C# is the key language for Microsoft's next generation of Windows services, the .NET platform. This new programming language is fast and modern and was designed to increase programmer productivity. C# enables programmers to quickly build a wide range of applications for the new Microsoft .NET platform. The .Net platform enables developers to build C# components to become Web services available across the Internet. Using C# language constructs, these components can be converted into Web services, allowing them to be invoked across the Internet. Gunnerson's book is designed as a comprehensive reference for professional programmers to help get them up to speed on C#. The author is a lead developer on Microsoft's C# development team, and has logged many developer hours writing and testing C# code. As such, he is uniquely poised to teach developers the effective use of this new language. A Microsoft insider, Gunnerson is also able to explain to readers how C# fits into Microsoft's new .NET framework. A final section of the book provides a history of C#, and a language comparison to other widely used programming languages. Gunnerson's book provides a foundation upon which programmers can begin to develop in C#. Among the core topics covered are the COM+ environment, statements and flow of execution, classes, structs, interfaces, expressions, arrays, enums, delegates and events, exception handling, interoperability, and selected advanced topics.