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Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?

XNA has made game development easy, but to use the XNA framework you still have to be able to develop with C#. You don't have to be an expert, but you do need to understand the basics of Object Oriented development and the general syntax for the C# language.




That's great for existing developers, but there are a lot of non-developers who are interested in XNA, but need to start at the beginning and first learn how to develop with C# before they can learn how to develop a game with XNA. I'm trying to gather a list of resource materials to recommend to these newcomers so they can be guided on their XNA game development path.

So now I appeal to the kindness of the GWB community. Share your hidden treasure troves of information. When you were learning C#, what books did you buy and find useful? What sites did you use? Do you have an "Learning C#" tutorials you'd recommend? Did you start out as a VB developer who learned C#? What resources did you use?

Print | posted @ Tuesday, November 28, 2006 1:40 PM

Comments on this entry:

Gravatar # re: Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?
by Tim Hibbard at 11/28/2006 1:50 PM
I've been migrating all my stuff over to C# from VB for the last couple weeks. The learning curve isn't that bad if you already understand the .net framework. This website is a must though:
http://www.developerfusion.co.uk/utilities/convertvbtocsharp.aspx
Gravatar # re: Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?
by Justice~! at 11/28/2006 7:34 PM
I'm not a GWB blogger so feel free to ignore my advice as you are likely wont to do...;)

Clr Via C#, Jeffrey Richter (#1)
and...

...well, actually, that's it. Professional C# by Wrox I've heard is not too terrible either.

I'll canvas my posse and see if there are any other ones that are notable?
Gravatar # re: Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?
by George at 11/29/2006 6:58 AM
And just to warn you guys Tim and Justice. I added your sites to my post in the MSDN XNA forums so you might be getting some traffic from there.

I figure one good turn deserves another. I really appreciate the help in making this resource list.
Gravatar # re: Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?
by Tim Hibbard at 11/29/2006 7:39 AM
i LOVE that you threw in a "social geocoding" for good measure!!
Gravatar # re: Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?
by Theresa Hernandez at 11/30/2006 1:30 PM
George, I found your blog through Bob's. This is the best you can come up with? Learning C#? Not only that, but code embedded in your posts. Does Shawna read this?
Gravatar # re: Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?
by Justice~! at 12/1/2006 6:38 AM
The JUSTICE SIGNAL!!

This gives me all sorts of design ideas now...
Gravatar # re: Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?
by Joran Omark at 12/14/2006 1:37 AM
It depends a bit where you are coming from.

If you are starting from scartch, with no prior programming knowledge:

Ron Penton - Beginning C# Game Programming.

People either seem to love or hate Penton. There are some factual errors, but if you just read through it to get an overview, it serves as a clear introduction to C#. (2004)

Donis Marshall - Programming Microsoft Visual C# 2005: The Language.

Marshall is great as both an introduction and reference material. If you only want to spend a little, get this one rather than Penton, otherwise get both. (2006)

If you are slightly more advanced, perhaps coming from another language:

Jesse Liberty, Brian MacDonald - Learning C# 2005: Get Started with C# 2.0 and .NET Programming.

Liberty and MacDonald is great if you have some background in object oriented programming. Just make sure to get the second edition, not the first one. (2006)

Jesse Liberty - Programming C#.

Liberty moreor less copied and condensed the above book as the first half of Programming C#. Some seem to think it got less clear in the process. However, the second half is new material, and worth the read. (2005)

Maybe not beginner books, but good to have to look stuff up:

Jay Hilyard, Stephen Teilhet - C# Cookbook.

Hilyard and Teilhet really is a cookbock. There are 70 small solutions to common programming tasks, such as converting an array to a delimited string. Get the second edition. (2006)

John Sharp - Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Step by Step.

Sharp is very good too, but only as your second book, once you get the basics. (2005)

Andrew Troelsen - Pro C# 2005 and the .NET 2.0 Platform.

Troelsen gets basically as many recommendations as Sharp, and is also a 'second level' book. But do get the third edition. (2005)

Two old books which still stand as good introductions to game programming, even though they are hardly written for XNA are:

Tom Miller - Managed DirectX 9 Kick Start.

Miller is clear and Concise. Read it. (2003)

Daniel Sanchez-Crespo Dalmau - Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming.

Dalmau provides an overview of game programming design for beginners. A fun read. (2003)

I'll cross-post to the forums myself, George.

Cheers!

Jöran
Gravatar # re: Learning C#: What books, sites and tutorials would you recommend?
by roky at 12/29/2006 4:35 AM
Microsoft Course 2124 : "Programming with C#" it's absolutely awesome.

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