1. Chapter 1 Introduction

   1. C# Language

   2. Common Language Runtime

   3. Base Class Libraries

   4. A First C# Program

2. Chapter 2 C# Language Reference

   1. Identifiers

   2. Types

   3. Variables

   4. Expressions and Operators

   5. Statements

   6. Organizing Types

   7. Inheritance

   8. Access Modifiers

   9. Classes and Structs

   10. Interfaces

   11. Arrays

   12. Enums

   13. Delegates

   14. Events

   15. try Statements and Exceptions

   16. Attributes

   17. Unsafe Code and Pointers

   18. Preprocessor Directives

   19. XML Documentation

3. Chapter 3 Programming the .NET Framework

   1. Common Types

   2. Math

   3. Strings

   4. Collections

   5. Regular Expressions

   6. Input/Output

   7. Networking

   8. Threading

   9. Assemblies

   10. Reflection

   11. Custom Attributes

   12. Automatic Memory Management

   13. Interop with Native DLLs

   14. Interop with COM

4. Chapter 4 Base Class Library Overview

   1. Core Types

   2. Text

   3. Collections

   4. Streams and I/O

   5. Networking

   6. Threading

   7. Security

   8. Reflection

   9. Serialization

   10. Remoting

   11. Web Services

   12. Data Access

   13. XML

   14. Graphics

   15. Rich Client Applications

   16. Web-Based Applications

   17. Globalization

   18. Configuration

   19. Advanced Component Services

   20. Assemblies

   21. Diagnostics and Debugging

   22. Interoperating with Unmanaged Code

   23. Component and Tool Support

   24. Runtime Facilities

   25. Native OS Facilities

5. Chapter 5 Essential .NET Tools

1. Appendix A C# Keywords

2. Appendix B Regular Expressions

3. Appendix C Format Specifiers

   1. Picture Format Specifiers

   2. DateTime Format Specifiers

4. Appendix D Data Marshaling

5. Appendix E Working with Assemblies

   1. Building Shareable Assemblies

   2. Managing the Global Assembly Cache

   3. Using nmake

6. Appendix F Namespaces and Assemblies

7. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of C# Essentials is a star-nosed mole (condylura cristata). Like all moles, star-nosed moles live primarily in underground tunnels they dig, but they do surface to find food. A mole's rodent-like body is covered in short, waterproof gray fur, and it is about six to eight inches long. A notable feature is its long claws, which are perfect for digging its trenches and foraging for food. It has small ears and eyes, and sharp, pointed teeth. A mole's eyesight and hearing are known to be terrible.

The star-nosed mole gets its name from the approximately 25 feelers on its nose that help it find food, primarily insects, worms, and small fish, as well as other small pond life. The star-nosed mole is the best swimmer in the mole family and can even dive to catch a fish. It prefers to live in wetlands but can be found in various areas of the Northeast United States and Southeast Canada.

Moles are mammals who nurse their young, and a female mole has one litter of three to six babies per year.

This particular type of mole is considered to be less of a household pest than its mole cousins because its mostly aquatic diet keeps it from rummaging around in backyards for food. Mary Anne Weeks Mayo was the copyeditor and production editor for C# Essentials. Jane Ellin proofread the book. Nicole Arigo provided quality control. Matt Hutchinson provided production assistance. Joe Wizda wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is an original engraving from The Illustrated Natural History by J. G. Wood, published in 1865. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe¹s ITC Garamond font.

David Futato and Melanie Wang designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Anne-Marie Vaduva converted the files from MSWord to FrameMaker 5.5 using tools created by Mike Sierra. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. This colophon was written by Nicole Arigo.

Whenever possible, our books use a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. If the page count exceeds this binding's limit, perfect binding is used.