Rating:  - Extremely well-written guide
Programming .NET Windows Applications is not only a useful reference (the important enumerations and events are listed alongside descriptions of the various controls, for example), but it is a great introduction to the somewhat under-documented subject of creating fat clients using the latest tools. As a VB programmer converting to C#, I particularly appreciate the side-by-side code examples. But as an author of computer books myself, I am always on the lookout for books like this in which the authors do more than just parrot the official documentation. This book is full of helpful asides, tips, and warnings, and the text is authoritative. I will look for other books by these authors (and of course O'Reilly books are almost always excellent).
Nearly 2.5 inches thick, this is not an In-A-Nutshell book. It covers Windows Forms controls in great detail. (It assumes knowledge of VB or C# and basic .NET, and it naturally doesn't describe ASP.NET.) The chapter on creating custom controls has been particularly useful to me, and the GDI+ chapter includes source for a complex analog clock application. And for some reason, I haven't seen TreeView and ListView documented as well in other books. If you are writing Windows Applications using .NET, this is the one book to have at your side.
Rating: - Makes the Subject Very Approachable
I use this book as the text for an ASP.NET class I teach for the last two years, after looking over many others. It covers most of the areas on the subject very well, however I do provide my own supplemental material for a few missing, but common and easy to handle, topics for building web apps, such as HttpCookie and SmtpMail. Still highly recommended!
Rating: - Why We Wrote This Book
Thank you for considering our newest book. The response from our earlier collaboration (Programming ASP.NET 2nd Edition) was very positive, and we wanted to tackle this exciting new approach to programming Windows applciations and hybrid applications that draw both from the web and from the desktop's capabilities.
The book got away from us a little; in our effort to make it comprehensive, and to put every example both in C# and VB.NET, the book grew; but that gave us an opportunity to delve into some fascinating topics. It is hefty, but we think there is little fluff.
This book is aimed squarely at the serious developer who already knows C# and/or VB.NET, and who wants to develop real-world Windows applications for .NET. This is a tutorial, not a reference book, and it is not our desire to replicate Microsoft's documentation, but rather to walk you through the story of Programming applications using this new technology.
You can read more about the book, and sign up for full support in a private support discussion center, on my web site: http://www.LibertyAssociates.com.
Thank you again for considering our book.
-Jesse Liberty
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