C#'s release will affect Windows programmers, as discussed by the authors. For example, the introduction of the Common Language Runtime enables a project to be developed using multiple languages. More important, though, is the break between VB6 and VB7, now VB.NET. VB.NET is so similar to C# that finding and replacing keywords can convert some code between them. The change to a C# focus also means some VB6 code behaves differently in VB.NET. Scary.

Most of C#Programming with the Public Beta though is taken up with describing Microsoft's supplied C# development tools--such as the drag and drop interface construction borrowed from VB. The authors provide a range of useful C&35;# code demonstrating the way in which its features are used, as well as introducing a raft of new terms you'll need to learn. Toward the end of the book you'll find out how your existing COM based code interacts with .NET (and thence C# and VB.NET) using Microsoft supplied utilities to produce proxies understood by both COM and the new Common Language Specification objects of C#.

C# Programming with the Public Beta can't be complete because C# isn't. The main reason for buying it is to get ahead of the curve. Don't worry about ambiguous areas. When the C#release appears so will a whole new forest of definitive books. And you'll find them here first. --Steve Patient

Book Description
C# is a modern, object-oriented language that combines the simplicity of Visual Basic with the power and flexibility of C++. C# has been specifically designed by Microsoft to be the language of choice for writing applications for their new .NET platform - the first development platform designed from the ground up with the Internet in mind.

As well as providing a tutorial to the C# language itself, A Preview of C# provides a great introduction to the .NET framework and will give the developer everything they need to orientate themselves in this exciting new environment and start building real-world applications. PUB COMMENTS: This book is for existing developers, probably with a C++, Java, or Visual Basic background who want an overview of C# and practical information on how they can develop in C# on the .NET platform. This book was written on the public beta release and while we can't guarantee that the final version will be identical, you can be sure that almost all of the concepts, examples and explanations will still be valid for the final release.

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