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.NET: The Gospels

  • Articolo

A friend looking to get into software development and eager to start his career asked what he should read to get started.  I don't think I've ever posted this list, so here it is.. The New Testament of .NET, starting with the Gospels.

  • If there is ONE book that you should read to be a great .NET programmer, it is Jeffrey Richter's Applied .NET Framework Programming.  If you know what a loop looks like in JavaScript, VB, C++, VB.NET, and C#, and you know what a foreach loop in C# is really doing... then you will completely get this book.  If not, go back and learn just those two concepts and then run to the store to buy this book.
  • If you want to be a great ASP.NET programmer, then buy Fritz Onion's Essential ASP.NET book.  Read it cover-to-cover, and work very hard to understand every concept presented.  If you understand this book, then ASMX web services will be a complete no-brainer, just some silly syntax to memorize.
  • If you want to be a great Windows Forms programmer, then buy Chris Sells' Windows Forms Programming book.  Read it cover-to-cover, and memorize this book.  If some of it didn't sink in, but go back and re-read it.  There is absolutely not a word wasted in this book.
  • If you want to be a great overall .NET programmer, read Don Box' Essential .NET Volume 1: The Common Language Runtime.  Honestly, you should read Richter's book first to get the most out of this book, and like the others you should not cheat yourself by skipping a single page.  It's just a shame that there was never a Volume II.

The rest of the New Testament of .NET includes the books of Troelsen, Liberty, Rammer, and the two books that comprise The Revelations (Lidin and Nathan, respectively).

Amen.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    June 12, 2006
    Do you know, is Applied .NET Framework Programming updated for .NET 2.0?  It doesn't appear to be, and I am skeptical of reading books written prior to .NET 2.0 since they might present older approaches that can be done more efficiently using features introduced in 2.0.
  • Anonymous
    June 12, 2006
    Richter's book is now in a new edition called CLR via C#.  Yes, read it.

    I would also recommend Framework Design Guidelines.
  • Anonymous
    June 13, 2006
    Thanks, kfarmer, for that information.  I just ordered a copy of Richter's book.  Framework Design Guidelines is also on my wish list to get some time in the near future.
  • Anonymous
    June 13, 2006
    No The C# Programming Language (Hejlsberg / Wiltamuth / Golde)?  You heretic!
  • Anonymous
    June 20, 2006
    PingBack from http://www.terrabuio.org/?p=74
  • Anonymous
    June 21, 2006
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    June 21, 2006
    You could start reading our recommendations in the "Code40 Summer School Team" document sent to...
  • Anonymous
    June 22, 2006
    Your post mentions books to read to help start a career in software development. So while Code Complete by Steve McConnell is not .Net specific I think it's a book every developer should read.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735619670/qid=1151024844/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-1445421-5207151?s=books&v=glance&n=283155