5 ms·

Ask HN: What C# books are highly recommended for professional .NET developers?

12 points by ajallow 10y ago

sharemywin 10y ago
check out pluralsight.com it's not a book but it's got a lot of training in that space.
- ajallow 10y ago
  Thank your @shareywin, I found the site quite useful. :-)
VOYD 10y ago
http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-C-5-0-and-NET-4-5-1.productCd-1118833031.html http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-C-5-0-an...
- VOYD 10y ago
  actually, this is the "latest & greatest" - http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-C-6-and-NET-Core-1-0.productCd-111909660X.html http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-C-6-and-...
GFischer 10y ago
It's not a C# book, but I think it's a fundamental resource for .NET developers, especially those not familiar with basic practices like Unit Testing, Automated Testing & Builds, etc: Pro .NET Best Practices - http://www.apress.com/9781430240235 http://www.apress.com/9781430240235 It's getting a bit dated though.
solutionyogi 10y ago
Without a doubt, C# In Depth by Jon Skeet. As the title suggests, it's a book which deep dives into how C# works.
KurtMueller 10y ago
What F# books are highly recommended for professional .NET developers? :)
- tucaz 10y ago
  The only book I found about the subject that is really good -> Real World Functional Programming: With examples in F# and C# https://www.amazon.com/Real-World-Functional-Programming-Tomas-Petricek/dp/1933988924/ https://www.amazon.com/Real-World-Functional-Programming-Tom... Also, check FSharp For Fun and Profit. Lots of details and tutorials about F# -> https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com also available as e-book -> https://www.gitbook.com/book/swlaschin/fsharpforfunandprofit/details https://www.gitbook.com/book/swlaschin/fsharpforfunandprofit...
tucaz 10y ago
Not specifically about C#, but about something that is also on the radar of people who is developing LoB apps with .NET which is Domain Driven Design. The book by Eric Evans is the bible on the subject, but I also find it very abstract and hard to grasp with no prior knowledge and lack of concrete examples. Applying Domain-Driven Design and Patterns: With Examples in C# and .NET is a bit old, but still a good resource on how to implement some sort of DDD. https://www.amazon.com/Applying-Domain-Driven-Design-Patterns-Examples/dp/0321268202/ https://www.amazon.com/Applying-Domain-Driven-Design-Pattern...
- gary__ 10y ago
  I wanted to learn about DDD too, read reviews on various books and noted your sentiment about Eric Evans' book repeated a lot. Eventually I settled on "Patterns, Principles and Practices of Domain-Driven Design" by Scott Millett and Nick Tune, which I'm part way through. It's mostly easy to comprehend and examples are in C#. The subject is complex though, so I'm not even sure a single book is enough. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patterns-Principles-Practices-Domain-Driven-Design/dp/1118714709 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patterns-Principles-Practices-Domai...
thorin 10y ago
I guess C# in depth by Jon Skeet would be the obvious answer. Any language would be happy to have such a useful historical guide to best practice. I'm not really a c# dev although I do use it a fair bit and I thought it was excellent. http://csharpindepth.com/ http://csharpindepth.com/
- romanovcode 10y ago
  I am probably outliner but I really didn't get the book at all. There is much intensive talk about differences between every version from 2.0 to 5.0, how you do same thing in 2.0, then in 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0. I really don't get why I would need to know the difference between them unless my job involves maintaining super old systems. (Which is quite common). However for me personally it was not a good book at all because for me personally that information was completely useless.
  - hyeomans 10y ago
    Feel the same, usually when I want to refresh how something became to be I go back and read it. Do you have any good practical book under your belt?
shayac1 10y ago
Check out clr via c# too. https://www.amazon.com/CLR-via-4th-Developer-Reference/dp/0735667454 https://www.amazon.com/CLR-via-4th-Developer-Reference/dp/07... It's about as deep as you can go into the .net runtime. I personally found it fascinating.
runT1ME 10y ago
https://www.manning.com/books/functional-programming-in-c-sharp https://www.manning.com/books/functional-programming-in-c-sh...
tonyedgecombe 10y ago
The C# language specification, you can find it at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC#\Specifications\1033\CSharp Language Specification.docx"
hackrnews 10y ago
'Adaptive Code' by Gary McLean Hall is an informative read on modern software design, its both concise and well-written https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Code-via-principles-Developer/dp/0735683204 https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Code-via-principles-Develope... note, that a second edition is scheduled for release Jan/2017 https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Code-principles-Developer-Practices/dp/1509302581 https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Code-principles-Developer-Pr... I would also recommend 'Effective Java' by Josh Bloch https://www.amazon.com/Effective-Java-2nd-Joshua-Bloch/dp/0321356683 https://www.amazon.com/Effective-Java-2nd-Joshua-Bloch/dp/03... you'll find the advice given in both immediately applicable
tjalfi 10y ago
I've been using C# and .NET for about a year. Here are the books that I have found helpful. Framework Design Guidelines - how to design libraries that anyone from Jon Skeet to Mort can use successfully Effective C# - how to implement the usual idioms properly CLR via C# - this is a dry read but has answers to many questions I would have never thought to ask. C# in Depth - others have already commented on this

12 points by ajallow 10y ago

sharemywin 10y ago

check out pluralsight.com it's not a book but it's got a lot of training in that space.

ajallow 10y ago
Thank your @shareywin, I found the site quite useful. :-)

VOYD 10y ago

http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-C-5-0-and-NET-4-5-1.productCd-1118833031.html http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-C-5-0-an...

VOYD 10y ago
actually, this is the "latest & greatest" - http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-C-6-and-NET-Core-1-0.productCd-111909660X.html http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-C-6-and-...

GFischer 10y ago

It's not a C# book, but I think it's a fundamental resource for .NET developers, especially those not familiar with basic practices like Unit Testing, Automated Testing & Builds, etc: Pro .NET Best Practices - http://www.apress.com/9781430240235 http://www.apress.com/9781430240235 It's getting a bit dated though.

solutionyogi 10y ago

Without a doubt, C# In Depth by Jon Skeet. As the title suggests, it's a book which deep dives into how C# works.

KurtMueller 10y ago

What F# books are highly recommended for professional .NET developers? :)

tucaz 10y ago
The only book I found about the subject that is really good -> Real World Functional Programming: With examples in F# and C# https://www.amazon.com/Real-World-Functional-Programming-Tomas-Petricek/dp/1933988924/ https://www.amazon.com/Real-World-Functional-Programming-Tom... Also, check FSharp For Fun and Profit. Lots of details and tutorials about F# -> https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com also available as e-book -> https://www.gitbook.com/book/swlaschin/fsharpforfunandprofit/details https://www.gitbook.com/book/swlaschin/fsharpforfunandprofit...

tucaz 10y ago

Not specifically about C#, but about something that is also on the radar of people who is developing LoB apps with .NET which is Domain Driven Design. The book by Eric Evans is the bible on the subject, but I also find it very abstract and hard to grasp with no prior knowledge and lack of concrete examples. Applying Domain-Driven Design and Patterns: With Examples in C# and .NET is a bit old, but still a good resource on how to implement some sort of DDD. https://www.amazon.com/Applying-Domain-Driven-Design-Patterns-Examples/dp/0321268202/ https://www.amazon.com/Applying-Domain-Driven-Design-Pattern...

gary__ 10y ago
I wanted to learn about DDD too, read reviews on various books and noted your sentiment about Eric Evans' book repeated a lot. Eventually I settled on "Patterns, Principles and Practices of Domain-Driven Design" by Scott Millett and Nick Tune, which I'm part way through. It's mostly easy to comprehend and examples are in C#. The subject is complex though, so I'm not even sure a single book is enough. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patterns-Principles-Practices-Domain-Driven-Design/dp/1118714709 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patterns-Principles-Practices-Domai...

thorin 10y ago

I guess C# in depth by Jon Skeet would be the obvious answer. Any language would be happy to have such a useful historical guide to best practice. I'm not really a c# dev although I do use it a fair bit and I thought it was excellent. http://csharpindepth.com/ http://csharpindepth.com/

romanovcode 10y ago
I am probably outliner but I really didn't get the book at all. There is much intensive talk about differences between every version from 2.0 to 5.0, how you do same thing in 2.0, then in 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0. I really don't get why I would need to know the difference between them unless my job involves maintaining super old systems. (Which is quite common). However for me personally it was not a good book at all because for me personally that information was completely useless.
- hyeomans 10y ago
  Feel the same, usually when I want to refresh how something became to be I go back and read it. Do you have any good practical book under your belt?

shayac1 10y ago

Check out clr via c# too. https://www.amazon.com/CLR-via-4th-Developer-Reference/dp/0735667454 https://www.amazon.com/CLR-via-4th-Developer-Reference/dp/07... It's about as deep as you can go into the .net runtime. I personally found it fascinating.

runT1ME 10y ago

https://www.manning.com/books/functional-programming-in-c-sharp https://www.manning.com/books/functional-programming-in-c-sh...

tonyedgecombe 10y ago

The C# language specification, you can find it at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC#\Specifications\1033\CSharp Language Specification.docx"

hackrnews 10y ago

'Adaptive Code' by Gary McLean Hall is an informative read on modern software design, its both concise and well-written https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Code-via-principles-Developer/dp/0735683204 https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Code-via-principles-Develope... note, that a second edition is scheduled for release Jan/2017 https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Code-principles-Developer-Practices/dp/1509302581 https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Code-principles-Developer-Pr... I would also recommend 'Effective Java' by Josh Bloch https://www.amazon.com/Effective-Java-2nd-Joshua-Bloch/dp/0321356683 https://www.amazon.com/Effective-Java-2nd-Joshua-Bloch/dp/03... you'll find the advice given in both immediately applicable

tjalfi 10y ago

I've been using C# and .NET for about a year. Here are the books that I have found helpful. Framework Design Guidelines - how to design libraries that anyone from Jon Skeet to Mort can use successfully Effective C# - how to implement the usual idioms properly CLR via C# - this is a dry read but has answers to many questions I would have never thought to ask. C# in Depth - others have already commented on this