developed the humility necessary to at least skim the parts of the books I use to learn new languages that cover the "obvious" stuff (like the difference between a short and long). But, by doing so in this book, I have found that there are a few C# specifics one might otherwise miss. Yet, the book is so well structured that a real skim (looking each page over, without either reading the whole thing nor just flipping inattentively) tends to be what it takes to find them. So, even though this book is clearly intended to be useful to a beginning programmer, I'd recommend it to someone crossing over from another language.
They left out threading, unsafe, and native code, which is fine for a beginner's book. But I have to give it one star off of perfection because it would be possible to include them and they just didn't. Still a very good book.
Other reviews noted that the book is out of date or that Windows 8 is required. I disagree; the book is about as current as it can be. Yes, Microsoft has released the 2013 version of Visual Studio, and the book references the 2012 version, but the differences are minor. Yes, the first few chapters are provided for WIN8 users, but they have a doable workaround for other Windows versions which was fine for me. If you have a Kindle or iPad, then it is easy to read the supplement PDF while working in the book.
If you want to learn C#, then it is simple: buy Head First C#!
Top reviews from other countries
Only one negative comment - this book depends on relatively old versions of Microsoft's design environment (which are still available and downloadable for free) and is based heavily (in the second half of the book) on the Windows 8 version of Windows. You can though print off a PDF of these chapters that is based on WPF - the typical set of libraries used for windows desktop programs "like you use at work".
Setting the above aside - the book is brilliant - you learn by doing and take difficult concepts in a reasonably absorb-able order. It let me move on pretty seamlessly to more traditional textbooks and 'see how it all fitted together'. It is aimed squarely at beginners.
It seems that a new edition is planned for end of Mar 2020 - although of course this doesn't help too much if you are thinking of buying now!