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In the three years since Microsoft made C# available, there have been lots of tweaks to the language. That's because C# is not only essential for making .NET work, it's a big way for Microsoft to attract millions of Java, C and C++ developers to the platform. And C# has definitely made some inroads. Because of its popularity among developers, the language received standardization from ECMA International, making it possible to port C# applications to other platforms. To bolster its appeal, C# 2.0 has undergone some key changes as part of Visual Studio 2005 that will make development with .NET quicker and easier.

That's precisely what Visual C# 2005: A Developer's Notebook allows you to do. There are some great new features in C# and this unique "all lab, no lecture" guide covers them all with 50 hands-on projects. Each project explores a new feature, with emphasis on changes that increase productivity, simplify programming tasks, and add functionality to applications.

C#'s component-based design combines the productivity of Microsoft's popular Visual Basic with the raw power of C++ for web-based applications. Many reviewers note a similarity between C# and Java--in fact, a new feature that took the Java development team five years to incorporate into Java is now available in C# 2.0. Called "generics", this feature enables developers to reuse and customize their existing code, so they can dramatically cut down the time it takes to develop new applications.

Visual C# 2005: A Developer's Notebook is full of no-nonsense code without the usual page-filling commentary. You'll find suggestions for further experimentation, links to on-line documentation, plus practical notes and warnings. The book also tells developers how to acquire, install and configure Visual Studio 2005. Are you a coder to the core? Learn what C# 2.0 can do for you now.

Okay, all you VB6 developers--time's up. As of March 2005, Microsoft no longer supports this version of Visual Basic. And you can't blame them. Three years ago, they introduced the .NET Framework--an elegant, powerful platform--along with the new component-based VB.NET language. But roughly five million of you decided to stick with VB6, mostly to maintain legacy Windows and COM projects.

Now, with the upcoming release of VB 2005, Microsoft has several attractive reasons to upgrade that you'll find hard to resist, including the return of some VB6 features. And we have the perfect book to help you make the conversion: Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart. Now, you can test-drive the beta version of VB 2005 with three hands-on projects that enable you to learn the syntax of this new language quickly.

VB 2005 not only lets you convert the bulk of your existing VB6 code, but offers several familiar features, such as compile-and-run debugging, new MyClasses that simplify use of .NET libraries and frameworks, lots of IDE support for Windows, web and mobile GUI development, and data access controls that closely resemble what you use now. The real plus is that you'll be using these features with the .NET platform, which is more secure, less complex than COM, and offers OneClick deployment.

Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart lets you get the feel of this platform for building smart/rich Windows Forms clients, ASP.NET web applications, and web services. Author Wei-Meng Lee, a Microsoft .NET MVP, veteran O'Reilly author and frequent contributor to the O'Reilly Network, has put together three useful test-drive projects, complete with code samples, that let you develop:

• A personal library Windows application
• A Web-based shopping cart application
• A stock enquiry Web Service

Our jumpstart guide is the quick, painless way to migrate from VB6 to VB 2005, and the perfect training manual for moving your organization to the more robust, dynamic and secure world of .NET.

Get self-paced, from-the-source exam preparation and self-assessment for the skills measured by MCP Exams 70-305 and 70-315—core requirements for MCAD and MCSD certification. Features an enhanced testing tool and more labs and code examples.

The introduction of .NET has blurred the lines between previously distinct programming disciplines. With so much functionality encapsulated by the .NET Framework class library, some very diverse tasks have gained a common programming interface that makes moving from one to another seem much less daunting. One area in which this change is particularly striking is web development: where ASP was the realm of script programmers, ASP.NET is implemented by a set of classes that enable you to create Internet applications using the same languages that you'd use for Windows desktop programs.

In Visual Studio .NET, Microsoft has taken this idea a stage further: not only does the code look similar, but the GUI looks similar too. Visual Basic .NET's familiar form-based interface is used for the development of web applications as well as for desktop programs. If you want to, you can create a web application without ever seeing a line of HTML code, and you can do so with all the facilities for testing and debugging that Visual Studio .NET provides to programmers of all types.

In this book, we'll take what you already know about creating desktop applications using Visual Basic .NET, and show you how to apply it to the Web. We'll teach you about the different thinking that you have to employ when writing web applications, and also tell you about some of the technologies that can help in the creation of compelling web content. In particular, we'll explore:

- How the Web works: the Internet, HTTP, and the client-server architecture

- Creating dynamic web pages with web forms and web server controls

- Acquiring and displaying data using ADO.NET and Visual Studio .NET components

- Debugging and error handling in ASP.NET applications

- The importance of XML, and particularly its role in web services

- Setting up your web server efficiently and securely

- Assessing the performance of your application, and preparing it for release

Along the way, we'll be building a case study that demonstrates the use of these technologies in practice. That example, like all of the others in the book, is presented in Wrox's tried-and-tested Try It Out format.

It is clear that Visual Studio Team System is the future of development from Microsoft's perspective. We agree. Development is no longer a personal pursuit by one developer in a darkened room; it is a collective effort by a team of peers. VSTS supports this broader vision by providing a complete collaboration platform for the entire project team. VSTS takes a services-oriented approach leveraging Windows Sharepoint Services and SQL Server Business Intelligence Suite. Additionally, VSTS brings the lifecycle to life by making it part of the integrated suite.

This book will guide you through the entire breadth of VSTS. If you are a stakeholder, you have a portal that gives you instant access to project documents, status, and performance indicators. If you are primarily a project manager, you will learn how create, manage, and assess the team performance. As VSTS is integrated with MS Office, you can quickly assign tasks and gather work status. With reporting from the data warehouse you get real-time view of all project metrics. If you are a developer, you will learn how to write higher-quality code, ensure that the code works, and that it performs well.

For those seeking to use test-driven development, VSTS is the tool for you. If you're an architect, there is a new set of domain-specific modeling tools that makes it easy to visualize systems, determine application relationships, and deploy into a logical datacenter. For testers, Microsoft's new suite of test tools provides a powerful web testing environment with virtually unlimited extensibility. In addition, the new load tools allow you to perform world-class scalability testing.

Even if you are just considering adopting VSTS, you will be provided with a comprehensive overview. Further, you will be able to deep-dive into any area with detailed descriptions, samples and walk-throughs. Roll up your sleeves and get ready for a new way of developing solutions!

Traditionally, tools for performance tuning, testing applications, and debugging code have been expensive, hard to learn, and difficult to use. While previous versions of Microsoft Visual Studio® have included debuggers and other code-improvement tools, Visual Studio 2005 presents developers with robust and useful tools and processes to help ensure top-quality code. In this guide, an expert on improving code, John Robbins, steps back from the expert-level information that characterized his previous debugging books to present hands-on, practical advice for working developers on how to use the debugging, testing, and tuning features in Visual Studio 2005. In addition to an overview of the science of debugging and expertly-guided instruction, this guide also features solutions to common, real-world development problems. Developers of all skill levels will be able to use this book to help improve their understanding of debugging, debugging tools, tuning, and testing! , including how to effectively employ Test Explorer, the Enterprise Performance Tool, and WinDbg.

This title is ideal for any developer who seeks guidance on how to exploit the database functionality and advanced, integrated development environment in Microsoft Visual Basic .NET. The book covers core Visual Basic database development topics, with details on using Visual Basic .Net with Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), ADO+, and Microsoft SQL Server. It's full of insightful explanations and expertly rendered examples for rapid acceleration of development productivity, faster applications, and more powerful results.

With this book, you can learn the skills of a professional programmer in just 692 pages. Because of its self-paced approach in the first 7 chapters, you can do that whether you're new to Visual Basic.NET or you're upgranding from Visual Basic 6.

From that point on, you're ready for rapid progress as you learn how to develop sophisticated GUIs, how to use the .NET classes for a wide variety of purposes, how to work with XML, how to develop database appplications with ADO.NET, and how to develop web applications with ASP.NET.

To insure success, this book includes 18 complete business applications so you can see how the forms, controls, and code of Visual Basic applications work together. Applications like these should be a standard part of all programming books. BUT NO OTHER VB BOOK DOES THIS.

This title gives readers with previous Microsoft Visual C++ or Microsoft Visual Basic experience the foundation they need to hit the ground running with the versatile Microsoft Visual C# .NET object-oriented Web development language. Real-world programming scenarios and easy-to-follow, step-by-step exercises offer the fast and clear instruction readers need to begin creating stable, efficient business-level objects and system-level applications. Readers also get code samples on a companion CD-ROM to study and reuse in their own projects.