The Comprehensive, Expert Guide to C# Language Programming


“This book has been a classic for years, and remains one of the most venerable and trusted titles in the world of C# content, and probably far beyond! . . . Mark is super smart, insists on understanding everything to the core, and has phenomenal insight into how things affect real developers. . . . He goes right to the essence and communicates with great integrity—no sugarcoating—and has a keen eye for practical value and real-world problems.”

–Mads Torgersen, C# Program Manager, Microsoft


Essential C# 7.0 is a well-organized, no-fluff guide to C# 7.0 for programmers at all levels of experience. Reflecting the most important C# features from 3.0 through 7.0 and including modern programming patterns, it will help you write code that’s simple, powerful, robust, secure, and maintainable.

Author Mark Michaelis is a world-class C# expert: a long-time Microsoft MVP and Regional Director who also has served on Microsoft’s C# design review team. He presents a comprehensive tutorial and reference for the entire language, including expert coverage of key C# 7.0 enhancements, C# 7.0’s use with .NET Core/.NET Standard, and cross-platform compilation. He illustrates key C# constructs with succinct examples, and presents best-practice coding guidelines. To help you maintain existing code, separate indexes provide version-specific answers for C# 5.0, 6.0, and 7.0, and visual icons show when each language innovation was introduced.




Make the most of C# 7.0 enhancements, including tuples, deconstructors, pattern matching, local functions, and ref returns
Work efficiently with C# data types, operators, control flow, methods, and parameters
Write more robust code with C# object-oriented constructs
Implement reliable, effective exception handling
Reduce code complexity with generics, delegates, lambda expressions, and events
Leverage advanced dynamic and declarative programming techniques
Query diverse data collections using LINQ with query expressions
Create custom collections that operate against business objects
Access .NET collections via collection interfaces and standard query operators
Master multithreading and synchronization, including the async/await paradigm
Optimize performance and interoperability with P/Invoke and unsafe code
Run your code on Linux or macOS with C# 7.0 cross-platform compilation
Includes C# 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 language enhancements

This guide offers you a complete foundation for successful development with modern versions of the C# language in any project or environment.