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  3. Any book suggestions for a working programmer?

Any book suggestions for a working programmer?

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csharplearningasp-netdotnetwpf
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  • R realJSOP

    Don't bother with books. The best way to actually LEARN something new is to write code in an area that is outside your comfort zone. Of course, you have to be careful about which platform you chose because Microsoft will just stop supporting something out of the blue, and you're left standing their with your thumb up your ass - just ask the unmanaged C++ coders, and soon, Silverlight coders...

    .45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
    -----
    "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
    -----
    "The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001

    N Offline
    N Offline
    Nemanja Trifunovic
    wrote on last edited by
    #24

    John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

    Microsoft will just stop supporting something out of the blue, and you're left standing their with your thumb up your ass - just ask the unmanaged C++ coders

    Maybe you mean MFC coders? Native C++ is used in many non-Microsoft envirinments, and Microsoft itself is using it for all money-making software (Windows, Office, SQL Server...)

    utf8-cpp

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    • O Oxians

      Hi to everyone in this great crowd. For two years now, I've been a professional programmer. I work in .NET (C#, ASP.NET, WPF, WCF) and so far the ride has been great - I am hoping for a long and prosperous career. But I have a nagging voice in my head reminding me that everything I know of .NET was learned ad-hoc, in the heat of the moment, in a do or die situation. Starting a project in a never-before-used technology was, and still is a frequent occurrence. Now, don't get me wrong - I would soon get bored if everything stayed the same as I love learning new technologies, and googling for answers to my questions. But I have this nagging feeling that I need to learn the "proper" way to do things sooner or latter - preferably sooner. Here I am talking about using general language features, design patterns, and the lovely .NET framework classes to their full extent. So, in the attempt to en-better my (still somewhat green) professional skills I am asking for advice - do you know of some good books to get a .NET programmer on the way to better and greater coding? Do any of you have the "It may work, but learn to do it right" urge?

      P Offline
      P Offline
      PIEBALDconsult
      wrote on last edited by
      #25

      Dune. But seriously, just make sure you and your colleagues review each others' code and bounce ideas off each other as well.

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      • P PIEBALDconsult

        Dune. But seriously, just make sure you and your colleagues review each others' code and bounce ideas off each other as well.

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        O Offline
        Oxians
        wrote on last edited by
        #26

        I agree. Dune is a must for every programmer worth his salt. Also - Lord Of The Rings :)

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        • R Rob Philpott

          The Gang of Four is IMHO the most dangerous book unleashed on the development world and I'm seriously wary of those who have a copy on their desk - nothing has done more for the world of over-engineered complex design. Simple is always best.

          Regards, Rob Philpott.

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          T Offline
          tom1443
          wrote on last edited by
          #27

          +1 for simple is better +1 for trashing Design Patterns

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          • R Rob Philpott

            The Gang of Four is IMHO the most dangerous book unleashed on the development world and I'm seriously wary of those who have a copy on their desk - nothing has done more for the world of over-engineered complex design. Simple is always best.

            Regards, Rob Philpott.

            J Offline
            J Offline
            Jeff Connelly
            wrote on last edited by
            #28

            First, simple is NOT always best. There are times complexity is a necessary evil to accomplish what you need. Which is not to say you should over-engineer something. That said, GoF is not really the best book to learn patterns from. It's influential and important, but that's not quite the same thing. Successfully adapting patterns others have used and learned from into your own designs is pretty obviously a good idea.

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            • O Oxians

              Hi to everyone in this great crowd. For two years now, I've been a professional programmer. I work in .NET (C#, ASP.NET, WPF, WCF) and so far the ride has been great - I am hoping for a long and prosperous career. But I have a nagging voice in my head reminding me that everything I know of .NET was learned ad-hoc, in the heat of the moment, in a do or die situation. Starting a project in a never-before-used technology was, and still is a frequent occurrence. Now, don't get me wrong - I would soon get bored if everything stayed the same as I love learning new technologies, and googling for answers to my questions. But I have this nagging feeling that I need to learn the "proper" way to do things sooner or latter - preferably sooner. Here I am talking about using general language features, design patterns, and the lovely .NET framework classes to their full extent. So, in the attempt to en-better my (still somewhat green) professional skills I am asking for advice - do you know of some good books to get a .NET programmer on the way to better and greater coding? Do any of you have the "It may work, but learn to do it right" urge?

              J Offline
              J Offline
              Jeff Connelly
              wrote on last edited by
              #29

              Safari bookshelf is a good resource, since technologies change so often. You can read any book you like and decide which best fits your needs.

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • T thatraja

                Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:

                Would you like to be shot or hung?

                toss a coin?

                thatraja |Chennai|India|


                Brainbench certifications
                Down-votes are like kid's kisses don't reject it :-)
                Do what you want quickly because the Doomsday on 2012 :-)

                N Offline
                N Offline
                Naruki 0
                wrote on last edited by
                #30

                I'd like to be hung, but I think you meant it differently.

                Narf.

                T S 2 Replies Last reply
                0
                • N Naruki 0

                  I'd like to be hung, but I think you meant it differently.

                  Narf.

                  T Offline
                  T Offline
                  thatraja
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #31

                  No, I said toss a coin for hung or shot if you are in confusion to choose from the two. :rolleyes:

                  thatraja |Chennai|India|


                  Brainbench certifications
                  Down-votes are like kid's kisses don't reject it :-)
                  Do what you want quickly because the Doomsday on 2012 :-)

                  N 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • T thatraja

                    No, I said toss a coin for hung or shot if you are in confusion to choose from the two. :rolleyes:

                    thatraja |Chennai|India|


                    Brainbench certifications
                    Down-votes are like kid's kisses don't reject it :-)
                    Do what you want quickly because the Doomsday on 2012 :-)

                    N Offline
                    N Offline
                    Naruki 0
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #32

                    No confusion here. Coin toss came up "hung". So, do I take a pill or something? Can't wait to show the missus.

                    Narf.

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                    • O Oxians

                      I agree. Dune is a must for every programmer worth his salt. Also - Lord Of The Rings :)

                      S Offline
                      S Offline
                      stephen hazel
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #33

                      also "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy"

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                      • O Oxians

                        I agree. Dune is a must for every programmer worth his salt. Also - Lord Of The Rings :)

                        L Offline
                        L Offline
                        Lost User
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #34

                        I agree. You can also download and review of GNU/Free programs.:thumbsup: You can also use Reflector to explore more...

                        Thanks

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • R Rajesh R Subramanian

                          blackjack2150 wrote:

                          Should I belive you or Microsoft?

                          Would you like to be shot or hung?

                          There are some really weird people on this planet - MIM.

                          A Offline
                          A Offline
                          all_in_flames
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #35

                          Technically it should be "hanged". Looks weird, I know. Stupid English.

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                          • O Oxians

                            Hi to everyone in this great crowd. For two years now, I've been a professional programmer. I work in .NET (C#, ASP.NET, WPF, WCF) and so far the ride has been great - I am hoping for a long and prosperous career. But I have a nagging voice in my head reminding me that everything I know of .NET was learned ad-hoc, in the heat of the moment, in a do or die situation. Starting a project in a never-before-used technology was, and still is a frequent occurrence. Now, don't get me wrong - I would soon get bored if everything stayed the same as I love learning new technologies, and googling for answers to my questions. But I have this nagging feeling that I need to learn the "proper" way to do things sooner or latter - preferably sooner. Here I am talking about using general language features, design patterns, and the lovely .NET framework classes to their full extent. So, in the attempt to en-better my (still somewhat green) professional skills I am asking for advice - do you know of some good books to get a .NET programmer on the way to better and greater coding? Do any of you have the "It may work, but learn to do it right" urge?

                            R Offline
                            R Offline
                            Refwah
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #36

                            Dreaming In Code is a decent book, not for teaching you coding, but it documents the successes and pitfalls of developing the Chandler Project[^].

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • R realJSOP

                              Don't bother with books. The best way to actually LEARN something new is to write code in an area that is outside your comfort zone. Of course, you have to be careful about which platform you chose because Microsoft will just stop supporting something out of the blue, and you're left standing their with your thumb up your ass - just ask the unmanaged C++ coders, and soon, Silverlight coders...

                              .45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
                              -----
                              "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
                              -----
                              "The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001

                              F Offline
                              F Offline
                              Fabio Franco
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #37

                              John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

                              Don't bother with books. The best way to actually LEARN something new is to write code in an area that is outside your comfort zone.

                              I'll have to disagree. As someone who learned a lot through books, I wouldn't even be able to get outside my comfort zone if it weren't for them. I beleive books get you so far, and then you get out and venture. And there are many things people are unaware of their existance that are learnable through books. They also avoid a lot of wheel reinventing and let you know about very good and proven techiniques.

                              1 Reply Last reply
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                              • R Rajesh R Subramanian

                                C++ does not need "support" from MS to sustain itself on the market. On the other hand, MS *does* want to support C++ fully - the C++0x core language support, some UI improvements in MFC, enhanced debugging capabilities for multi-threaded native code, etc., in VS 2010 are some of the examples. Sure, they can do better than whatever they've been doing, but they're trying hard. They won't drop support for C++. And if they do take such a drastic step, they will lose more than anyone, AND that will anyway not have a measurable impact on the C++ community.

                                There are some really weird people on this planet - MIM.

                                P Offline
                                P Offline
                                Phasma
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #38

                                Well they have dropped the ball with c++ in Visual Studio 2010. There is no intellisense support for c++. :-( Have to get Visual Assist to get intelisense. btw, try reading Pragmatic programmer, and Code Complete 2. Found those insightful :-)

                                R 1 Reply Last reply
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                                • P Phasma

                                  Well they have dropped the ball with c++ in Visual Studio 2010. There is no intellisense support for c++. :-( Have to get Visual Assist to get intelisense. btw, try reading Pragmatic programmer, and Code Complete 2. Found those insightful :-)

                                  R Offline
                                  R Offline
                                  Rajesh R Subramanian
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #39

                                  Phasma. wrote:

                                  Well they have dropped the ball with c++ in Visual Studio 2010. There is no intellisense support for c++

                                  VS 2010 has intellisense support for C++. You are probably talking about C++/CLI, which I couldn't care less about (and C++/CLI is NOT the same as C++).

                                  There are some really weird people on this planet - MIM.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • O Oxians

                                    Hi to everyone in this great crowd. For two years now, I've been a professional programmer. I work in .NET (C#, ASP.NET, WPF, WCF) and so far the ride has been great - I am hoping for a long and prosperous career. But I have a nagging voice in my head reminding me that everything I know of .NET was learned ad-hoc, in the heat of the moment, in a do or die situation. Starting a project in a never-before-used technology was, and still is a frequent occurrence. Now, don't get me wrong - I would soon get bored if everything stayed the same as I love learning new technologies, and googling for answers to my questions. But I have this nagging feeling that I need to learn the "proper" way to do things sooner or latter - preferably sooner. Here I am talking about using general language features, design patterns, and the lovely .NET framework classes to their full extent. So, in the attempt to en-better my (still somewhat green) professional skills I am asking for advice - do you know of some good books to get a .NET programmer on the way to better and greater coding? Do any of you have the "It may work, but learn to do it right" urge?

                                    D Offline
                                    D Offline
                                    Deezos
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #40

                                    In addition to reading CLR Via C# also read the "MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536) Application Development Foundation.". Both are invaluable.

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                                    • N Naruki 0

                                      I'd like to be hung, but I think you meant it differently.

                                      Narf.

                                      S Offline
                                      S Offline
                                      skydvr
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #41

                                      thx for the laugh.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • D Daniel Vaughan

                                        This is probably the most most useful general .NET book I have read: CLR via C# Cheers, Daniel

                                        Daniel Vaughan Twitter | Blog | Microsoft MVP | Projects: Calcium SDK, Clog | LinkedIn

                                        D Offline
                                        D Offline
                                        DominLondon
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #42

                                        yep Agree. Just finished reading CLR via C# third addition. I just wish i had read it earlier.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • N Naruki 0

                                          No confusion here. Coin toss came up "hung". So, do I take a pill or something? Can't wait to show the missus.

                                          Narf.

                                          T Offline
                                          T Offline
                                          thatraja
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #43

                                          Naruki wrote:

                                          No confusion here. Coin toss came up "hung". So, do I take a pill or something? Can't wait to show the missus.

                                          Pill is easy but with sleeping pill will be very fine :-D

                                          thatraja |Chennai|India|


                                          Brainbench certifications
                                          Down-votes are like kid's kisses don't reject it :-)
                                          Do what you want quickly because the Doomsday on 2012 :-)

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
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