Visual C# (C Sharp) is a relatively new language introduced by Microsoft along with Visual Studio. Their goal was to provide the ease of working with Visual Basic with the flexibility and power of the Java and C++ languages. The syntax of C# is similar to Java and C++ but the ease of creating a graphical user interface and an event-driven application rivals Visual Basic.

C# is fully object-oriented, compatible with many other languages using the .NET Framework. This book incorporates the object-oriented concepts throughout, as well as the syntax and terminology of the language.

C# is designed to allow the programmer to develop applications that run under Windows and/or in a Web browser without the complexity generally associated with programming. With very little effort, the programmer can design a screen that holds standard elements such as buttons, check boxes, radio buttons, text boxes, and list boxes. Each of these objects operates as expected, producing a “standard” Windows or Web user interface.