Reddit mentions of C# 6.0 in a Nutshell: The Definitive Reference

> Are the books any good?

It's been years since I looked at them but they used to be mediocre.

Bonus Data! Microsoft Visual C# Step by Step (9th Edition) (Developer Reference) 9th Edition from Microsoft Press has 11 reviews averaging to 3.7 out of 5.

This search for C# on Amazon shows C# books ranked by average customer review. Some of them are too old. I don't know what to recommend.

I find it amusing, though, that C# 6.0 in a Nutshell is 1136 pages long. That's a BIG friggin' nutshell. :)

C# in a nutshell is a good reference to learn the ins and outs of the language without muddying up the concepts with opinionated frameworks and patterns.

https://www.amazon.com/C-6-0-Nutshell-Definitive-Reference/dp/1491927062

Learning the languages capabilities is only half the battle, and once you have the syntax down you really want to supplement that with a book that teaches you how to write C# as the language designers intended. The following is a little old but written by some of the original members of the .net team and fairly timeless

https://www.amazon.com/Framework-Design-Guidelines-Conventions-Development-ebook/dp/B0017SWPNO

I've worked with several great C++ developers who thought they knew C# but we're really still just writing C++ without ever really learning to embrace the language. Don't be like that

Here are my two recommendations based on what you're starting with:

https://amzn.com/1430249358 - Beginning C# Object Oriented Programming by Dan Clark

It's circa 2013, but that shouldn't matter too much. The point of this book is to get you understanding the fundamentals which haven't changed a bit in a while. I can't speak to the effectiveness of this book, personally (I came from C++, so for me it was more about learning how inheritance patterns in C# differed and this book wouldn't have worked for me), but I've recommended it to other people looking to get a start in programming and it has been well received. The goal with this book is to get to the point where you can read a serious book on C# and this provides that pretty well.

After that, head right over to:

https://amzn.com/1491927062 C# 6.0 in a Nutshell - by Joseph Albahari and Ben Albahari (O'Reilly Press).

I own every edition of the C# in a Nutshell series and have read each (speed reader - lots of skimming/scanning since each edition has a lot of repeat content). I'm a huge fan of the "in a Nutshell" books - the "signal to noise" ratio of these books is very high - they're excellent books for people who prefer/are best at learning via books - think of it as an "AP Course". It'll take you a while to get through (the last guy who successfully completed both took 9 months front to back at about 20 hours a week using a strategy that involved reading the book about 4 times [topic for another post] -- it was for a job, so he had no choice but to learn). When you're done, though, you'll understand a large percentage of C# code and be able to write many different kinds of applications.

From there, it's time to head toward the particular discipline you'll be developing most frequently with (ASP.Net MVC, etc) or target certain areas (multithreading/thread safety is usually a good place to go next if you have no particular target).

apply, and be up front about about your java background. honestly, java and c# share a ton of similarities. Brush up on a book (this may not be a bad idea anyway as c# and .net jobs are available about anywhere).
Worst case scenario, you learn something new (and can now compare and contrast c# and java) and get some interview experience.

edit: I really enjoyed C# 6.0 in a nutshell. There are a ton of more economic resources out there. Most employers outside of the really big tech companies care more about your passion for learning and your soft skills than if you can deliver a perfect solution on a whiteboard.

This should be a great start. Also can recommend this.

There's tutorials and getting started links on the side bar. Start there. Then check out pluralsight. The following books are good. Consider getting Microsoft Certified at some point if you really want to.

http://smile.amazon.com/C-6-0-Nutshell-Definitive-Reference/dp/1491927062/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451614908&sr=8-2&keywords=C%23

http://smile.amazon.com/Pro-NET-Framework-Experts-Voice/dp/1430242337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451614991&sr=8-1&keywords=pro+C%23

http://smile.amazon.com/Pro-ASP-NET-Experts-Voice-ASP-Net/dp/1430265299/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1451614991&sr=8-4&keywords=pro+C%23

http://smile.amazon.com/C-6-0-NET-4-6-Framework/dp/1484213335/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451615074&sr=8-1&keywords=pro+C%23+6

I just got c# 6.0 in a nutshell for Christmas, as I'm trying to get my .NET game up. I'm only about 200 pages in but I find it pretty effective. My first introduction to C# was through this video tutorial, which is good but not even a fraction of what you learn with the book.

> I do NOT know C#

C# in a Nutshell

IMHO, the best book for learning C# from absolute beginner to advanced topics. Not all stuff will be usable in Unity however. But most stuff in that book will be applicable.

For a quick overlook, this. And for a little bit more detail, this one.