Best C# Books

Published in

Level Up!

5 min readAug 1, 2017

by Bradley Nice, Content Manager at ClickHelp.com — software documentation tool

C# is a multi-paradigm programming language encompassing strong typing, imperative, declarative, functional, generic, object-oriented (class-based), and component-oriented programming disciplines.
(Wikipedia)

But what are the top C# Books for today?

C# 6.0 in a Nutshell: The Definitive Reference (Kindle — $30.72, paperback — $47.32)

Organized around concepts and use cases, this thoroughly updated sixth edition provides intermediate and advanced programmers with a concise map of C# and .NET knowledge. Dive in and discover why this Nutshell guide is considered the definitive reference on C#.

Get up to speed with all aspects of the C# language, from the basics of syntax and variables, to advanced topics such as pointers and operator overloading
Dig deep into LINQ via three chapters dedicated to the topic
Learn about dynamic, asynchronous, and parallel programming
Work with .NET features, including XML, networking, serialization, reflection, security, application domains, and code contracts
Explore the new C# 6.0 compiler-as-a-service, Roslyn

C# 6 for Programmers (eTextbook— $31.72, paperback — $44.75)

Written for programmers with a background in high-level language programming, C# 6 for Programmers applies the Deitel signature live-code approach to teaching programming and explores Microsoft’s C# 6 and .NET in depth. Concepts are presented in the context of 170+ fully coded and tested apps, complete with syntax shading, code highlighting, code walkthroughs, program outputs and hundreds of savvy software-development tips.

Start with an introduction to C# using an early classes and objects approach, then rapidly move on to more advanced topics, including LINQ, asynchronous programming with async and await and more. You’ll enjoy the treatment of object-oriented programming and an object-oriented design/UML® ATM case study, including a complete C# implementation. When you’ve mastered the book, you’ll be ready to start building industrial-strength, object-oriented C# apps.

Features:

Use with Windows® 7, 8 or 10.
Integrated coverage of new C# 6 functionality: string interpolation, expression-bodied methods and properties, auto-implemented property initializers, getter-only properties, nameof, null-conditional operator, exception filters and more.
Entertaining and challenging code examples.
Deep treatment of classes, objects, inheritance, polymorphism and interfaces.
Generics, LINQ and generic collections; PLINQ (Parallel LINQ) for multicore performance.
Asynchronous programming with async and await; functional programming with lambdas, delegates and immutability.
Files; relational database with LINQ to Entities.
Object-oriented design ATM case study with full code implementation.
Emphasis on performance and software engineering principles.

C# 6.0 and the .NET 4.6 Framework (Kindle — $41.99, paperback — $46.61)

This new 7th edition of Pro C# 6.0 and the .NET 4.6 Platform has been completely revised and rewritten to reflect the latest changes to the C# language specification and new advances in the .NET Framework. You’ll find new chapters covering all the important new features that make .NET 4.6 the most comprehensive release yet, including:

A Refined ADO.NET Entity Framework Programming Model
Numerous IDE and MVVM Enhancements for WPF Desktop Development
Numerous updates to the ASP.NET Web APIs

The mission of this book is to provide you with a comprehensive foundation in the C# programming language and the core aspects of the .NET platform plus overviews of technologies built on top of C# and .NET (ADO.NET and Entity Framework, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), ASP.NET (WebForms, MVC, WebAPI).). Once you digest the information presented in these chapters, you’ll be in a perfect position to apply this knowledge to your specific programming assignments, and you’ll be well equipped to explore the .NET universe on your own terms.

What You Will Learn:

Be the first to understand the .NET 4.6 platform and C# 6.
Discover the ins and outs of the leading .NET technology.
Learn from an award-winning author who has been teaching the .NET world since version 1.0.
Find complete coverage of XAML, .NET 4.6 and Visual Studio 2015 together with discussion of the new Windows Runtime.

C# 6.0 Cookbook: Solutions for C# Developers (Kindle — $27.49, paperback — $36.99)

Completely updated for C# 6.0, the new edition of this bestseller offers more than 150 code recipes to common and not-so-common problems that C# programmers face every day. More than a third of the recipes have been rewritten to take advantage of new C# 6.0 features. If you prefer solutions to general C# language instruction and quick answers to theory, this is your book.C# 6.0 Cookbook offers new recipes for asynchronous methods, dynamic objects, enhanced error handling, the Rosyln compiler, and more.

Here are some of topics covered:

Classes and generics;
Collections, enumerators, and iterators;
Data types;
LINQ and Lambda expressions;
Exception handling;
Reflection and dynamic programming;
Regular expressions;
Filesystem interactions;
Networking and the Web;
XML usage;
Threading, Synchronization, and Concurrency.

Each recipe in the book includes tested code that you can download from oreilly.com and reuse in your own applications, and each one includes a detailed discussion of how and why the underlying technology works. You don’t have to be an experienced C# or .NET developer to use C# 6.0 Cookbook. You just have to be someone who wants to solve a problem now, without having to learn all the related theory first.

C# in Depth (paperback — $35.82)

C# in Depth, Third Edition has been thoroughly revised to cover the new features of C# 5, including the subtleties of writing maintainable asynchronous code. You’ll see the power of C# in action, learning how to work with high-value features that you’ll be glad to have in your toolkit. And you’ll learn to avoid hidden pitfalls of C# programming with the help of crystal clear explanations of “behind the scenes” issues.

What’s Inside