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Tools and Skills for .NET 8
- GenresProgramming
778 pages, Paperback
Published July 30, 2024
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Mark J. Price
27 books19 followersMark J Price is a former Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) and current Microsoft Specialist: Programming in C# and Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions, with more than 20 years' of educational and programming experience.
Since 1993 Mark has passed more than 80 Microsoft programming exams and specializes in preparing others to pass them too. His students range from professionals with decades of experience to 16-year-old apprentices with none. Mark successfully guides all of them by combining educational skills with real-world experience consulting and developing systems for enterprises worldwide.
Between 2001 and 2003 Mark was employed full-time to write official courseware for Microsoft in Redmond, USA. Mark's team wrote the first training courses for C# while it was still an early alpha version. While with Microsoft he taught "train-the-trainer" classes to get other MCTs up-to-speed on C# and .NET.
Currently, Mark creates and delivers training courses for Episerver's Digital Experience Platform, the best .NET CMS for Digital Marketing and E-commerce.
In 2010 Mark studied for a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). He taught GCSE and A-Level mathematics in two London secondary schools. Mark holds a Computer Science BSc. Hons. Degree from the University of Bristol, UK.
Since 1993 Mark has passed more than 80 Microsoft programming exams and specializes in preparing others to pass them too. His students range from professionals with decades of experience to 16-year-old apprentices with none. Mark successfully guides all of them by combining educational skills with real-world experience consulting and developing systems for enterprises worldwide.
Between 2001 and 2003 Mark was employed full-time to write official courseware for Microsoft in Redmond, USA. Mark's team wrote the first training courses for C# while it was still an early alpha version. While with Microsoft he taught "train-the-trainer" classes to get other MCTs up-to-speed on C# and .NET.
Currently, Mark creates and delivers training courses for Episerver's Digital Experience Platform, the best .NET CMS for Digital Marketing and E-commerce.
In 2010 Mark studied for a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). He taught GCSE and A-Level mathematics in two London secondary schools. Mark holds a Computer Science BSc. Hons. Degree from the University of Bristol, UK.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 28, 2024
This book is the third in a trilogy on C# and .NET (the others are “C# 12 and .NET 8” and “Apps and Services with .NET 8”).
Personally, I consider them to be the “Bible” of the .NET world: the number of topics covered in each one covers virtually all the technologies, paradigms, and everything you need to know to become a highly competent developer with near-advanced knowledge (really, owning all three, I can't think of any topics that weren't covered).
🔷 Tools and Skills for .NET 8.
This one, like the previous two, is really well written: Mark Price is really an authority on training.
The book covers a breadth of topics, from the more technical and advanced to the more “theoretical” ones related to skills.
🟩 Who is it aimed at?
As a programmer with several years of experience, I feel I can only exclude those who are learning programming from scratch (in this case the first book of the trilogy, “C# 12 and .NET 8”, is recommended).
For everyone else - from junior to senior - I feel highly recommend it.
Why? I found ALL the chapters really useful.
I give a couple of examples:
- the chapters on debugging, logging, and memory analysis: despite I'm doing this job for many years, still gave me a lot of interesting insights, useful tools that being in front of me every day I never used bacause out of habit;
- interview questions (and answers): these are definitely essential for those who are approaching the world of work for the first time; but even for an experienced developer they come in handy, not only because they are a nice review of what you may already know, but they also give you a way to think about techniques and technologies that you use “by default” without thinking about them too much.
- advanced and cutting-edge topics such as containers, Docker, the newest .NET Aspire for cloud-native development, and LLM-based chat programming (!!! 🤯) are covered.
🟪 Pros and cons
The book is very well written, all the information is quite accurate, updated, and of high quality.
Cons, frankly, zero.
If I really have to find a flaw, as the author himself wrote, the wide variety of topics covered came at the cose (obviously, for reasons of space) of the depth of the topics.
Personally, I think that all the topics have been covered sufficiently: the book provides a roadmap, gives an already very broad and well-stocked starting point.
If you want to go deeper into a topic, the “Practing and exploring” section at the end of each chapter is a great help.
🟢 Conclusion.
Really a very good book, I recommend it to all .NET developers.
You really get a lot of knowledge from reading it, which is essential for staying current in the modern job market.
For anyone interested in a career as a developer with Microsoft technologies, Mark J. Price's trilogy of books is a resource of high value and potential. A must-have in everyone's bookshelf.
Personally, I consider them to be the “Bible” of the .NET world: the number of topics covered in each one covers virtually all the technologies, paradigms, and everything you need to know to become a highly competent developer with near-advanced knowledge (really, owning all three, I can't think of any topics that weren't covered).
🔷 Tools and Skills for .NET 8.
This one, like the previous two, is really well written: Mark Price is really an authority on training.
The book covers a breadth of topics, from the more technical and advanced to the more “theoretical” ones related to skills.
🟩 Who is it aimed at?
As a programmer with several years of experience, I feel I can only exclude those who are learning programming from scratch (in this case the first book of the trilogy, “C# 12 and .NET 8”, is recommended).
For everyone else - from junior to senior - I feel highly recommend it.
Why? I found ALL the chapters really useful.
I give a couple of examples:
- the chapters on debugging, logging, and memory analysis: despite I'm doing this job for many years, still gave me a lot of interesting insights, useful tools that being in front of me every day I never used bacause out of habit;
- interview questions (and answers): these are definitely essential for those who are approaching the world of work for the first time; but even for an experienced developer they come in handy, not only because they are a nice review of what you may already know, but they also give you a way to think about techniques and technologies that you use “by default” without thinking about them too much.
- advanced and cutting-edge topics such as containers, Docker, the newest .NET Aspire for cloud-native development, and LLM-based chat programming (!!! 🤯) are covered.
🟪 Pros and cons
The book is very well written, all the information is quite accurate, updated, and of high quality.
Cons, frankly, zero.
If I really have to find a flaw, as the author himself wrote, the wide variety of topics covered came at the cose (obviously, for reasons of space) of the depth of the topics.
Personally, I think that all the topics have been covered sufficiently: the book provides a roadmap, gives an already very broad and well-stocked starting point.
If you want to go deeper into a topic, the “Practing and exploring” section at the end of each chapter is a great help.
🟢 Conclusion.
Really a very good book, I recommend it to all .NET developers.
You really get a lot of knowledge from reading it, which is essential for staying current in the modern job market.
For anyone interested in a career as a developer with Microsoft technologies, Mark J. Price's trilogy of books is a resource of high value and potential. A must-have in everyone's bookshelf.
July 31, 2024
Two thumbs up, a must-read for both novice and experienced .NET developers. The book provides a comprehensive guide to mastering .NET 8, with a special focus on practical skills that are often overlooked in other resources. Its clear and concise writing makes complex concepts accessible, making this book ideal for self-taught developers and those new to the field who need a solid foundation in essential tools and best practices. The book’s appeal lies in its ability to equip developers with skills that are not only crucial for .NET but also transferable to other languages and frameworks.
I particularly appreciated the chapters on source code management and documenting your code. These are areas often neglected by tutorials and online courses, yet they are essential for any developer. The chapter on building an LLM-based chat service was a delightful surprise. It was a bit more advanced than I expected but very easy to follow, especially for beginners. The emphasis on double-checking any generated code was a valuable takeaway. The chapters on benchmarking performance, load and stress testing, and functional end-to-end testing were also eye-opening. These sections provided insights and strategies that I hadn’t encountered before, making them incredibly useful. Although I don't use Docker much, the book does a commendable job of introducing it, even though the chapter is more advanced. Lastly, the chapter on Aspire was enjoyable and informative, offering a great way to get familiar with the tool.
For me this title is a highly recommended read for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of .NET development. The emphasis on often-overlooked areas like source code management and code documentation, combined with the inclusion of innovative projects like an LLM-based chat service, makes this book a valuable addition to any developer’s library. Whether you're just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, this book offers practical insights and tools that will help you succeed in the .NET ecosystem.
I particularly appreciated the chapters on source code management and documenting your code. These are areas often neglected by tutorials and online courses, yet they are essential for any developer. The chapter on building an LLM-based chat service was a delightful surprise. It was a bit more advanced than I expected but very easy to follow, especially for beginners. The emphasis on double-checking any generated code was a valuable takeaway. The chapters on benchmarking performance, load and stress testing, and functional end-to-end testing were also eye-opening. These sections provided insights and strategies that I hadn’t encountered before, making them incredibly useful. Although I don't use Docker much, the book does a commendable job of introducing it, even though the chapter is more advanced. Lastly, the chapter on Aspire was enjoyable and informative, offering a great way to get familiar with the tool.
For me this title is a highly recommended read for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of .NET development. The emphasis on often-overlooked areas like source code management and code documentation, combined with the inclusion of innovative projects like an LLM-based chat service, makes this book a valuable addition to any developer’s library. Whether you're just starting out or looking to sharpen your skills, this book offers practical insights and tools that will help you succeed in the .NET ecosystem.
July 31, 2024
So I was able to read quite a bit of Mark J. Price's new book Tools and Skills for .NET 8 and I would definitely recommend having it on the shelf for reference. I've been developing software for almost 6 years and while there was a decent amount in the book that I was already privy to, Mark helped fill the gaps in my knowledge that wasn't always clear to me.
Mark always does a great job of giving step by step instructions on examples so that you can follow along without any issues. And the level of detail he goes into with each topic leaves you feeling proficient in each subject.
As I said, this book is definitely worth the purchase.
Mark always does a great job of giving step by step instructions on examples so that you can follow along without any issues. And the level of detail he goes into with each topic leaves you feeling proficient in each subject.
As I said, this book is definitely worth the purchase.
November 3, 2024
The author knows his way around .Net and what he writes about is sound. The problem I have with this book is the scope. It covers everything. From the start with the basics to the different things you can do with .Net up to the preparation to get a job. With this scope there is far too less pages available to cover anything in the dept it deserved.
June 29, 2025
Recomended for new and experienced .NET developers. Reviews tools and best practises like code editors, guthub, observability and securing applications. Tools you dont need writing code at home, but that you really need when delivering production code at work. Read it!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews