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Oct 23
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The C# programming language is a powerful, relatively new descendant of the earlier C, C++, and Java languages. Programming with it is a lot of fun, as you’re about to find out in this book. Microsoft created C# as a major part of its .NET initiative. For what are probably political reasons, Microsoft turned the specifications for the C# language over to the ECMA (pronounced ek-ma) international standards committee in the summer of 2000, long before .NET was a reality. In theory, any company can come up with its own version of C# written to run on any operating system, on any machine larger than a calculator. When the first edition of this book came out, Microsoft’s C# compiler was the only game in town, and its Visual Studio .NET suite of tools offered the only way to program C# (other than at the Windows command line). Since then, however, Visual Studio has gone through two major revisions — Visual Studio 2003 and, very recently, Visual Studio 2005. And at least two other players have entered the C# game. It’s now possible to write and compile C# programs on a variety of Unix-based machines using either the Mono or Portable .NET implementations of .NET and C#:
- Mono (www.go-mono.com) is an open-source software project sponsored by Novell Corporation. Version 1.1.8 came out in June 2005. While Mono lags Microsoft’s .NET, just now implementing the 1.1 version that Microsoft released a couple of years ago, it appears to be moving fast.
- Portable .NET, under the banner of Southern Storm Software and DotGNU (www.dotgnu.org/pnet.html), is also open-source. Portable .NET is at version 0.7.0 as of this writing.
Both Mono and Portable .NET claim to run C# programs on Windows and a variety of Unix flavors, including Linux and Apple’s Macintosh operating system. At this writing, Portable .NET reaches the greater number of flavors, while Mono boasts a more complete .NET implementation. So choosing between them can be complicated, depending on your project, your platform, and your goals. (Books about programming for these platforms are becoming available already. Check www.amazon.com.) Open-source software is written by collaborating groups of volunteer programmers and is usually free to the world.Making C# and other .NET languages portable to other operating systems is far beyond the scope of this book. But you can expect that within a few years, the C# Windows programs you discover how to write in this book will run on all sorts of hardware under all sorts of operating systems — matching the claim of Sun Microsystems’ Java language to run on any machine. That’s undoubtedly a good thing, even for Microsoft. The road to that point is still under construction, so it’s no doubt riddled with potholes and obstacles to true universal portability for C#. But it’s no longer just Microsoft’s road. For the moment, however, Microsoft’s Visual Studio has the most mature versions of C# and .NET and the most feature-filled toolset for programming with them. If all you need is C#, I’ve included a bonus chapter called “C# on the Cheap” on the CD that accompanies this book. That chapter tells you how you can write C# code virtually for free. (You’ll be missing lots of amenities, including the nice visual design tools that Visual Studio 2005 provides, but you can write Windows code without them, especially the kind of code in this book. Bonus Chapter 5 explains how.) Note: Two authors wrote this book, but it seemed more economical to say “I” instead of “we,” so that’s what we (I?) do throughout.
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TaGs: C++, Dummies, Sharp, Software Development, Web Development
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Welcome to C++ For Dummies, 5th Edition. Think of this book as C++: Reader’s Digest Edition, bringing you everything you need to know without the boring stuff.C++ For Dummies is an introduction to the C++ language. C++ For Dummies starts from the beginning (where else?) and works its way from early concepts and through more sophisticated techniques. It doesn’t assume that you have any prior knowledge, at least, not of programming. C++ For Dummies is rife with examples. Every concept is documented in numerous snippets and several complete programs. Unlike other C++ programming books, C++ For Dummies considers the “why” just as important as the “how.” The features of C++ are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Rather than just present the features, I think it’s important that you understand how they fit together. If you don’t understand why a particular feature is in the language, you won’t truly understand how it works. After you finish this book, you’ll be able to write a reasonable C++ program, and, just as important, you’ll understand why and how it works. C++ For Dummies can also be used as a reference: If you want to understand what’s going on with all the template stuff, just flip to Chapter 27, and you’re there. Each chapter contains necessary references to other earlier chapters in case you don’t read the chapters in sequence. C++ For Dummies is not operating- or system-specific. It is just as useful to Unix or Linux programmers as it is to Windows-based developers. C++ For Dummies doesn’t cover Windows or .NET programming. You have to master C++ before you can move on to Windows and .NET programming.
C++ is a flexible, powerful programming language with hundreds of thousands of applications. However, the knowledge of how to take advantage of its full potential comes only with time and experience. That’s where this book comes in. Think of it as a “cookbook” for solving your programming problems, much as The Joy of Cooking is a guide to solving your dinner dilemmas. C++ Timesaving Techniques For Dummies is a book for the beginning-toadvanced C++ programmer who needs immediate answers to the problems that crop up in the professional software-development world. I assume that you have prior programming experience, as well as experience specifically with the C++ programming language. “Fluff” — like discussions of looping structures or defining variables, or the basics of compiling applications — is kept to a minimum here. Instead, I offer quick, step-by-step instructions for solving specific problems in C++. Each technique includes example code — which you are welcome to use in your own applications, or modify as you see fit. This is literally a case of “steal this code, please.” C++ is a language that lends itself well to component-based design and implementation. This means that you can take a piece from here and a piece from there to implement the solution that you have in mind. C++ Timesaving Techniques For Dummies is not an operating-systemspecific (or even compiler-specific) book. The techniques and code that you find here should work on all compilers that support the standard C++ language, and on all operating systems for which a standard compiler exists. This book is intended to be as useful to the Unix programmer as to the Microsoft Windows programmer, and just as useful for programming with X-windows as it is for .Net. My goal in writing this book is to empower you with some of the stronger features of C++, as well as some great tips and methods to solve everyday problems, without the headaches and lost time that go with trying to figure out how to use those tools. C++ provides simple, fast, powerful solutions to meet the demands of day-to-day programming — my goal is to save you time while making the tools clear and easy to use.
As if you didn’t know, Jakarta Struts For Dummies covers Jakarta Struts, the popular, open-source framework for creating Web applications in Java. We comprehensively explain the features in Jakarta Struts, including the following:
Welcome to Java All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, the one Java book that’s designed to replace an entire shelf full of the dull and tedious Java books you’d otherwise have to buy. This book contains all the basic and not-so-basic information you need to know to get going with Java programming, starting with writing statements and using variables and ending with techniques for writing programs that use animation and play games. Along the way, you find information about programming user interfaces, working with classes and objects, creating Web applications, and dealing with files and databases. You can, and probably should, eventually buy separate books on each of these topics. It won’t take long before your bookshelf is bulging with 10,000 or more pages of detailed information about every imaginable nuance of Java programming. But before you’re ready to tackle each of those topics in depth, you need to get a birds-eye picture. That’s what this book is about. And if you already own 10,000 pages or more of Java information, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of detail and wonder, do I really need to read 1,200 pages about JSP just to create a simple Web page? And do I really need a six-pound book on Swing? Truth is, most 1,200 page programming books have about 200 pages of really useful information — the kind you use every day — and about 1,000 pages of excruciating details that apply mostly if you’re writing guidance control programs for nuclear missiles or trading systems for the New York Stock Exchange. The basic idea here is that I’ve tried to wring out the 100 or so most useful pages of information on nine different Java programming topics: setup and configuration, basic programming, object-oriented programming, programming techniques, Swing, file and database programming, Web programming, and animation and game programming. Thus, a nice, trim 900 page book that’s really nine 100 page books. (Well, they didn’t all come out to 100 pages each. But close!) So whether you’re just getting started with Java programming or you’re a seasoned pro, you’ve found the right book.
