The C# Player's Guide (3rd Edition)

I started XNA programming a few years back and found RB's website and his tutorials over a year ago. He has some of the best C# and XNA free tutorials out there. I would recommend checking them out.When I heard he was writing a book, I was really excited because his tutorials are great. I was surprised, the book was even better than I expected.Before getting into the book, let me describe my background with C#. I've been programming longer than I care to remember in C++, Assembler, VB, and even doing some light professional programming in C#. So, I'm not exactly new to C# or programming. Still, I never actually learned C#. I had been doing VB for years and switched over to VB.Net when it came out. Between that and knowing C++, I woke up one morning and realized that I already knew C# and just started programming. Because of that, there have been some gaps in my C# knowledge.I actually wanted to be the first one to review this book because I was so excited about it. I immediately bought it and started reading. This book is less "dry" reading than most programming books, but its still a programming book. It had been so long since I had sat down and read a programming book cover to cover that I had forgotten how much work it can be trying to read a technical tome. But again, I would say this book was as easy as any other programming book I've ever read to get through.I made it about 2/3rds of the way through the book, even learning a few things in spite of having been programming in C# for a few years semi-professionally. And then Microsoft abandoned XNA and I pretty much lost all interest in C# and Microsoft in general. It was actually Microsoft's decision on XNA that was mostly responsible for me never completely finishing the book and ultimately not writing the review.But anyway, it was such a good book that I decided I should go ahead and write the review based on reading about 2/3rds of the way through it, as someone who knew C# fairly well before reading the book. That makes it a little difficult for me to take the perspective of an absolute beginner, but it appears to me that this book would be perfect for beginners as well.Basically, this is by far the best C# book I've read. It doesn't cover XNA at all, but if you wanted to do XNA (even though Microsoft no longer supports it) through Mono or something, I would strongly recommend reading this book first. The book is written in an understandable way so that even an absolute beginner can start with this book. And yet at the same time, it takes you through the intermediate level of C# programming all the way to the door of advanced C# programming (to go much further than this book takes you, you would have to get into the internals of Windows or Assembly language or something along those lines).Even though the title suggests a game, this book is not about game programming (or any specific type of programming); its about learning C#. And it does not disappoint. I would recommend it for anyone from a teenager wanting to start learning programming on their own, to IT professionals that think they might have a few gaps in their knowledge. It pretty much covers everything.And RB has a gift for teaching. He's able to take advanced concepts and make them accessible to anyone. I think that's probably the reason to buy this book over any other C# book on the market. I own a few C# books, and this one is certainly my favorite.So, to sum it up. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn, or get better at C# programming.

This book is hands-down fantastic. I own several programming books and they all take absolutely forever to get through a particular topic.Too often are textbooks actually just linear, guided reference books, or books on programming that concern a language on the side; this one is actually a step-by-step guide on how to use the features of C#. Note that it's NOT a guide on programming, just on how to use the C# language itself.To me learning a programming language is like learning a real language. Yes, grammar is important, getting all the rules correct and making sure you're forming cohesive units (sentences, paragraphs, etc.) so that you're communicating clearly. But when you're first learning to talk, you're not trying to structure a novel. You just want "ball" or "food." This book seems to take that approach and gives you a very broad overview of a particular feature and shows you how to use it on a general level in just a couple pages, and then goes back and shows you proper form (or a better way to accomplish a certain goal).This is particularly useful when you're (1) just wanting to see what this whole programming thing is about without delving into theory, or (2) already know how to program and want to just learn general-purpose C#.It should be noted that if you're looking for a quick and effective guide on C# for scripting in Unity, this is a great source for that. It doesn't teach programming concept in the context of games, but I guarantee you that by the end of the book you'll understand what's going on when you open a Unity script. I watched a few videos on Unity C# scripting both before and after reading the book, and the difference in understanding was like night and day.My only complaint is that I wish the author would have included more "try this" type sections; there are only one or two per chapter, and unless you're creating your own programs and exploring the language on the side, it'll be difficult to make the concepts stick. The book moves at a lightning pace compared to other books, but that's something I appreciate.If you want to get the most out of this book, pair it with a book on programming concepts and a collection of programming challenges—both of which are free online. For challenges, I recommend Project Euler (Google it); it's a series of math questions that require programming to solve, and it forces you to approach both mathematics and application of the language in ways that truly stretch your thinking.Overall I'm very happy with this book and hope that Mr. Whitaker will write more material on C#—or any language!

I've read several introductory to intermediate books on programming in C#, and this one takes the cake. RB Whitaker explains the basic tenants of programming concisely, in a way that is easy to absorb and enjoyable to read (at least as much as a book on programming can be enjoyed!). This is not a reference book, but a book that walks through programming concepts in a thoughtful sequence. He introduces the reader to best programming practices that would apply to any object oriented language while teaching C#, starting from the basics and moving up to more complex subjects.Each chapter contains problems to help you master the covered material. I was already pretty familiar with C# and just wanted a refresher read, so I didn't work through all of them. The problems that I did work through were on point with helping to master the material covered in each chapter.RB also maintains a website that is dedicated to learning game programming, specifically using C# and XNA/MonoGame. The website includes a lot of tutorials on game programming and a forum. However, despite the name of this book, it is a general C# programming book and is not specifically geared towards game programming. The material in this book will be important for using C# in any of its applications, including programming Windows applications, website server side programming with MVC/ASP.NET, programming a game with MonoGame, etc.If you are looking to program in C# and are new to the language, this book is an excellent choice. If you are an intermediate programmer or looking to brush up on your skills, this book will also serve your purposes well.