Student Review: C# Precisely

Authors: Peter Sestoft and Henrik I. Hansen

Edition: Second

Publisher: MIT Press

Pages: 264

Price: £20.95

ISBN: 9780262516860

Many aspects of computer science require books to be read from start to finish. Programming is no exception, and there is the added need to read and reread critical chapters as a point of reference. A book such as this should always be close at hand, both for experts and for those who have some prior programming experience when tackling a problem.

Peter Sestoft and Henrik Hansen provide a clear and concise overview of relevant knowledge and key theories before delving into more detailed examples. They focus on some of the most popular design trends, such as Linq and the avidly awaited C# 5.0 for asynchronous programming. This book covers a great deal of ground in its small and compact size. Although it offers a wide and varied range of examples, it is really a general reference book to be used when addressing abstract problems rather than the detailed issues that a programmer may face when debugging specific code.

Each chapter systematically breaks down individual concepts of C# into subsections to develop an underlying idea of what it is and how it might be applied to a problem. This gives the reader a starting point to think about the problem and, where necessary, to find the literature required for further investigation. This simplified method of writing removes the need for discussion, leaving the reader with an appropriate amount of detail that can be skimmed over to reach an answer.

Many of the explanations and examples assume that the reader already understands a certain level of the Java programming language. Certain differences and similarities between Java and C# are highlighted throughout the chapters, making it considerably simpler for those who do have some background in the former. Even so, it is not a prerequisite for using this book. Even without knowledge of Java, the reader can gain access to key concepts. As some undergraduate students do not gain a significant amount of programming experience until later in their course, this book would be more suitable for third-year undergraduates and postgraduates - and lovers of all things coded.

Who is it for? Third-year undergraduates and postgraduates.

Presentation: Simple and compact.

Would you recommend it? Definitely, as a book to pick up when needed.