About csharp102.info, C# 2008 For Dummies,
and the Authors

The book

Stephen Randy Davis wrote the first edition of the book, called C# For Dummies, in 2002. When he was unavailable to do a second edition, Chuck Sphar got the job for C# 2005 For Dummies. And Bill Sempf took over for the fourth edition of the book, called C# 2010 All-in-One For Dummies.

For the C# 2008 For Dummies edition, we've not only covered the hot new features relating to Language Integrated Query (LINQ) [described on the Home Page], but also revised the book in many other ways:

• Better organization
• More code examples
• New coverage of C#'s collection classes
• Expanded coverage of C# interfaces
• All new material on C# delegates and events
• More on namespaces and class libraries
• Much better coverage of C#'s error handling mechanism: exceptions
• Added coverage of working with files and directories
• New material on C# structs and enums
• Extended coverage of using Visual Studio 2008
• Improved coverage of C# generics
• More on C# iterators

And as for the C# 2010 update of the book, Bill Sempf has done the honors. Bill has also written numerous other programming books, including Visual Basic 2008 For Dummies.

What items in the previous edition are gone in the new 2008 edition?

A few things fell by the wayside:

• A Part-of-Tens chapter comparing C# to other programming languages. I'll get that kind of material onto this site soon.
• The book's CD-ROM disc, which contained example code, bonus chapters, and several you-try-it utility programs. The items that used to be on the CD are now on this site.
• The book's Appendix. Since it was all about using the CD, we axed it.
• The old Bonus Chapter 5, "C# on the Cheap," which discussed programming C# at the Windows command line, with SharpDevelop, and so forth. I'll put parts of that material on this site when I get a chance.

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The Web site

This Web site is all new:

• New design
• New content
• More bonus material
• More C# code
• The book's Table of Contents
• A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page
• Contact information in case you have a question or find an error

We won't be updating the site daily, or even weekly, but we will update it frequently, so come back from time to time to see what's new.

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The Authors

Stephen R. Davis, who goes by the name of Randy, lives with his wife and son near Dallas, Texas. He and his family have written numerous books, including C++ For Dummies and C++ Weekend Crash Course. Stephen works for L-3 Communications.

Chuck Sphar escaped Microsoft's C++ documentation camps in 1997, after six years' hard labor as a senior technical writer. He's perpetrated three previous tomes, one on object-oriented programming for the Mac, one on Microsoft's MFC class library, and C# 2005 For Dummies, a revision of Randy's original edition. Chuck is currently finishing a novel about ancient Rome and gobbling great mouthfuls of .NET programming. Chuck can be reached for praise and minor nits via this site's Contact page.

Bill Sempf, author of the new C# 2010 All-in-One For Dummies, is a professional software developer, business strategist, Webmaster, and book author.

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