Microsoft C# Programming for the Absolute Beginner (For the Absolute Beginner (Series).)

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My background is in graphics and traditional HTML/CSS web development rather than programming. Over the past few years I was able to learn ASP/VBScript programming on my own, but when my company made the transition to .NET programming, I quickly found that OOP was totally outside my experience and very confusing.

For the past few months I've been searching for a text that would explain not just the concepts of C# and object-oriented programming, but also the details of how it is implemented in the Visual Studio IDE in which I'm now working. I've tried numerous other "beginners" books on C# and OOP, but all of them assumed a level of programming knowledge that was beyond me or were so conceptual that I had no idea how to actually DO anything with the concepts.

This book was a godsend! I finally understand how a project is structured and what the various sections of the code-behind mean. I've also learned a wealth of practical details about useful tools in Visual Studio. Now I'm ready to tackle more complex texts and continue my self-directed training, but I could never have reached this point without this book.

This book is awesome for beginnners or for anyone who can't seem to understand the use for Object Oriented Programming. I struggled through trying to understand the use of OOP in the past, but after using this book I finally get how much easier it is to fix problems when it's programmed using OOP concepts. It's great that he uses games to teach you as learning to program software has been a taboo subject for me and my employer has always wanted me to broaden my programming skills into that area. I've helped program and maintain the company E-Com website and internal system for 2-3 years using ASP and VBScript. So from the knowledge I gained from this book I'll be able to start learning ASP.Net using C# for the website, and also will be able to move onto more advanced books to create and maintain the software catalog.

I bought this book for my ten-year-old son who is self-motivated in learning how to program C#. It has been hard to find a book tailored to such a young audience and this book fits the bill. It is very simple to follow and the game examples keep my son interested. At the end of each chapter are imaginitive challenges to help stretch a young exploring mind.

The only things I would add if I could would be some hints on the challenges to help keep a young reader from getting stuck, and some general tips on techniques for entering code.

There is absolutely no reason why this book shouldn't be used for teaching a course. Especially for beginners. I've been a strict C programmer for 5 years and dabbled a little in C++ for a year and found this book to be an excellent choice for beginners to intermediate programmers. Before this book, I was totally against programming in OOP and stayed away from it as much as possible. This was due to my bad past experience with C++ OOP. But with this book, I finnally understood the benefits of OOP.

The book teaches you how to program in the C# language by making simple games while progressing to more advanced ones. It starts you from the beginning of starting a project until the end. This is how learning to program should be...not dull and boring, but fun and interesting. I think more learning books should be this way. Certain areas may seem brainless for more experienced programmers, but this book is perfect for beginners or others converting from other languages.

Each chapter is structured wonderfully, starting from the simple basics of C# and exploring the functionality of it. It will start with simple console programming, then progessing to classes and OOP programming and moving on into building forms all based on the theme of game design. It even goes on to letting you do graphic animations, XML, and ADO.NET. Keep in mind that this is NOT A REFERENCE FILLED BOOK and it will only give you the basics of the C# language - basically to get your feet wet enough to understand the language.

Also, as of this writing, there are not too many C# game programming books out there. However, if you're looking for a C# game programming book, this book is also fair enough to get you started on simple games.

It says 'for the absolute beginner', and it is. It reads a lot like a 'for dummies' book. I give it a 4 because it does what it says, teaches C# for someone who has never programmed. Anyone who bought this thinking it was 'for smarties' has only himself to blame for not shopping carefully. It does a pretty good job of explaining the very basics of programming and happens to use C# to do it.

I used this book as my very first programming book. It was the third or fourth book I tried from a group all supposedly for absolute beginniers. This is by far the best if you are a complete beginner.

Some concepts aren't explained as well as others, and there are a few inconsistencies between the source code in the book and on the CD. However, the book teaches you to begin to think like a programmer -- so you should have the tools to work through the errors and difficulties in the book by the time you get to them.

A great learn-by-doing book for beginners.

I have over 10 years experience in IT, but I am not familiar with Object Oriented Programming. So I took a brand new C# course offered at a local community college and they used this book as the text for the class. They will not use it again. All 12 students in the class concur with the decision of the IT department, but wonder why the book was chosen in the first place.

The book is not structured, sample programs are broken up into pieces and displayed on different pages and it is not clear at all as to what is happening. Most of the time that you spend reading the material you waste on trying to figure out how numerous silly game programs work, rather than on how to construct code properly.

This book is exactly what it says, a book to teach C# to absolute beginners. I was just that. New to programming. I wanted to learn programming and after a reaserch on the internet I decided to start programming using C#. I bought myself a MS Visual C# step by step. Soon after a friend gave me C# Programming for the Absolute Beginner. I was amazed. The book is straight to the point, and everything you learn is supported by examples. So if you didn't get the idea by reading you figure it out by doing it. Great book! Great job Andy!!! Write one for c# 3.0 too!

I got this book based off the reviews given to it. I've done a little bit of vbscript and realized that vbscript can only get me so far. I decided to pick this book up to learn c#.The way it teaches is perfect for the beginner or someone who has not done programming before. The book's examples end up having you make some sort of game relevant to the subject making programming that much more interesting. I would definitly recommend this book to others.

Well thought out with a good progressive flow for the reader, starting with the basics and then dealing with all the fundamentals intrinsic to a well-rounded education for the programmer.

This book uses small games to teach C# programming, and it does a wonderful job. I had a little experience with C++ programming when I first read this, so I wasn't an "absolute" beginner, but the book quickly got me up to speed in C#. I really enjoyed the book and it got me to a place where I could pick up a more complex book and understand it. I recommend "Teach yourself .NET Forms in 21 days" by Chris Payne and "C# and the .NET platform" by Andrew Troelson as follow-up books.

I hadn't done any programming since I took Fortran in college 20 years ago and before that, I had taught myself DOS when it first came out (okay, age giveaway!). I did teach myself the basics of HTML, but I had no idea of where to even start with the newest languages out there now. This book led me from total ignorance through the basics of C# in a fun way and now I'm ready to progress into more advanced coding. I'm just a hobbyist, so this book was a perfect place to start for me!

I previously had started with Beginning C# Game Programming by Ron Penton, which was a disaster since much of his code doesn't work with DirectX 9.0c. I picked up this book and started back over from scratch.

Harris does an excellent job of introducing a concept, explaining what it is and how to use it, then implementing it. Some of the code is a little dated and has to be altered to run in C# 2.0, but I was able to do it with only a little effort. Same with a few of the form components. Additionally, I contacted the author, and though he doesn't work in C# very often any more, he was able to point me in the right direction to get my questions answered.

By the end of the book, I had successfully built a few C# applications to use at work.

My only complaint with the book is that it just ends. There is no prologue at the end, just the end of the last chapter reviewing that material. It would have been nice for a summary and maybe some direction in where to go next.

if you are stupid and want to feel smart, read this book.
The author seems to aim at reader who has a brain of ant.
for idiots with extra money to spend, by all means get this one. but don't expect learning c# from it. what a piece of junk!

For beginners who have not been exposed to any programming languages or their structures. He makes this subject very interesting by using games as examples. It is an easy read. I have been out of touch with programming for a long time and I needed a little basic introduction to get started into object oriented programming. It may be used as a stepping stone to understanding complicated subjects like threading, windows forms and event handling in other books.

If anyone has a problem with this ABSOLUTELY PERFECT C# Programming book it's because they never bothered to READ the cover! If you are a BEGINNING programmer and want to make GAMES, don't look any further. This is the book you've been looking for.