Head First C#: A Learner's Guide to Real-World Programming with Visual C# and .NET (Head First Guides)

You want to learn C# programming, but you're not sure you want to suffer through another tedious technical book. You're in luck: Head First C# introduces this language in a fun, visual way. You'll quickly learn everything from creating your first program to learning sophisticated coding skills with C# 4.0, Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4, while avoiding common errors that frustrate many students.

The second edition offers several hands-on labs along the way to help you build and test programs using skills you've learned up to that point. In the final lab, you'll put everything together. From objects to garbage collection and from exceptions to interactions, you'll learn C# in a way that engages and entertains your brain. Here are a few of the topics you'll learn:

• Start by building a useful application with pre-built components in Visual Studio 2010
• Discover how objects work, using real-world examples
• Store numbers, text, and other basic data types using primitives
• Save complex data in files and databases with great C# tools
• Build intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces by following simple rules
• Design your code to catch exceptions -- things you don't expect
• Develop good programming habits, such as refactoring code and applying unit tests
• Learn how web services put your programs in touch with the rest of the world
• Make it easy for other people to install your software

Andrew Stellman, despite being raised a New Yorker, has lived in Pittsburgh twice. The first time was when he graduated from Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science, and then again when he and Jenny were starting their consulting business and writing their first project management book for O'Reilly. When he moved back to his hometown, his first job after college was as a programmer at EMI-Capitol Records--which actually made sense, since he went to LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts to study cello and jazz bass guitar. He and Jenny first worked together at that same financial software company, where he was managing a team of programmers. He's since managed various teams of software engineers, requirements analysts, and led process improvement efforts. Andrew keeps himself busy eating an enormous amount of string cheese and Middle Eastern desserts, playing music (but video games even more), studying taiji and aikido, having a girlfriend named Lisa, and owning a pomeranian. For more information about Andrew, Jennifer Greene, and their books, visit http://www.stellman-greene.com.

Jennifer Greene has managed just about every aspect of software development during her career. She spent the past 15 years building software for many different kinds of companies, including small start-ups and huge companies. Jenny's built software test teams and has helped many companies diagnose and deal with habitual process problems so they could build better software. Since her start in software test and process definition, she's branched out into development management and project management. Jenny is currently managing a large development team for a global media company.