I’m currently putting together a session on how to get started in WPF (Windows desktop client application) development for my team and I’ve assembled a list of resources for experienced developers who are new to C#, the .NET Framework, and WPF. Just wanted to share for all those who are interested in ramping up or taking it to the next level.
Books on C# and .NET
- Joseph and Ben Albahari, C# 4.0 in a Nutshell. For those who are new to C#, but are not new to programming. Covers the language only, concise.
- Andrew Troelsen, Pro C# 2010 and the .NET 4 Platform. For programmers who are new to the language, surveys the base libraries in .NET (file access, database access, and network access).
- Jeffrey Richter, CLR via C#, Third Edition. A systems-level view of the language and the .NET platform. Assumes basic knowledge of C# and digs deep to explain what’s going on under the hood.
- Jon Skeet, C# in Depth, Second Edition. Dives into the design and evolution of the language.
Books on WPF
- Adam Nathan, WPF 4 Unleashed. In full color, clear and concise, the best book on WPF (and I’ve read them all).
- Matthew MacDonald, Pro WPF in C# 2010. A close second: more examples, but a little bit on the bigger side.
Articles on Essential Concepts in WPF (read in order)
Books on Software Design
- Krzysztof Cwalina & Brad Abrams, Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms, and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries, Second Edition. The design guidelines used to create the .NET Framework, useful guidance for creating your own libraries.
- Elisabeth and Eric Freeman, Head First Design Patterns. A very accessible read to start grokking the basics of design patterns, which are a staple in WPF/MVVM application development.
Books on Interaction Design
- Jenifer Tidwell, Designing Interfaces, Second Edition. In full color, a catalog of modern user interface patterns, with narrative that explains how and when to use the pattern, and why it works. A great resource for getting practical ideas to solve GUI design problems.
- Donald Norman, The Design of Everyday Things. An accessible introduction to usability and human factors concepts. A quick read to put oneself into a user-oriented mindset.
- Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, & David Cronin, About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design. Varsity level, but deep insight into designing effective user interfaces.
- Ben Shneiderman, Catherine Plaisant, Maxine Cohen, & Steven Jacobs, Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction, Fifth Edition. A wide, but in depth survey of modern user interfaces, including direct manipulation (NUI), virtual environments, command languages, distributed interfaces,
- Christopher Wickens & Justin Hollands, Engineering Psychology and Human Performance, Third Edition. Graduate-level text on human factors for engineering systems. Challenging, but no other book like it. Covers perception, spatial displays, real and virtual environments, language, memory, decision making, attention, workload, multitasking, stress, and error in the context of complex, real-world systems.
- Edward Tufte, Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information, Visual Explanations, Beautiful Evidence. Well-crafted books that illustrate analytical principles of design and how to represent multivariate ideas and information in two-dimensional space, whether it be on paper or on a screen.
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