Programmers like
goodies
. The CD that comes with this book contains the following delectable delights:
All of the book s sample programs, source code included
A fully searchable electronic version of the book
The .NET Framework SDK version 1.0 and Service Pack 1
You ll find instructions on the CD for installing the
components
that come on it. If AutoPlay is enabled on your PC, simply pop the CD in a drive to get started. In addition to being included on the CD, the sample files are available for download from http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/5200.asp.
Support
If you have comments about this book, questions you want
answered
, or errors to report,
please
post them at http://www.wintellect.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=16. I’ll check the message board regularly and do my best to respond. Others will monitor message traffic also and jump in as appropriate. If you have a question,
chances
are someone else has one just like it. The answer may already be posted. If not, by posting your question in a public forum, you enable others to benefit from the answer as well.
I'd like to tell you that this book contains no errors, but of course I'd be lying. I've done everything humanly possible to verify the accuracy of every
sentence
and every code sample, but errors will inevitably surface. You’ll find an up-to-date errata list at http://www.wintellect.com/about/instructors/prosise/netbook.asp. If you don't want to fuss with a long URL, simply go to http://www.
prosise
.com, and you’ll find a link there.
If you'd like to contact Microsoft Press directly about this book or need to resolve packaging problems (such as a defective or missing CD), you can contact them on line at http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/support. If you prefer paper mail, the address is:
Microsoft Press
Attn:
Programming Microsoft .NET Editor
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
Blogs and Other Things That Go Bump in the Night
Ever
wonder
what it s like to write a book? When I wrote my first one in 1990, I learned that writing a book is an emotional
roller
coaster filled with peaks and valleys. The peaks are the elation that you feel when you describe a complex technical topic in a way that lifts the veil so that others can understand. The valleys come from thinking of the sheer magnitude of the effort that lies before you. Many is the time I wish I had kept a diary of that period in my life. Although I vividly remember the incredible relief I felt when I packaged up the last chapter and dropped it into a Fedex box (publishers still required printed manuscripts in those days), most of the day-to-day details of that experience escape me.
That s why I documented my experience writing
Programming Microsoft .NET
in my very own book blog. Blog is short for Web log ; it s a diary published on the Internet. People all over the world tracked my progress as I wrote this book by checking my (almost) daily blog entries. If you d like to relive the experience, you'll find the finished blog at http://www.wintellect.com/about/instructors/
prosise
/blog.
Finally, a personal note. There s no shortage of Microsoft .NET programming books on the market. I m humbled that you chose this one, and I sincerely hope your investment in this book pays for itself many times over. Enjoy!