C# 3.0 in a nutshell

A while ago I purchased the book C# 3.0 In a Nutshell. This post gives my first impression.

It is an amazing reference guide with a lot of detail. This picture gives a great overview of what is in the book and where it is. Notice that what is outside of the circle, like ASP.Net, ADO.Net, WCF and WF is not covered by the book.

If you see through the advertising this overview gives a pretty good idea about the book.

If you are looking for a book to teach you how a computer program is put together this is not the book for you. It describes al the parts pretty well but it doesn’t describe putting them together.

You could read the book from cover to cover. This is mainly because a very easy to read writing style and a good build up of level of detail. But the sheer number of facts that follow each other in a very rapid pace doesn’t make it very useful to read it from cover to cover, after a while facts just want stick anymore.

I would suggest, skimming through the book behind a computer trying the interesting things you see and experiment with it. After that keep the book on your desk and use at as the great reference guide it is.