Best C# Books 2023

Updated April 10, 2023

Head First C#: A Learner’s Guide to Real-World Programming with C# and .NET Core

by Andrew Stellman & Jennifer Greene.Dive into C# and create apps, user interfaces, games, and more using this fun and highly visual introduction to C#, .NET Core, and Visual Studio. With this completely updated guide, which covers C# 8.0 and Visual Studio 2019, beginning programmers like you will build a fully functional game in the opening chapter. Then you’ll learn how to use classes and object-oriented programming, create 3D games in Unity, and query data with LINQ. And you’ll do it all by solving puzzles, doing hands-on exercises, and building real-world applications. By the time you’re done, you’ll be a solid C# programmer–and you’ll have a great time along the way!

Based on the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory, Head First C# uses a visually rich format to engage your mind rather than a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep. Why waste your time struggling with new concepts? This multisensory learning experience is designed for the way your brain really works.

This is the best C# book for beginners in 2023.

Programming C# 10: Build Cloud, Web, and Desktop Applications

C# is undeniably one of the most versatile programming languages available to engineers today. With this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn just how powerful the combination of C# and .NET can be. Author Ian Griffiths guides you through C# 10.0 and .NET 6 fundamentals and techniques for building cloud, web, and desktop applications.

Designed for experienced programmers, this book provides many code examples to help you work with the nuts and bolts of C#, such as generics, LINQ, and asynchronous programming features. You’ll get up to speed on .NET 6 and the latest C# 9.0 and 10.0 additions, including records, enhanced pattern matching, and new features designed to remove “ceremony” to improve productivity.

Understand how .NET has changed in the most recent releases, and learn what it means for application development
Select the most appropriate C# language features for any task
Learn when to use the new features and when to stick with older ones
Examine the range of functionality available in .NET’s class libraries
Learn how you can apply these class libraries to practical programming tasks
Explore numerous small additions to .NET that improve expressiveness

This is the best C# 10 book in 2023.

C# 10 in a Nutshell: The Definitive Reference 1st Edition

by Joseph Albahari. When you have questions about C# 10 or .NET 6, this best-selling guide has the answers you need. C# is a language of unusual flexibility and breadth, and with its continual growth, there’s always so much more to learn. In the tradition of O’Reilly’s Nutshell guides, this thoroughly updated edition is simply the best one-volume reference to the C# language available today.

Organized around concepts and use cases, this comprehensive and complete reference provides intermediate and advanced programmers with a concise map of C# and .NET that also plumbs significant depths.

Get up to speed on C#, from syntax and variables to advanced topics such as pointers, closures, and patterns
Dig deep into LINQ, with three chapters dedicated to the topic
Explore concurrency and asynchrony, advanced threading, and parallel programming
Work with .NET features, including regular expressions, networking, assemblies, spans, reflection, and cryptography
This is the best C# reference book in 2023.

C# 10 Pocket Reference: Instant Help for C# 10 Programmers

by Joseph Albahari and Ben Albahari. Looking for quick answers for using C# 10? This tightly focused and practical guide tells you exactly what you need to know without long intros or bloated samples. Succinct and easy to browse, this pocket reference is an ideal quick source of information. If you know Java, C++, or an earlier C# version, this guide will help you get rapidly up to speed.

All programs and code snippets are available as interactive samples in LINQPad. You can edit these samples and instantly see the results without needing to set up projects in Visual Studio. Written by the authors of C# 9.0 in a Nutshell, this pocket reference covers:

C# fundamentals and features new to C# 10
Advanced topics like operator overloading, type constraints, nullable types, operator lifting, closures, patterns, and asynchronous functions
LINQ: sequences, lazy execution, standard query operators, and query expressions
Unsafe code and pointers, custom attributes, preprocessor directives, and XML documentation

C# 11 and .NET 7 – Modern Cross-Platform Development Fundamentals

by Mark J. Price. Extensively revised to accommodate the latest features that come with C# 11 and .NET 7, this latest edition of our guide will get you coding in C# with confidence. You’ll learn object-oriented programming, writing, testing, and debugging functions, implementing interfaces, and inheriting classes. Next, you’ll take on .NET APIs for performing tasks like managing and querying data, working with the filesystem, and serialization. As you progress, you’ll also explore examples of cross-platform projects you can build and deploy, such as websites and services using ASP.NET Core.

Instead of distracting you with unnecessary graphical user interface code, the first eleven chapters will teach you about C# language constructs and many of the .NET libraries through simple console applications. Having mastered the basics, you’ll then start building websites, web services, and browser apps. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to create rich web experiences and have a solid grasp of object-oriented programming that you can build upon.
What you will learn

Build rich web experiences using Blazor, Razor Pages, the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, and other features of ASP.NET Core
Write, test, and debug functions
Query and manipulate data using LINQ
Integrate and update databases in your apps using Entity Framework Core models
Build and consume powerful services using the latest technologies, including Web API and Minimal API

The C# Player’s Guide (5th Edition)

by RB Whitaker in your hands is a different kind of programming book. Like an entertaining video game, programming is an often challenging but always rewarding experience. This book shakes off the dusty, dull, dryness of the typical programming book, replacing it with something more exciting and flavorful: a bit of humor, a casual tone, and examples involving dragons and asteroids instead of bank accounts and employees. You will:

The trip begins with you learning how to program in C#.
The fundamentals of C# will then be covered, including statements, expressions, variables, if statements, loops, and methods.
Next, we look at object-oriented programming, which is a crucial tool for creating larger programs and is a powerful component of C#.
The sophisticated C# features that make the language unique, beautiful, and powerful are then discussed.

This is the best C# books in 2023.

Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 2021: Kickstart your C# programming and Unity journey by building 3D games from scratch, 6th Edition

by Harrison Ferrone has been upgraded to include contemporary C# features and Unity 2021. A new chapter on reading and writing binary data from files has been introduced, which will help you become more adept at handling errors and asynchronous processes.

The book introduces you to the fundamentals of C# programming, such as variables, classes, and object-oriented programming. The essentials of Unity game production, such as game design, lighting fundamentals, player movement, camera controls, and collisions, will be covered. You’ll build C# scripts for basic game concepts, procedural programming, and adding complexity to your games by including clever enemies and damage-causing projectiles.

You will learn:

Create and implement C# scripts in Unity by following simple instructions and examples.
To create games that come to life, develop a 3D perspective.
Using C#, create basic game mechanics such as player controllers and projectile shooting.
Using interfaces, abstract classes, and class extensions, divide your code into pluggable building parts.
Get to know stacks, queues, exceptions, error handling, and other fundamental C# concepts.
Learn how to save and load your game data using text, XML, and JSON data.
Learn the fundamentals of game AI and how to use them to govern adversary behavior.

C# 9.0 Pocket Reference: Instant Help for C# 9.0 Programmers

by Joseph Albahari and Ben Albahari.Looking for quick answers on using C # 9.0? This highly focused, practical guide tells you exactly what you need to know without lengthy introductions or bulky samples. Short and easy to navigate, this pocket reference is an ideal source for quick information. If you are familiar with Java, C ++, or an earlier version of C #, this guide will help you get up to speed quickly. All programs and code snippets are available as interactive examples in LINQPad. You can edit these samples and instantly see the results without having to set up projects in Visual Studio.

C# in Depth

by Jon Skeet is an in-depth and comprehensive look at C# programming language. It takes an insightful look at the tricky parts of C# programming that others avoid. All the complex challenges like writing maintainable asynchronous code, hands on experience or lambda expressions are discussed. This book not only teaches you the language but also explains the reasons behind the changes. C# in Depth focuses on teaching you how things work and using the best possible techniques.

C# in Depth is a top book that will be loved by intermediate and advanced developers. Beginners will find it difficult to use this programming book as it can get quite complex. If you want to comprehensively understand C# programming languages, this book is what you need to read.

Pro C# 9 with .NET 5

by Andrew Troelsen and Philip Japikse provides a comprehensive foundation in the C# programming language and the framework it lives in. Now in its 10th edition, you will find the latest C# 9 and .NET 5 features served up with plenty of “behind the curtain” discussion designed to expand developers’ critical thinking skills when it comes to their craft. Coverage of ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework Core, and more, sits alongside the latest updates to the new unified .NET platform, from performance improvements to Windows Desktop apps on .NET 5, updates in XAML tooling, and expanded coverage of data files and data handling. Going beyond the latest features in C# 9, all code samples are rewritten for this latest release.

Learn C# in One Day and Learn It Well: C# for Beginners with Hands-on Project

by Jamie Chan. The best way to learn C # is to do it. At the end of the book, you will be taken through a unique project that requires the real world applications of all previously taught concepts. Working on the project will not only help you see how it all comes together, it will also give you a tremendous sense of accomplishment and the joy of turning lines of code into a finished product you can be proud of.

Effective C#: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C#

In Effective C #, Third Edition, respected .NET expert Bill Wagner identifies 50 ways to harness the power of C # 6.0 to write exceptionally robust, efficient, and powerful code. Reflecting the growing sophistication of the C # language and its development community, Wagner identified dozens of new ways to write better code. The new solutions in this edition include some that take advantage of generics and others that are more LINQ-centric, as well as a full chapter of advanced best practices for working with exceptions.

C# 6 for Programmers

by Paul J. Deitel and Harvey Deitel is the experienced programmers guide to C#. It goes from the basics and take you all the way to advanced C#. Starting with topics like data types, classes and objects leading all the way to async and wait, etc. The book is filled with code examples, tips, tricks and features over 170 fully coded and tested apps. C# and .NET are both thoroughly explored and explained in this book. After finishing this book, you will be ready to code professional C# applications.

This book places performance and software engineering principles at the forefront. It is for developers who are serious about getting good.This is the best C# book for beginners in 2023.

Pro C# 7: With .NET and .NET Core

by Andrew Troelsen and Philip Japikse is one of the most comprehensive C# and .NET books around. It is is extraordinarily detailed about C# and .NET. At well over 1600 pages, this book touches upon a massive number of topics. This will give you a great understanding of object oriented development. Even advanced programming topics that are rarely discussed like CIL opcodes and emitting dynamic assemblies are included in this book.

The skills gained in this book will help you tackle .NET universe and C# on your own. The book is packed with highly detailed examples that explain all you need to know. This book will help take you from beginner to advanced by the time you are done with this book. A large range of topics are covered in this book. Junior or Senior developers, this book will help you a lot.

C# 6.0 Cookbook: Solutions for C# Developers

by Jay Hilyard and Stephen Teilhet is filled to solutions of common and uncommon C# problems. The Cookbook is filled with 150 recipes that you can instantly use in your daily problems. This programming languages book follows a question and answer format. The recipes included here provide a detailed description of the problem and well written code examples with a clear explanation of why and how it works. Topics included containing simple topics such as classes to complex topics as Synchronization and Concurrency, etc.

All the recipes are thoroughly test that you can instantly use in your application. Upon reading this book, developers will gain a better aspect of C# programming language. This book is great for both beginner and advanced C# developers. This book will help you solve C# problems quickly without spending too much time. C# 6.0 Cookbook is one every C# chef needs to have in their kitchen. This is one of the best C# question and answer book.

Concurrency in C# Cookbook

If you’re one of many developers still uncertain about concurrent and multithreaded development, this practical cookbook will change your mind. With more than 85 code-rich recipes in this updated second edition, author Stephen Cleary demonstrates parallel processing and asynchronous programming techniques using libraries and language features in .NET and C# 8.0. These recipes help you:

Get up to speed on concurrency and async and parallel programming
Use async and await for asynchronous operations
Enhance your code with asynchronous streams
Explore parallel programming with .NET’s Task Parallel Library
Create dataflow pipelines with .NET’s TPL Dataflow library
Understand the capabilities that System.Reactive builds on top of LINQ
Utilize threadsafe and immutable collections
Learn how to conduct unit testing with concurrent code
Make the thread pool work for you
Enable clean, cooperative cancellation
Examine scenarios for combining concurrent approaches
Dive into asynchronous-friendly object-oriented programming
Recognize and write adapters for code using older asynchronous styles