Illustrations can teach complex subjects. The book Illustrated C# 2008 by Daniel Solis is an interesting addition to the example-based and text-based ways of learning about the C# language. It makes extensive use of diagrams and charts to help readers understand what is actually happening in the code.
This page reviews the book Illustrated C# 2008 by Daniel Solis.
Most ways of learning the C# language are based on code snippets and text descriptions. Instead of focusing on visualizing the structure of the program and how it uses memory, we usually just describe what happens. In Illustrated C# 2008, the author uses diagrams as well as text and code.
For example, in Chapter 14—Arrays, we see how arrays can be visualized as stacks of little cubes. 2D arrays and jagged arrays look very different when visualized in this way. In the section "An Array As an Object," we see how array indexes can map to memory locations. The array reference itself is not part of the array; it is drawn as an arrow to the array itself.
I have mixed feelings about how useful the diagrams in this book are. For me, it is a lot easier just to read a paragraph describing what a reference variable to an array is, and then what the array memory area itself is used for. My learning approach doesn't tend to favor diagrams with boxes and arrows.
Naturally, people learn in different ways, which is way different people choose different career paths in life. So for people who learn best from diagrams, this approach could be ideal. For me, it ends up being confusing and not as rewarding as simply reading a paragraph.
The book is very well developed and the writing is high-quality. It is useful for people studying the language itself. For people who want to do practical things with the C# language, it might be somewhat less useful in the short-term.
Performance is only mentioned on two pages in the book. However, if you understand all the concepts the book teaches, writing fast code will be much easier.
The book Illustrated C# 2008 is well-designed and offers an interesting alternative way to learning about the C# language. Diagrams with arrows and boxes have always confused me to no end, but for people who understand them better this book could offer an optimized way of learning this language.
Amazon.com link Books About Programming