Table of Contents

Identifiers and Keywords Fundamental Elements Value and Reference Types Value Types Reference Types Predefined Types Integral Types Floating-Point Types Decimal Type Char Type Bool Type Object Type String Type Arrays Multidimensional Arrays Local Field Array Declarations Array Length and Rank Bounds Checking Array Conversions Variables and Parameters Definite Assignment Default Values Parameters Expressions and Operators Operator Precedence Arithmetic Overflow Check Operators Statements Expression Statements Declaration Statements Selection Statements Loop Statements Jump Statements Namespaces Files Using Namespaces Classes The this Keyword Fields Constants Properties Indexers Methods Instance Constructors Static Constructors Destructors and Finalizers Nested Types Access Modifiers Restrictions on Access Modifiers Structs Interfaces Defining an Interface Implementing an Interface Using an Interface Extending an Interface Explicit Interface Implementation Reimplementing an Interface Interface Conversions Enums Enum Operators Enum Conversions Delegates Multicast Delegates Events Defining a Delegate for an Event Storing Data for an Event with EventArgs Declaring and Firing an Event Acting on an Event with an Event Handler Event Accessors Operator Overloading Implementing Value Equality Logically Paired Operators Custom Implicit and Explicit onversions Indirectly Overloadable Operators Try Statements and Exceptions Exceptions The catch Clause The finally Block Key Properties of System.Exception Attributes Attribute Classes Named and Positional Parameters Attribute Targets Specifying Multiple Attributes Unsafe Code and Pointers Pointer Basics Unsafe Code The fixed Statement The Pointer-to-Member Operator The stackalloc Keyword Void* Pointers to Unmanaged Code Preprocessor Directives Framework Class Library Overview Core Types Text Collections Streams and I/O Networking Threading Security Reflection and Metadata Assemblies Serialization Remoting Web Services Data Access XML Graphics Rich Client Applications Web-Based Applications Globalization Configuration Advanced Component Services Diagnostics and Debugging Interoperating with Unmanaged Code Compiler and Tool Support Runtime Facilities Native OS Facilities Namespaces and Assemblies Regular Expressions Format Specifiers Picture Format Specifiers DateTime Format Specifiers C SHARP Compiler Options Essential .NET Tools Index

About the Author

Peter Drayton is an independent consultant, helping early-stage companies define and build systems that take advantage of technologies such as .NET, SOAP, XML, and COM+. Peter is also an instructor for DevelopMentor, where he teaches Essential C SHARP.NET. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Peter now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Julie. He spends his spare time researching .NET and tinkering with a small flotilla of computers cluttering up their a partment. Ben Albahari is cofounder of Genamics, a provider of tools for C SHARP and J++ programmers, as well as software for DNA and protein sequence analysis. He is author of A Comparative Overview of C SHARP, a frequently cited comparison of C SHARP with C/C++ and Java that was recently named by DevX as one of the top 10 .NET sites. Ben is a resident of Perth, Australia, and in his spare time enjoys composing music on his computer. Ted Neward is an independent software development architect and mentor in the Sacramento, California area. He is the author of a number of books, including Server-Based Java Programming (Manning), the forthcoming EffectiveEnterprise Java (Addison-Wesley) and Shared Source CLI Essentials (O'Reilly) and co-author of C SHARP In a Nutshell (O'Reilly) with Peter Drayton and Ben Albahari. He is also an instructor with DevelopMentor, where he teaches and authors both the Java and .NET curriculum. He speaks frequently for technology user groups and writes technical papers for www.javageeks.com and www.clrgeeks.com. He currently labors on behalf of the University of California, Davis, architecting a rebuild of the Davis Accounting and Financial Information Services software system. Past clients include companies like Pacific Bell, EdFund, Synergex and Intuit.