vb.net/c# books

AHarvey · 30 Mar 2008 at 00:38

Can anyone recommend some books that a total programming beginner can get for learning vb.net and C#?

I am aware of the c# vs vb.net arguement that always appears but a friend wants a decent book on each and he will then decide which one he wants to start programming with. He will, once he has grasped enough of one language to feel comfortable move onto other languages.

EDIT: I have searched a few other sites that sell books and there seems to be a few VB.net books that include asp.net. My experience is limited to php and a bit of python. Can anyone explain was asp.net is and what relationship it has with vb?

RobH · 30 Mar 2008 at 00:43

Head First C# a good book for someone who is new to programming. I own Head First Design Patterns and it covers some advanced topics but they way they explain it makes it easy to learn, it's quite a unique style so you might want to check out the preview beforehand:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Rn...head+first+c#&sig=qpFrVBO1OUbEq6mMZOEH8615hhY

Inquisitor · 30 Mar 2008 at 00:44

To be honest it's probably not worth buying a book on each just to decide which one to use. Besides, a total beginner won't be able to properly judge the merits of one language against another.

I'd recommend C# as his first language out of the two, if only for the reason that it's 'nicer' to use (it doesn't actually matter that much). A good book for C# is Jesse Liberty's Programming C# 3.0.

voodooflux · 30 Mar 2008 at 02:07

Programming in the Key of C# by Charles Petzold is a gentle introduction to C# for those with no programming experience, albeit a slightly out of date with respect to the latest version of C# and the .NET framework. Still a useful primer, but you'll quickly need to move on to one of the other books mentioned in this thread, or perhaps something by Wrox or Apress.