Andrew Troelsen has produced a 1,500-plus-page comprehensive treatise that covers every fathomable aspect of the C# programming language and the .NET framework. It includes numerous working programs that are available for download at the publisher’s site.

The book is organized into eight parts. The first 500 pages constitute Parts 1 through 4, dedicated primarily to the C# programming language. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a broad overview of C#, and a discussion on creating and compiling C# applications. These chapters also cover building blocks of the .NET platform, such as common language runtime (CLR), common type system (CTS), common language specification (CLS), and base class libraries. Chapters 3 and 4 delve deeper into the fundamental data types and constructs of C#. Chapters 5 through 8 explore object-oriented programming with C# using encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism, along with exception handling and interfaces. Chapters 9 through 13 cover advanced C# topics such as collections, generics, delegates, events, lambda expressions, operator overloading, the language-integrated query (LINQ) framework, and object lifetime.

The next 590 pages make up Parts 5 and 6, introducing details of the .NET platform. Chapters 14 through 18 explore programming with .NET assemblies using class libraries, reflection, late binding, attribute-based programming, dynamic language runtime (DLR), common intermediate language (CIL), and dynamic assemblies. Chapters 19 through 26 focus on multithreading, file input/output (I/O), object serialization, database access with ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), working with Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents using the LINQ framework, building distributed systems using Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), and defining workflows using Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF).

The remainder of the book includes Parts 7 and 8, which are dedicated to user interfaces. Chapters 27 through 31 focus on creating console- or desktop-based graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for interactive applications, graphics rendering, and animations using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Chapters 32 through 34 focus on web browser-based user interfaces using ASP.NET.

The chapters are well written and illustrated with code snippets, making them readily accessible to a novice programmer. More advanced programmers will appreciate the breadth of coverage and completeness of the book, which also make it an excellent reference. While educators will find this book suitable as a learning resource for topics related to C# and .NET, they may be a bit disappointed at the lack of exercises typically found at the end of every chapter in such books.