LINQ Quickly with Language Integrated Queries - Continued Analysis
(Page 3 of 4 )
Right now we need to focus on the specific attributes of the book, such as style, formatting, language and tone of the author, and whether it was a “quick” and “good” read or not.
First, the code samples are, simply put, fun to read. They usually try to inject some humor as frequently as possible to brighten the overall atmosphere and mood of the reader. Tech books are generally plain and there’s little to nothing that we can do about it. The author’s approach to this is unique because each code sample usually centers around food. Yes, food. Deserts!
Check out the attached code snippet below. It’s from chapter 1, bottom of page 11.
var IcecreamsWithLessPrice =
from ice in icecreamsList
where ice.Price < 10
select new
{
Name = ice.Name,
Price = ice.Price
};
Also, glance over to the following XML-embedded message box. That’s the style…
(Chapter 3, top of page 75)
Please don’t become confused—the book is not multicolor. The reason the above image is colored (blue title bar) is because it’s just a screen shot from an ordinary message box used to exemplify the “language-style” that dominates the samples.
Apparently, the book was printed using some Garamond look-alike font. It is pretty readable and the appropriate line spaces are respected, so you won’t get lost between the lines. Code samples (as well as new terms, methods, functions, syntax, etc.) are formatted in Courier New. I might be wrong in regards to my font picks, though.
Check out the attached photo below—it’s from chapter 3, middle of page 71.
We can also find a few diagrams every now and then. These are helpful and right on the topic of explaining core parts of LINQ, for example. Check out the attached image below, which is a diagram that can be found in chapter 1, on the top of page 6.
Furthermore, I also want to point out that the back cover of the book says that LINQ is part of the dot net Framework 3.0, which isn’t true. LINQ was released with the .NET Framework 3.5 and that’s what the author also clearly points out in the book on chapter 3, page 34. Chances are that this mistake occurred because the book was released prior to the official release (RTM) of Framework 3.5 and it sounded “all right” to mention the latest release (3.0) back then…
Surely, we can still take advantage of the .NET Framework 3.0, but LINQ isn’t part of it. On the back cover, the following is stated: “This book gets you started with LINQ and shows how it will make your programming life easier by making use of the new features from .NET Framework 3.0 .” Well, yes, 3.0 too, but LINQ comes with 3.5 and the book is about LINQ. This is just a minor glitch and it isn’t that much of a letdown.
I think the most in-depth chapters of the book are the third and seventh. In the LINQ to XML chapter, there is a much more dedicated perspective and much more focus than in others, but this is pretty much required because it describes the way we can work with XML using LINQ amazingly well. And, as I already mentioned, the seventh chapter is where the most content is concentrated—it is pure reference and help.
Next: Final Conclusions >>
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