I was looking for a solid "all in one" reference book on C# and .Net3.5 additions. This book came head and shoulders above everything else out there. This book has complete coverage of the basics and great coverage of new additions. It even has a chapter on Peer-to-Peer Networking (didn't know it was added until I read this book). Some books on C# focused only on the new stuff or limited their scope otherwise. This book is my main table reference. It is not perfect, but because it covers most of the framework and C# syntax if it doesn't have the exact answer for a particular question, there is enough info to really narrow the focus of the next step of more in depth research.

This book is the ultimate C# reference, even if you are not new to C#. Just read throught the chapters you are interested in and you are ready to get started with your project.

Thanks Christian!!!

Book is a decent introduction to C# although at 1782 pages a bit of a slog. It doesn't cover enough detail to be good reference, however. I find I need to look at online documentation for even some simple issues. I am an experienced programmer, so I know what I want a language to do. What I am interested in is "how do I do what I want to do?". This book has not proven to be good at answering these kind of questions. But in its defense, I have not found other books to be better - even highly recommended ones.

It is good a book, in my opinion better than most in that area, but don't expect miracles.
I find it very useful, but some things could be done better.

The content of this book is very good, but sentence structures are often confusing and vital information is sometimes missing. The quality varies greatly from one chapter to another, however, and some chapters are very well written. In combination with other books, this is a good resource, but on its own it can be frustrating at times.

The content of this book is good, but the language is often confusing, some concepts are used long before they have been formally introduced, and vital information is often missing. The book seems to have been produced in a rush. In its current state, it should have been declared a beta version.

Recieved book in excellent condition! The book is very organized and very constructive in teaching me what I need to learn in a step-by-step manner. I very much recommend this book!

I'm a VB.NET developer expanding my skill set. This book was great in not only covering C# but the .NET framework 3.5 as a whole. They even included some of the differences in the language features. This was all I needed!

Although I am an advance C# programmer. I found this book excellent in the way it presents staff. It is well written and organized.

If you are looking for one book which covers the ENTIRE applications of C# Language, then this is the only book you need to buy. Covers every different type of application that can be developed with C#. good examples all the way. As the title says, it is real PROFESSIONAL Book. 5 stars for sure. Worth every cent.

If you are looking for a brief introduction to C# this is not your book. But if you are seriously interested in improving your skills in any area, this is definitely the book to have on your shelf.
Great job.

'Professional C# 2008' is one of those ginormous books that I usually (usually) complain is too big, too bloated, too MUCH but sometimes the exception is the rule and that is the case here. With 1750+ pages of material spread over 48 chapters and 3 appendixes, if you are looking for brevity and/or a simple learning book this is probably not for you. If you are looking for a complete solution on learning C# from top to bottom, keep reading because you are in the right place.

Although it's lengthy, I feel a chapter listing is beneficial to detail out all the details of this book:

01. .NET Architecture
02. C# Basics
03. Objects and Types
04. Inheritance
05. Arrays
06. Operators and Casts
07. Delegates and Events
08. Strings and Regular Expressions
09. Generics
10. Collections
11. Language Integrated Query (LINQ)
12. Memory Management and Pointers
13. Reflection
14. Errors and Exceptions
15. Visual Studio 2008
16. Deployment
17. Assemblies
18. Tracing and Events
19. Threading and Synchronization
20. Security
21. Localization
22. Transactions
23. Windows Services
24. Interoperability
25. Manipulating Files and the Registry
26. Data Access
27. LINQ to SQL
28. Manipulating XML
29. LINQ to XML
30. .NET Programming with SQL Server
31. Windows Forms
32. Data Binding
33. Graphics with GDI+
34. Windows Presentation Foundation
35. Advanced WPF
36. Add-Ins
37. ASP.NET Pages
38. ASP.NET Development
39. ASP.NET AJAX
40. Visual Studio Tools for Office
41. Accessing the Internet
42. Windows Communication Foundation
43. Windows Workflow Foundation
44. Enterprise Services
45. Message Queuing
46. Directory Services
47. Peer-to-Peer Networking
48. Syndication

Subject matter is extremely thorough, and the writing is right to the point. Full of usable examples and traditional (good) Wrox design, you will be able to use chapters piece mail to get the information you are looking for or read the book from beginning to end if you want the whole experience.

I feel that this book is best for marginal/new C# developers who aren't intimidated by a tome of this size. There is lots of great information within and you certainly learn what makes C# such a fantastic language to use in today's world.

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED