Essential C# 5.0

Essential C# 5.0 is a well-organized, no-fluff guide to the latest versions of C# for programmers at all levels of C# experience. Fully updated to reflect new features and programming patterns introduced with C# 5.0 and .NET 4.5, this guide shows you how to write C# code that is simple, powerful, robust, secure, and maintainable. Microsoft MVP Mark Michaelis and C# principal developer Eric Lippert provide comprehensive coverage of the entire language, offering a complete foundation for effective software development.   The authors illustrate key constructs with succinct, downloadable code examples. Graphical mind maps at the beginning of each chapter outline the material that is covered and how individual topics interrelate. This edition also includes C# Coding Guidelines that call attention to today’s best practices for writing C# code. Separate indexes of C# versions 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 make it easy to find answers specific to whatever version of C# you are using.   Throughout, topics intended for beginners and advanced readers are clearly marked. If you’re new to C#, this guide will help you start writing significant code quickly. If you’re an experienced C# developer, you’ll gain insight into today’s most complex programming challenges and techniques as you master key C# 5.0 innovations such as async/await pattern. No matter how advanced your skills become, you’ll come to rely on this indispensable reference.   Coverage includes Mastering C# data types, operators, control flow, methods, and parameters Making the most of C# object-oriented constructs, including classes, inheritance, interfaces, and more Building reliable, effective exception handling into your code Using generics, delegates, Lambda expressions, and events to reduce code complexity Learning dynamic programming with reflection and attributes Querying virtually any type of data using LINQ with Query Expressions Creating custom collections that operate against business objects Understanding the Common Language Infrastructure and C# in the context of the .NET 4.5 development platform Taking advantage of declarative programming, embedded metadata, reflection, and attributes Thoroughly mastering multithreading and synchronization, including the new async/await paradigm Discussion of WinRT and programming in C# for Windows 8 Using P/Invoke, pointers, and direct memory manipulation to interoperate with code in other languages Understanding how C# programs relate to the underlying runtime  

Table of Contents:
Figures         xv Tables         xvii Foreword         xix Preface         xxiii Acknowledgments         xxxv About the Authors         xxxvii   Chapter 1: Introducing C#         1 Hello, World  2 C# Syntax Fundamentals  4 Console Input and Output  17   Chapter 2: Data Types         33 Fundamental Numeric Types   34 More Fundamental Types   43 null and void   53 Categories of Types   57 Nullable Modifier   60 Conversions between Data Types   60 Arrays   67   Chapter 3: Operators and Control Flow         85 Operators  86 Introducing Flow Control   103 Code Blocks ({})   110 Code Blocks, Scopes, and Declaration Spaces   112 Boolean Expressions   114 Bitwise Operators (<<, >>, |, &, ^, ~)   121 Control Flow Statements, Continued   127 Jump Statements   139 C# Preprocessor Directives   145   Chapter 4: Methods and Parameters         155 Calling a Method   156 Declaring a Method   163 The using Directive   168 Returns and Parameters on Main()   172 Advanced Method Parameters   175 Recursion  184 Method Overloading   186 Optional Parameters   189 Basic Error Handling with Exceptions   194   Chapter 5: Classes         209 Declaring and Instantiating a Class   213 Instance Fields   217 Instance Methods   219 Using the this Keyword   220 Access Modifiers   227 Properties   229 Constructors   244 Static Members   255 Extension Methods   265 Encapsulating the Data   267 Nested Classes   269 Partial Classes   272   Chapter 6: Inheritance         277 Derivation   278 Overriding the Base Class   290 Abstract Classes   302 All Classes Derive from System.Object   308 Verifying the Underlying Type with the is Operator   309 Conversion Using the as Operator   310   Chapter 7: Interfaces         313 Introducing Interfaces   314 Polymorphism through Interfaces   315 Interface Implementation   320 Converting between the Implementing Class and Its Interfaces   326 Interface Inheritance   326 Multiple Interface Inheritance   329 Extension Methods on Interfaces   330 Implementing Multiple Inheritance via Interfaces   331 Versioning   334 Interfaces Compared with Classes  336 Interfaces Compared with Attributes   337   Chapter 8: Value Types         339 Structs   340 Boxing   349 Enums   358   Chapter 9: Well-Formed Types   371 Overriding object Members   371 Operator Overloading   385 Referencing Other Assemblies   393 Defining Namespaces   398 XML Comments   402 Garbage Collection   407 Resource Cleanup   410 Lazy Initialization   419   Chapter 10: Exception Handling         423 Multiple Exception Types   424 Catching Exceptions   426 General Catch Block   430 Guidelines for Exception Handling   432 Defining Custom Exceptions   435 Wrapping an Exception and Rethrowing   438   Chapter 11: Generics         443 C# without Generics   444 Introducing Generic Types   449 Constraints   462 Generic Methods  476 Covariance and Contravariance   481 Generic Internals   489   Chapter 12: Delegates and Lambda Expressions         495 Introducing Delegates   496 Lambda Expressions   506 Anonymous Methods   512 General-Purpose Delegates: System.Func and System.Action   514   Chapter 13: Events         533 Coding the Observer Pattern with Multicast Delegates   534 Events   548   Chapter 14: Collection Interfaces with Standard Query Operators         561 Anonymous Types and Implicitly Typed Local Variables   562 Collection Initializers   568 What Makes a Class a Collection: IEnumerable    571 Standard Query Operators   577   Chapter 15: LINQ with Query Expressions         613 Introducing Query Expressions   614 Query Expressions Are Just Method Invocations   632   Chapter 16: Building Custom Collections         635 More Collection Interfaces   636 Primary Collection Classes   638 Providing an Indexer   655 Returning Null or an Empty Collection   659 Iterators   660   Chapter 17: Reflection, Attributes, and Dynamic Programming          677 Reflection   678 Attributes   688 Programming with Dynamic Objects   714   Chapter 18: Multithreading         727 Multithreading Basics   730 Working with System.Threading   737 Asynchronous Tasks   745 Canceling a Task   764 The Task-Based Asynchronous Pattern in C# 5.0   770 Executing Loop Iterations in Parallel   794 Running LINQ Queries in Parallel   804   Chapter 19: Thread Synchronization         811 Why Synchronization?   813 Timers   841   Chapter 20: Platform Interoperability and Unsafe Code         845 Using the Windows Runtime Libraries from C#   846 Platform Invoke   849 Pointers and Addresses   862 Executing Unsafe Code via a Delegate   872   Chapter 21: The Common Language Infrastructure         875 Defining the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI)   876 CLI Implementations   877 C# Compilation to Machine Code   879 Runtime 881  Application Domains 887 Assemblies, Manifests, and Modules   887 Common Intermediate Language (CIL)   890 Common Type System (CTS)   891 Common Language Specification (CLS)   891 Base Class Library (BCL)   892 Metadata   892   Appendix A: Downloading and Installing the C# Compiler and CLI Platform         897 Microsoft’s .NET   897   Appendix B: Tic-Tac-Toe Source Code Listing         901   Appendix C: Interfacing with Mutithreading Patterns Prior to the TPL and C# 5.0         907 Asynchronous Programming Model   908 Asynchronous Delegate Invocation   921 The Event-Based Asynchronous Pattern (EAP)   924 Background Worker Pattern   928 Dispatching to the Windows UI   932   Appendix D: Timers Prior to the Async/Await Pattern of C# 5.0         937   Index         943 Index of C# 5.0 Topics         974 Index of C# 4.0 Topics         975 Index of C# 3.0 Topics         984