C# in a Nutshell

This text provides C# programmers with a concise and thorough reference to the language in one straightforward and accessible volume. Designed as a handbook for daily use, this book is an essential guide to the C# language and the base class APIs of the .NET Framework. The heart of the book is a succinct but detailed reference to the C# language and the .NET types most essential to C# programmers. Each chapter in the API reference begins with an overview of a .NET namespace and a diagram of its types, including a quick-reference entry for each type, with name, assembly, category, description, member availability, class hierarchy, and other relevant information, such as whether the type is part o the ECMA CLI specification. Newly updated for .NET Framework version 1.1, the second edition also adds a CD that allows you to integrate the book's contents directly into the help files of Visual Studio .NET 2002 & 2003, giving you direct access to this valuable information via your computer. In addition to the API reference section, this book includes: an accelerated introduction to the C# language and the .N ET Common Language Runtime; a tutorial section on using C# with the core classes of the .NET Framework Class Library to perform common tasks suc h as manipulating strings, I/O, and interacting with legacy components; comprehensive language and tool reference chapters, including a C# syntax summary, a list of XML documentation tags, and a guide to command-line tools that ship with Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework; and appendixes with reference tables for regular expression syntax, format specifiers, a C# keyword glossary, namespace/assembly cross-reference, and a type and member index for determining in which type a method or field is defined.

Table of Contents:
Preface I. Programming with C SHARP 1. Introducing C SHARP and the .NET Framework The C SHARP Language The .NET Framework ECMA Standardization Changes in Visual C SHARP 2003 2. C SHARP Language Basics A First C SHARP Program Identifiers and Keywords Type Basics Value Types and Reference Types Predefined Types Arrays Variables and Parameters Expressions and Operators Statements Namespaces 3. Creating Types in C SHARP Classes Inheritance Access Modifiers Structs Interfaces Enums 4. Advanced C SHARP Features Delegates Delegates Versus Function Pointers Delegates Versus Interfaces Events Operator Overloading Try Statements and Exceptions Attributes Unsafe Code and Pointers Preprocessor Directives XML Documentation II. Programming with the .NET Framework 5. 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 Undocumented Types 6. String Handling String Class StringBuilder Class Regular Expression Support Regular Expression Basics Procedural- and Expression-Based Patterns Cookbook Regular Expressions 7. Collections Iterating Over Collections Standard Collection Interfaces Predefined Collection Classes Ordering Instances Generating Hash Code 8. XML I/O Accessing XML Documents Parsing an XML Stream Selecting Nodes Using XPath Transforming a Document Using XSLT 9. Networking Network Programming Models Generic Request/Response Architecture HTTP-Specific Support WebClient Adding New Protocol Handlers Using TCP, UDP, and Sockets Using DNS 10. Streams and I/O Streams and Backing Stores Encapsulating Raw Streams Directories and Files Isolated Storage 11. Serialization What Is Serialization? Serialization Support in the Framework Explicit Serialization Implicit Serialization [Serializable] {NonSerialized] IDeserializationCallback ISerializable [Serializable] and ISerializable 12. Assemblies Elements of an Assembly Assemblies and Modules Scoping Types and Type References Naming and Signing Assemblies Resolving and Loading Assemblies Deployment Security Permissions 13. Reflection Type Hierarchy Types, Members, and Nested Types Retrieving the Type for an Instance Retrieving a Type Directly Reflecting Over a Type Hierarchy Late Binding Advanced Uses of Reflection Creating New Types at Runtime 14. Custom Attributes Language Support Compiler Support Runtime Support Predefined Attributes Defining a New Custom Attribute Retrieving a Custom Attribute at Runtime 15. Memory Management The Garbage Collector Optimization Techniques Finalizers Dispose and Close Methods 16. Threading Thread Synchronization Common Thread Types Asynchronous Delegates 17. Integrating with Native DLLs Calling Into DLLs Ma