Professional .NET 2.0 Generics

The power and elegance of generic types have long been acknowledged. Generics allow developers to parameterize data types much like you would parameterize a method. This brings a new dimension of reusability to your types without compromising expressiveness, type-safety, or efficiency. Now .NET generics makes this power available to all .NET developers. By introducing generic concepts directly into the Common Language Runtime (CLR), Microsoft has also created the first language-independent generics implementation. The result is a solution that allows generic types to be leveraged by all the languages of the .NET platform.

This book explores all aspects of the .NET generics implementation, covering everything from fundamental generic concepts, to the elements of generic syntax, to a broader view of how and when you might apply generics. It digs into the details associated with creating and consuming your own generic classes, structures, methods, delegates, and interfaces, examining all the nuances associated with leveraging each of these language constructs. The book also looks at guidelines for working with generic types, the performance gains achieved with generics, the new generic container libraries (BCL and third party), and key aspects of the underlying .NET implementation.

For those transitioning from C++, the book provides an in-depth look at the similarities and differences between templates and.NET generics. It also explores the syntactic variations associated with using generics with each of the .NET languages, including C#, Visual Basic, J#, and C++.

Professional .NET 2.0 Generics

Generics represent one of the most compelling additions to the .NET platform, bringing a new dimension of type-safety, expressiveness, and performance to your data types. Professional .NET 2.0 Generics provides a detailed examination of all the facets of what you can achieve through applying generics. This includes both conceptual and syntactic explorations of generic classes, methods, interfaces, and delegates, as well as all the rules that govern their creation and consumption. The book provides comprehensive information on the new BCL generic types and the Power Collections library. It also looks at some of the broader generic topics, including generic guidelines, a comparison with C++ templates, and the underlying details of the .NET generics implementation.

What you will learn from this book

• Techniques for using generics to improve the type-safety of your code
• Steps on how to extend classes and introduce your own derivative generic types
• A point-by-point breakdown of the guidelines for applying generics
• Ways to achieve run-time efficiencies with generic types
• Tips on how to work with generics in both J# and C++
• How to extend and leverage BCL generic types
• Approaches to using generics with serialization and remoting

Who this book is for

This book is for Professional VB.NET and C# programmers and architects who may be new to generics but have strong Microsoft coding skills.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Tod Golding has 20 years of experience as a software developer, lead architect, and development manager for organizations engaged in the delivery of large-scale commercial and internal solutions. He has an extensive background leveraging .NET, J2EE, and Windows DNA technologies, which has allowed him to become equally skilled with C#, Java, and C++. Tod has worked and consulted at a variety of companies, including stints with Microsoft and Borland.
Tod has a B.S. in Computer Science from California State University, Sacramento. He started his writing career as a journalist for the Sacramento Bee daily newspaper. Prior to this book, he was also a contributing author for the XML Programming Bible, another Wiley publication. Tod currently resides in Sacramento, California, where he owns and operates Blue Puma Software.