Introduction xxi Part I: The C# Language Chapter 1: Introducing C# 3 What Is the .NET Framework? 4 What Is C#? 9 Visual Studio 2017 11 Chapter 2: Writing a C# Program 15 The Visual Studio 2017 Development Environment 16 Console Applications 21 Desktop Applications 26 Chapter 3: Variables and Expressions 33 Basic C# Syntax 34 Basic C# Console Application Structure 36 Variables 38 Expressions 46 Chapter 4: Flow Control 59 Boolean Logic 60 Branching 65 Looping 72 Chapter 5: More About Variables 83 Type Conversion 84 Complex Variable Types 91 String Manipulation 109 Chapter 6: Functions 117 Defining and Using Functions 118 Variable Scope 131 The Main() Function 138 Struct Functions 141 Overloading Functions 142 Using Delegates 144 Chapter 7: Debugging and Error Handling 149 Debugging in Visual Studio 150 Error Handling 167 Chapter 8: Introduction To Object-Oriented Programming 179 What Is Object-Oriented Programming? 180 OOP Techniques 186 OOP in Desktop Applications 196 Chapter 9: Defining Classes 203 Class Definitions in C# 204 System. Object 209 Constructors and Destructors 211 OOP Tools in Visual Studio 216 Class Library Projects 222 Interfaces Versus Abstract Classes 226 Struct Types 228 Shallow Copying Versus Deep Copying 230 Chapter 10: Defining Class Members 233 Member Definitions 234 Additional Class Member Topics 244 Interface Implementation 249 Partial Class Definitions 252 Partial Method Definitions 253 Example Application 255 The Call Hierarchy Window 265 Chapter 11: Collections, Comparisons, and Conversions 269 Collections 270 Comparisons 292 Conversions 313 Chapter 12: Generics 319 What Are Generics? 320 Using Generics 321 Defining Generic Types 339 Variance 353 Chapter 13: Additional C# Techniques 359 The :: Operator and the Global Namespace Qualifier 360 Custom Exceptions 361 Events 363 Expanding and Using CardLib 375 Attributes 384 Initializers 386 Type Inference 392 Anonymous Types 394 Dynamic Lookup 398 Advanced Method Parameters 402 Lambda Expressions 409 Part II: Windows Programming Chapter 14: Basic Desktop Programming 425 XAML 426 The Playground 429 Control Layout 441 The Game Client 452 Chapter 15: Advanced Desktop Programming 479 Creating and Styling Controls 480 WPF User Controls 485 The Main Window 499 Putting It All Together 504 Part III: Cloud and Cross-Platform Programming Chapter 16: Basic Cloud Programming 533 The Cloud, Cloud Computing, and the Cloud Optimized Stack 534 Cloud Patterns and Best Practices 537 Using Microsoft Azure C# Libraries to Create a Storage Container 538 Creating an ASP.NET 4.7 Web Site That Uses the Storage Container 548 Chapter 17: Advanced Cloud Programming and Deployment 559 Creating an ASP.NET Web API 560 Deploying and Consuming an ASP.NET Web API on Microsoft Azure 564 Scaling an ASP.NET Web API on Microsoft Azure 572 Chapter 18: .

NET standard and .NET Core 579 Cross-Platform Basics and Key "Must Know" Terms 581 What Is .NET Standard, and Why Is It Needed? 583 Referencing and Targeting Frameworks 587 What is .NET Core? 588 Building and Packaging a .NET Standard Library 596 Building a .NET Core Application with Visual Studio 602 Porting from .NET Framework to .NET Core 605 Chapter 19: ASP.

NET and ASP.NET Core 609 Overview of Web Applications 610 Which ASP.NET to Use and Why 611 Using ASP.NET Web Forms 620 Creating ASP.NET Core Web Applications 627 Part IV: Data Access Chapter 20: Files 641 File Classes for Input and Output 642 Streams 647 Monitoring the File System 664 Chapter 21: XML and JSON 673 XML Basics 674 JSON Basics 674 XML Schemas 675 XML Document Object Model 677 Converting XML to JSON 689 Searching XML with XPath 691 Chapter 22: LINQ 697 LINQ to XML 698 LINQ Providers 704 LINQ Query Syntax 705 LINQ Method Syntax 709 Ordering Query Results 712 Understanding the orderby Clause 713 Querying a Large Data Set 714 Using Aggregate Operators 717 Using the Select Distinct Query 720 Ordering by Multiple Levels 723 Using Group Queries 725 Using Joins 727 Chapter 23: Databases 731 Using Databases 731 Installing SQL Server Express 732 Entity Framework 732 A Code First Database 733 But Where Is My Database? 740 Navigating Database Relationships 742 Handling Migrations 749 Creating and Querying XML from an Existing Database 750 Part V: Additional Techniques Chapter 24: Windows Communication Foundation 761 What Is WCF? 762 WCF Concepts 763 WCF Programming 768 Chapter 25: Universal Apps 793 Getting Started 794 Windows Universal Apps 795 App Concepts and Design 796 App Development 797 Common Elements of Windows Store Apps 816 The Windows Store 818 Appendix: Exercise Solutions 821 Index 865.