Introducing Microsoft .NET, Third Edition

Microsoft .net

David S. Platt

PUBLISHED BY
Microsoft Press
A Division of Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington 98052-6399

Copyright 2003 by David S. Platt

All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Platt, David S.
Introducing Microsoft .NET / David S. Platt. —3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-7356-1918-2
1. Microsoft .NET Framework. 2. Internet programming. 3. Computer
software—Development. I. Title.

QA76.625.P54 2003
005.2’76—dc21 2003042111

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 QWT 8 7 6 5 4 3

Distributed in Canada by H.B. Fenn and Company Ltd.

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Body Part No. X09-45922

To my daughters, Annabelle Rose Platt and Lucy Katrina Platt

David S. Platt

As president and founder of Rolling Thunder Computing, David S. Platt teaches programming of .NET at Harvard University and at companies all over the world. He is the author of six previous books on programming in Windows. The second edition of this book is currently (at 5:50 EST, February 4, 2003) outselling Tom Clancy’s Every Man a Tiger on Amazon.com. (That shows you what kind of geeks buy their books there.) He is also a frequent contributor to MSDN Magazine.

Dave holds a master of engineering degree from Dartmouth College. When he stops working, he spends his free time working some more. He wonders whether he should tape down two of his daughter’s fingers so that she can learn how to count in octal. He lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and can be contacted at www.rollthunder.com.

Anvil

Forging—shaping iron or other malleable metals by hammering or pressing them while they’re hot—is useful because the metal can be given a desired form and the process improves the structure of the metal, particularly by refining the metal’s grain size. The metal to be forged is first heated to red hot in the fire of a forge and is then beaten into shape on a metal anvil with sledges or hammers. Forged metal is stronger and more ductile than cast metal and exhibits greater resistance to fatigue and impact. Sometimes called blacksmithing, hand forging is the simplest form of forging and is one of the methods by which metal was first worked.*

At Microsoft Press, we use tools to illustrate our books for software developers and IT professionals. Tools are an elegant symbol of human inventiveness and a powerful metaphor for how people can extend their capabilities, precision, and reach. From basic calipers and pliers to digital micrometers and lasers, our stylized illustrations of tools give each book a visual identity and each book series a personality. With tools and knowledge, there are no limits to creativity and innovation. Our tag line says it all: The tools you need to put technology to work.

*Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2002. 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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