Practical Guidelines and Best Practices for Microsofta Visual Basica and Visual C#a Developers

There are few books out there that cover what is sometimes a vague and subjective topic in such a straigtforward and clear manner. I'm always looking for consistent guidelines when constructing code. No sensible person (ahem, Mr. Papadimoulis) would read this book feeling as though the authors were trying to set their practices in stone. The word "guidelines" is part of the title! Most of the guidelines are accompanied with clear explanations and sometimes exceptions to the rule. Also, if I may nit-pick for a moment, Papadimoulis (a previous reviewer) states that in the book "they use a class named 'frmMain.'" which is inconsistent with the MSDN. Technically, this is a parameter name that refers to an instance and not the name of a class. I wouldn't even mention this if it were not such a beginner mistake. Especially since the naming guidelines are different.

This is a phenomenal investment. I now use it when ever I start a new section of code. Just as the title implies - the authors give you guidelines for each step of the software development stage. It has made my code run faster and smoother and I get so many compliments on how "clean" my coding style is now. Even if you've been programming for 20 years - or are about to start on your first project BUY THIS BOOK. It is a fabulous tool.

It is a much more demanding job to write a book about „how to do things" than about „what you can do". Overall the authors did an excellent job. Most recommendations are very practical and can easily be applied immediately. In addition many of the suggestions are put in context with a brief discussion over the pros and cons. But people looking for thorough academic debate on any theme will be disappointed. The book is tailored towards practicality. It is simply structured, uses basic and direct language and takes clear positions. That makes it easy and fun to read - yet it provides remarkably good information, not primarily on grand concepts, but on many small things that often get overlooked. It is the kind of book you take where ever you go when you just have a couple minutes to read. Open a random page and always get a little "aha".

Most of the time there are at least two, if not two dozen ways to implement something in software. Following some sort of guidelines makes it easier to go back and look at old code that needs modifying or fixing. In this book the authors attempt to define a set of standards to be used in their company and suggest that these be the standards used worldwide. The book starts off very simply, i.e. where to save the files you are creating. By the end of the book in the security chapter the hints and tips get more complex. This is an intermediate level book. It is intended for the programmer who knows the language but is moving up to bigger projects. As with all of us, the authors have experience in various programming environments other than VB and C#. Sometimes these experiences come out in the form of a Practical Guideline that might not be the best way to do something. Your own experience will likewise lead you to programming methods that may differ from their Guidelines. On the whole, any programmer reading this book will come away with some guidelines of the "Gee, why didn't I think of that," variety.