C# Tips & Techniques

by Charles Wright (Conducted by)

Overview

A resource for intermediate and advanced developers interested in incorporating C# into their applications, this book contains more than 400 tips and techniques. Programmers should save time, money and resources with these tested and proven tips, techniques and solutions. The tips and techniques are organized by subject and are extensively indexed and cross-referenced for easy access. Overall the book contains short, easily accessible sound bites on how to use the C# technology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780072193794
Publisher:	McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media
Publication date:	01/01/2002
Series:	Tips & Techniques
Pages:	704
Product dimensions:	7.41(w) x 9.27(h) x 1.35(d)

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	xv
	Introduction	xvii
Part I	The .NET Environment and C#
Chapter 1	Introduction to C# and .NET	2
	When to Use C# and C++	8
	Distinguishing .NET from Other Environments	11
	Using the Common Language Runtime	13
	Viewing Intermediate Language Code	16
	Taking Advantage of Just-In-Time Debugging	18
	Exploiting the .NET Interoperability with COM	20
	Using .NET Versioning to Handle Software Updates	22
	Querying Class Capabilities Through .NET Reflection	24
Chapter 2	Developing C# Applications Within Visual Studio .NET	28
	Using the Visual Studio Options Dialog Box	34
	Customizing Toolbars and Menus	35
	Adding Items to the Tools Menu	38
	Test Driving Visual Studio .NET	41
	Using the Properties Tool Window	46
	Using IntelliSense	47
	Getting Help	49
Part II	The C# Language
Chapter 3	Getting Started with C#	54
	Accessing C# Library Classes	60
	Creating a Command Line Program	61
	Adding References to a Command Line Program	64
	Comparing the Results with C++	65
	Creating a Windows Program	66
	Comparing the Results with Visual Basic	68
	Understanding White Space and Tokens	71
	Commenting Your Code	72
	Documenting Your Code with XML Comments	75
	Using the C# Debugger	75
	Using the Output and Task List Windows	78
	Deciphering the Task List Window	79
	Writing and Using Your Own Namespaces	80
	Using the Console Class	81
	Formatting Output and Strings	83
	Using Preprocessor Directives	87
Chapter 4	Laying a C# Foundation	90
	Understanding Value Types	98
	Understanding References	98
	Writing Expressions	102
	Writing Statements	103
	Using Managed Code	104
	Using Logical Operators	107
	Using Relational, Equality, and Conditional Operators	110
	Using Assignment Operators	113
	Understanding C# Type Operators	116
	Using unsafe Code	117
	Using the sizeof Operator	120
	Boxing and Unboxing	121
	Using checked and unchecked Statements	124
	Writing Loops	128
	Using Program Control Statements	132
	Understanding Scope in C#	138
Chapter 5	Data Types in C#	142
	Defining Structures Within C#	148
	Declaring and Using Simple Data Types	150
	Creating Enumerated Lists	152
	Using Reference Types	155
	Basics of C# Classes	156
	Declaring Arrays in C#	157
	Understanding Interfaces	158
	Using Delegates to Create a Callback Function	160
	Using the object Data Type	162
	Passing Variables to Functions	164
	Using Fields and Properties	166
	Using String Interning to Reduce Memory Consumption	171
	Encoding Strings in C#	172
	Data Conversion in C#	176
Chapter 6	Structures in C#	178
	Defining Structures	183
	Using Structures as Value-Type Objects	187
	Using Structures as References	188
	Adding Functions to Structures	190
	Adding Properties to a Structure	194
Chapter 7	Understanding C# Classes	200
	Taking Advantage of Built-In Classes	205
	Referring to the Current Object Using the this Keyword	213
	Protecting Class Members Using Access Keywords	215
	Using Class Member Methods and Properties	217
	Using the static Modifier with Class Members	223
	Declaring Constructors and Destructors	225
	Creating Constants and readonly Fields	231
	Nesting One Class Within Another	235
	Overloading and Name Hiding	238
Chapter 8	Object-Oriented Programming and C#	246
	Encapsulating Your Data	249
	Inheriting from a Base Class	251
	Designing a Base Class	255
	Hiding Base Class Members	256
	Calling Constructors and Destructors in Order	258
	Preventing Inheritance--The Sealed Modifier	260
	Polymorphism: Changing Class Behavior Using Virtual Methods	261
	Using Virtual Properties	273
	Defining an Abstract Class	275
	Declaring an Abstract Function	276
	Using the Object Browser	279
	Setting the Browsing Scope	280
	Using the Objects Pane	281
	Using the Members Pane	282
	Navigating the Object Browser	283
	Searching for Symbols	284
Chapter 9	Handling Exceptions	286
	Using Exception Handling in the CLR	290
	Using try and catch Blocks	292
	Catching an Exception	295
	Using Multiple catch Blocks	298
	Using the Exception Classes	300
	Throwing an Exception	303
	Scope in Exception Blocks	308
	Using Exceptions with checked Variables	309
	Terminating a Program in an Exception Block	311
	Understanding the finally Block	313
Chapter 10	Advanced C# Concepts	316
	Nesting Namespaces	321
	Specifying Namespaces with the using Directive	323
	Taking a Closer Look at the using Statement	326
	Adding References	327
	Building a Module File	331
	Creating a Shared Assembly	332
	Using C# Interfaces to Define an Abstraction	336
	Getting Runtime Information Using Reflection	340
	Dynamically Invoking an Object	344
	Creating Threads of Execution	346
Chapter 11	Using Arrays	352
	Initializing an Array	358
	Using Multi-Dimensional Arrays	360
	Using Jagged Arrays	364
	Using the System.Array Class	366
	Searching and Sorting Arrays	368
	Using the Copy Method to Copy Array Values	370
	Using Arrays of Objects	373
	Using Indexers	376
	How Indexers Work	377
	Declaring an Indexer	378
	Using the C# Indexer Wizard	379
Chapter 12	File Operations	382
	Using the FileStream Class	389
	Using the MemoryStream Class to Create Temporary Storage	392
	Using the NetworkStream Class to Create a Network Connection	395
	Using the BufferedStream Class to Buffer a Stream's Input or Output	399
	Performing Asynchronous I/O	401
	Discarding Unnecessary Data Using the Null Field as a Bit Bucket	404
	Exploiting the TextReader and TextWriter Abstract Classes	405
	Using StreamReader and StreamWriter	406
	Opening a File Using the FileOpen Common Dialog	410
	Using the File and FileInfo classes	414
	Getting and Setting the Directory	418
Part III	Windows Programming in C#
Chapter 13	Writing Windows Forms Applications	424
	Creating a Form-Based Application	429
	Hiding and Showing Forms	432
	Adding Controls to a Form	435
	Adding Forms to an Application	439
	Setting the Tab Order	444
	Setting Form Properties	445
	Using Modal and Modeless Forms	446
Chapter 14	Debugging C# Programs	454
	Debugging C# and .NET Applications Using DbgCLR.exe	459
	Troubleshooting .NET Applications Using Just-In-Time Debugging	462
	Running a Program in the Visual Studio Debugger	463
	Setting Breakpoints to Suspend a Program's Execution	465
	Setting Conditions on Methods	467
	Recovering the StackTrace	470
	Using the Debug Class	472
	Using Trace Listeners	477
	Writing Messages to Event Logs	482
Chapter 15	Building the User Interface	488
	Adding a Menu to a Form	490
	Using the Menu Designer	494
	Adding Menu Adornments	501
	Adding Shortcut Keys (Accelerators)	502
	Adding Images	503
	Adding a Toolbar	504
	Adding a Context Menu	506
	Displaying Items in a TreeView Control	507
	Displaying Items in a ListView Control	513
	An Explorer-Style Application	520
Chapter 16	Using Windows Controls	524
	Setting Properties for Controls	529
	Using Invisible Controls	533
	Responding to Control Messages	534
	Using One Event for Multiple Controls	536
	Enabling and Disabling Controls Using Idle Processing	538
	Using the GroupBox Control	540
	Grouping Radio Button Controls	542
	Anchoring Controls on Forms	544
	Docking Controls on Forms	545
Chapter 17	Using the Common Dialogs	548
	Choosing a Color	551
	Selecting a Text Style with FontDialog	555
	Opening and Saving Files	557
	A Word About Printing	560
	Selecting a Printer	566
	Setting Page Options	568
	Previewing the Print Output	570
Chapter 18	Using Events and Delegates	572
	Using Events Within C# Programs	577
	Writing an Event Handler	579
	Sorting Objects Using a Delegate	581
	Using a static Delegate	587
	Viewing a Delegate's Invocation List	589
	Combining and Removing Delegate Methods	591
	Responding to Timer Events	593
	Responding to System.Threading.Timer Events	595
	Index	599