Schildt - C♯ 4.0: the complete reference

C# 4.0: The Complete Reference

About the Author
Herbert Schildt is a leading authority on C#, C++, C, and Java. His programming books have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into all major foreign languages. He is the author of numerous bestsellers, including Java: The Complete Reference, C++: The Complete Reference, and C: The Complete Reference, among many others. Although interested in all facets of computing, his primary focus is computer languages, including compilers, interpreters, and robotic control languages. He also has an active interest in the standardization of languages. Schildt holds both graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois. He can be reached at his consulting office at (217) 586-4683. His web site is www.HerbSchildt.com .

About the Technical Editor
Michael Howard is a principal security program manager on the Trustworthy Computing (TwC) Groups Security Engineering team at Microsoft, where he is responsible for managing secure design, programming, and testing techniques across the company. Howard is an architect of the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), a process for improving the security of Microsofts software.

Howard began his career with Microsoft in 1992 at the companys New Zealand office, working for the first two years with Windows and compilers on the Product Support Services team and then with Microsoft Consulting Services, where he provided security infrastructure support to customers and assisted in the design of custom solutions and development of software. In 1997, Howard moved to the United States to work for the Windows division on Internet Information Services, Microsofts next-generation web server, before moving to his current role in 2000.

Howard is an editor of IEEE Security & Privacy, a frequent speaker at security-related conferences, and he regularly publishes articles on secure coding and design. Howard is the co-author of six security books, including the award-winning Writing Secure Code, 24 Deadly Sins of Software Security, The Security Development Lifecycle, and his most recent release, Writing Secure Code for Windows Vista.

Herbert Schildt

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ISBN: 978-0-07-174117-0

MHID: 0-07-174117-8

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Special thanks go to Michael Howard for his excellent technical edit of this book. His insights, suggestions, and advice were of great value.

We programmers are a demanding bunch, always looking for ways to improve the performance, efficiency, and portability of our programs. We also demand much from the tools we use, especially when it comes to programming languages. There are many programming languages, but only a few are great. A great programming language must be powerful, yet flexible. Its syntax must be terse, yet clear. It must facilitate the creation of correct code while not getting in our way. It must support state-of-the-art features, but not trendy dead ends. Finally, a great programming language must have one more, almost intangible quality: It must feel right when we use it. C# is such a language.

Created by Microsoft to support its .NET Framework, C# builds on a rich programming heritage. Its chief architect was long-time programming guru Anders Hejlsberg. C# is directly descended from two of the worlds most successful computer languages: C and C++. From C, it derives its syntax, many of its keywords, and most of its operators. It builds upon and improves the object model defined by C++. C# is also closely related to another very successful language: Java.

Sharing a common ancestry, but differing in many important ways, C# and Java are more like cousins. Both support distributed programming and both use intermediate code to achieve safety and portability, but the details differ. They both also provide a significant amount of runtime error checking, security, and managed execution, but again, the details differ. However, unlike Java, C# also gives you access to pointersa feature supported by C++. Thus, C# combines the raw power of C++ with the type safety of Java. Furthermore, the trade-offs between power and safety are carefully balanced and are nearly transparent.