Here are 29 books that Head First C# fans have personally recommended if you like
Head First C#.
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I've been a C# programmer for 23 years, and am passionate about the language. It is the perfect balance of power and ease of use, and each year it is extended by its amazing development team. I've used C# to build stand-alone applications, mobile applications, APIs, and database applications and I've never felt constrained. Finally, C# lends itself to best practices and design patterns, and continues to rise in popularity, especially with professional software developers.
While it is true that I wrote the first few editions of this book, Ian has taken it over, revamped it, and made it an iconic work on the language.
It covers every aspect of C# programming, and explains not only how to do something, but why you would do it. It is chock full of best practices and patterns and anti-patterns, and is well written and engaging.
C# is undeniably one of the most versatile programming languages available to engineers today. With this comprehensive guide, you'll learn just how powerful the combination of C# and .NET can be. Author Ian Griffiths guides you through C# 10.0 and .NET 6 fundamentals and techniques for building cloud, web, and desktop applications.
Designed for experienced programmers, this book provides many code examples to help you work with the nuts and bolts of C#, such as generics, LINQ, and asynchronous programming features. You'll get up to speed on .NET 6 and the latest C# 9.0 and 10.0 additions, including records, enhanced…
I've been a C# programmer for 23 years, and am passionate about the language. It is the perfect balance of power and ease of use, and each year it is extended by its amazing development team. I've used C# to build stand-alone applications, mobile applications, APIs, and database applications and I've never felt constrained. Finally, C# lends itself to best practices and design patterns, and continues to rise in popularity, especially with professional software developers.
This is the definitive reference book on C#. The Albahari brothers have been writing about C# since the early bits, and they know the language inside and out. While this is a hefty book, you will find yourself using it frequently, and you'll be impressed by its comprehensiveness and utility.
When you have questions about C# 10 or .NET 6, this best-selling guide has the answers you need. C# is a language of unusual flexibility and breadth, and with its continual growth, there's always so much more to learn. In the tradition of O'Reilly's Nutshell guides, this thoroughly updated edition is simply the best one-volume reference to the C# language available today.
Organized around concepts and use cases, this comprehensive and complete reference provides intermediate and advanced programmers with a concise map of C# and .NET that also plumbs significant depths.
I've been a C# programmer for 23 years, and am passionate about the language. It is the perfect balance of power and ease of use, and each year it is extended by its amazing development team. I've used C# to build stand-alone applications, mobile applications, APIs, and database applications and I've never felt constrained. Finally, C# lends itself to best practices and design patterns, and continues to rise in popularity, especially with professional software developers.
This book not only teaches the language, it puts it into the context of .NET. It is up-to-date and amazingly comprehensive. Don't be intimidated by its size (it is massive); that is a function of all that Mark covers. If you want one book that covers every aspect of C# and .NET, this is the one.
An accessible guide for beginner-to-intermediate programmers to concepts, real-world applications, and latest features of C# 11 and .NET 7, with hands-on exercises using Visual Studio 2022 and Visual Studio Code.
Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free eBook in PDF format.
Key Features
Explore the newest additions to C# 11, the .NET 7 class libraries, and Entity Framework Core 7
Create professional websites and services with ASP.NET Core 7 and Blazor
Build your confidence with step-by-step code examples and tips for best practicesBook Description
Extensively revised to accommodate the latest features that come with C# 11 and…
I have been coding for over 30 years. I’ve seen some miserable interfaces, and some large programs that collapse under their own weight. Software was, at one point, notorious for being late, over budget, and unreliable. These books have helped turn the corner on these failings, and I have found each of them very valuable in my day-to-day programming. While you can learn technique and even languages online, the kind of insight found in these books is rare and worth spending time and money on.
The .Net world is changing fast, and this is a terrific book to help you keep up. This tome covers so many topics it is hard to list them all, but while it doesn’t go super-deep into any one topic it does provide enough of an overview to understand what the technology is and how you might put it to work. Software Architecture with C# 10 and .NET 6 has helped me understand what exists and what is coming and to decide where to put my mental energy
Design scalable and high-performance enterprise applications using the latest features of C# 10 and .NET 6
Key Features
Gain comprehensive software architecture knowledge and the skillset to create fully modular apps
Solve scalability problems in web apps using enterprise architecture patterns
Master new developments in front-end architecture and the application of AI for software architectsBook Description
Software architecture is the practice of implementing structures and systems that streamline the software development process and improve the quality of an app. This fully revised and expanded third edition, featuring the latest features of .NET 6 and C# 10, enables you to acquire…
I’ve always enjoyed mentoring folks whether new or experienced in programming. Whether it is teaching an intern or a high school robotics student, or onboarding an experienced Java developer, it brings me joy to see people learn. I also love to read. Being able to recommend some of my favorite books can help even more people absorb all of this information.
Unless you are writing a greenfield app, you have legacy code around. And even if you are on a greenfield app, you are writing legacy code right now.
This book gives you techniques for working on such a codebase. It is a really good read for learning how to refactor safely so you can work with what you are inheriting. You might notice this book is 20 years old. It’s just as relevant today as when I first read it in 2004. The concepts don’t depend on the exact language syntax.
In fact, some of the examples are in a mix of Java, C#, and C++. I really appreciate the perspective on testing that I got by reading this book.
This book provides programmers with the ability to cost effectively handlecommon legacy code problems without having to go through the hugelyexpensive task of rewriting all existing code. It describes a series of practicalstrategies that developers can employ to bring their existing softwareapplications under control. The author provides useful guidance about how touse these strategies when refactoring or making functional changes to codebases. One of the book's key points is that it teaches developers to write teststhat can be used to make sure they are not unintentionally changing theapplication as they optimize it. Examples are provided in Java, C++, and Csharp,and…
I'm a programmer with a desire to constantly learn and improve. I have many years of experience in writing mission-critical software in highly event-driven areas such as FinTech and online auctions. Through interesting and challenging projects, I've always been fascinated by trying to generalize and abstract what it is that makes good code; so things like design patterns and best practices were just up my street. As I expanded this personal research, I found that functional programming provided many interesting techniques, but that many professionals in the industry were unaware of them. This is why I decided to show these techniques and their benefits to a wider audience through my book Functional Programming in C#.
If you're a C# programmer and have read or are interested in my book, there's a good chance you're working on a backend that supports a web application powered with JavaScript (or another language that compiles to JavaScript).
If you're interested in having more functional programming in your life, I recommend you learn Elm, a purely functional language that compiles to JavaScript.
To do this, I recommend Richard Feldman's Elm in Action, a book that takes you from zero to writing a web app in Elm.
The book teaches you everything you need to know to get started with Elm: 1) the syntax—it's a language of the ML family (like Haskell or F#) but its type system is simpler, and generally the language has been designed to be the most approachable functional language out there; 2) the Elm architecture—you write code that works within a framework, so you can write…
Elm is more than just a cutting-edge programming language, it's a chance to upgrade the way you think about building web applications. Once you get comfortable with Elm's refreshingly different approach to application development, you'll be working with a clean syntax, dependable libraries, and a delightful compiler that essentially eliminates runtime exceptions. Elm compiles to JavaScript, so your code runs in any browser, and Elm's best-in-class rendering speed will knock your socks off. Let's get started!
Elm in Action teaches you how to build well-designed, highly performant web applications using the Elm language. As you read, you'll follow an application…
I’m a professional software developer for more than 22 years now. I’ve used many programming languages, platforms, frameworks, etc. throughout my career. However, the only constant for me personally was the practice of Test-Driven Development. I’ve never stopped learning about the principles and practices behind it, and it paid huge dividends throughout my career. I’m very humbled and grateful to be able to learn from all those amazing people over the years, that I decided to write a book on the topic. Giving back some of the knowledge that I gathered about TDD throughout 18+ years.
I must admit that the first time I read this book, it completely didn’t resonate with me. Sure, I picked up a couple of very important concepts here and there. One of those concepts is the “Test Data Builder”. However, some of the techniques I completely rejected. It took me a couple of years to start opening up to the practices described in this book. After a second read, I came to the conclusion that this excellent work deserved more credit. That’s why I added it to this list. This book shaped my entire thinking around Outside-In TDD, which is a very important approach to guiding well-designed software systems.
"The authors of this book have led a revolution in the craft of programming by controlling the environment in which software grows." --Ward Cunningham
"At last, a book suffused with code that exposes the deep symbiosis between TDD and OOD. This one's a keeper." --Robert C. Martin
"If you want to be an expert in the state of the art in TDD, you need to understand the ideas in this book."--Michael Feathers
Test-Driven Development (TDD) is now an established technique for delivering better software faster. TDD is based on a simple idea: Write tests for your…
I’m a professional software developer for more than 22 years now. I’ve used many programming languages, platforms, frameworks, etc. throughout my career. However, the only constant for me personally was the practice of Test-Driven Development. I’ve never stopped learning about the principles and practices behind it, and it paid huge dividends throughout my career. I’m very humbled and grateful to be able to learn from all those amazing people over the years, that I decided to write a book on the topic. Giving back some of the knowledge that I gathered about TDD throughout 18+ years.
I was quite late in picking up this book after it got published in 2014. Turned out that this mistake was all mine. Although the book is very opinionated, this masterpiece is filled with many nuggets of wisdom when it comes to writing highly maintainable unit tests. There are lots of code examples to be found as well. The ideal book to read after Test-Driven Development By Example and Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided By Tests.
This book details Jay Fields' strong opinions on the best way to test, while acknowledging alternative styles and various contexts in which tests are written. Whether you prefer Jay Fields' style or not, this book will help you write better Unit Tests.
From the Preface:
Over a dozen years ago I read Refactoring for the first time; it immediately became my bible. While Refactoring isn’t about testing, it explicitly states: If you want to refactor, the essential precondition is having solid tests. At that time, if Refactoring deemed it necessary, I unquestionably complied. That was the beginning of my quest…
I’m a professional software developer for more than 22 years now. I’ve used many programming languages, platforms, frameworks, etc. throughout my career. However, the only constant for me personally was the practice of Test-Driven Development. I’ve never stopped learning about the principles and practices behind it, and it paid huge dividends throughout my career. I’m very humbled and grateful to be able to learn from all those amazing people over the years, that I decided to write a book on the topic. Giving back some of the knowledge that I gathered about TDD throughout 18+ years.
During the early years of my career as a software developer, I regularly developed very small programs that would exercise parts of the system that I was working on back then. I realized very quickly that those small programs would save me a lot of time figuring out whether the changes that I made would actually work or not. Until at some point a colleague mentioned the concept of Test-Driven Development. I first did some experimentation, dipping a toe into the water to feel the temperature. It wasn’t until the first time I picked up this book that I jumped right in. From then moment on, it all made sense. Although this book was published back in 2002, for me it still is the book when it comes to the subject of Test-Driven Development.
Quite simply, test-driven development is meant to eliminate fear in application development. While some fear is healthy (often viewed as a conscience that tells programmers to "be careful!"), the author believes that byproducts of fear include tentative, grumpy, and uncommunicative programmers who are unable to absorb constructive criticism. When programming teams buy into TDD, they immediately see positive results. They eliminate the fear involved in their jobs, and are better equipped to tackle the difficult challenges that face them. TDD eliminates tentative traits, it teaches programmers to communicate, and it encourages team members to seek out criticism However, even the…
I’m a professional software developer for more than 22 years now. I’ve used many programming languages, platforms, frameworks, etc. throughout my career. However, the only constant for me personally was the practice of Test-Driven Development. I’ve never stopped learning about the principles and practices behind it, and it paid huge dividends throughout my career. I’m very humbled and grateful to be able to learn from all those amazing people over the years, that I decided to write a book on the topic. Giving back some of the knowledge that I gathered about TDD throughout 18+ years.
This is the most recent book I'm recommending, and it’s also more than just a book on Test-Driven Development. I often proclaim that Test-Driven Development and software design are two sides of the same coin. One cannot separate one from the other. So learning about Test-Driven Development also means that one has to learn about software design principles. This book teaches both. The first part of the book is all about Test-Driven Development, while the remainder of the book also touches on object calisthenics, refactoring, code smells, design patterns, the S.O.L.I.D. principles, connascence, the four elements of simple design, and much more. Whether you’re new to programming software, or whether you’re a seasoned developer, there’s much to learn from this book.
Delve deep into the various technical practices, principles, and values of Agile.
Key Features
Discover the essence of Agile software development and the key principles of software design
Explore the fundamental practices of Agile working, including test-driven development (TDD), refactoring, pair programming, and continuous integration
Learn and apply the four elements of simple designBook Description
The number of popular technical practices has grown exponentially in the last few years. Learning the common fundamental software development practices can help you become a better programmer. This book uses the term Agile as a wide umbrella and covers Agile principles and practices, as…
