C# 13 and .NET 9 – Modern Cross-Platform Development Fundamentals: Start building websites and services with ASP.NET Core 9, Blazor, and EF Core 9 9th ed. Edition

I can't believe I am writing a review on a .NET book 23 years later. I've used .NET since it was in beta in 2001 and kept up with it since. The entire .NET system and languages has gone through enormous changes as the industry evolved. I know it is almost 10 years ago when it happened, but I remain the most thrilled about the transition to Linux. I think the influence of Linux caused .NET to become more streamlined and I like those command-line utilities.When it comes to this book, page count increased versus the previous editions. I read two prior editions (.NET 7 and .NET 8) and the number of pages for .NET 9 are about double. That did not diminish the quality as I found this edition the easiest to read. The way it was written has improved and felt more streamlined in terms of the topics chosen. You might find it hard to believe that with double the pages that the book covers less than the earlier editions. Instead, the author spends more time on the topics presented which makes the chapters much stronger.The author has more github links included among the pages to additional topics. We have more tools for information today. Incorporating that into a book allows us access to more up-to-date details. In this case, you also get access to working code to speed up your journey into .NET version 9.As I said earlier, the quality and flow of the book has improved. I cannot remember if this is the first time I reviewed one of the author's books but after finishing this one, I wanted to drop a note on how well it was done.At this point, allow me to address criticism you might have if you come into this material with certain expectations. They were my criticisms but the book was long enough, I had a chance to address them through reflection. Let's start with the first criticism. Web development focus.The primary front-end web development framework in this book is Blazor. You are not going to get anything about .NET Aspire or MVC Controllers. At the time of this writing, Blazor is the main focus from Microsoft for web. Aspire is upcoming but not quite there yet. MVC Controllers are still considered a valid way to approach web in .NET but the author decided to put that in its own dedicated book. I agree with that decision for the following reason.Maybe I didn't do a review of the earlier books because while they were shorter, they attempted to cram too much in one volume. That actually made them more difficult to read. This edition strikes a better balance in its coverage. Unlike earlier editions, you will not get coverage of desktop development as an example. No coverage of .NET MAUI (an earlier edition tried that) and there is reduced coverage of dotnet cli utilities. So, the author excludes many topics from the book and now covers them in dedicated books.What that does is make this a book about mainstream .NET development from the perspective of Microsoft. There is also a renewed focus on Visual Studio (both types). The other books are the deep dive, advanced level from the perspective of seasoned developer community aligned with long-term support. On that note, some of his books have not been updated to .NET 9 because the content still applies. However, he mentioned at the end of this book that all the books will be revised and updated for .NET 10.The .NET 10 tools and runtime will be long-term support and should be released in November 2025. You can expect some new books around that time. The benefit of this book is it is a great primer for what is coming in .NET 10 in terms of transition. If you are like me and have 23 years with .NET starting with those red Wrox Press books in 2001, you will find this type of book a good way to stay up-to-date in a one shot kind of way. For beginners, this book is very step-by-step.Another huge shift in the book is its tone versus the earlier editions. Many technical books are almost written like a computer science textbook. I am also 13 years into C++ and I can tell you how many times in books related to that topic you get a repeat of computer science principles when it comes to software development. This book had that flavor to it a few editions back but I noticed the style changed. You are given the fundamentals without a lecture in book form.I initially thought that might cause all of us to miss out. However, you literally cannot read a book like this that covers the entire history of C# at a technical level. Also, that is why authors of other books exist. I would suggest getting a book on just C# itself. You also don't want to go into every facet of every .NET technology, nor explain it from a theoretical computer science standpoint. Some of my favorite .NET books did this. Particularly those by Andrew Troelson but time has moved on from that approach with a technology system this vast.Instead, people read books like this for practical, ready to go information. By the time .NET 10 is released later this year, .NET as a whole (originally released Jan 2002) will approach 24 years. There is now simply way too much .NET information to cover every aspect and the author made the right choice in focusing on what is relevant to .NET development today.If I could improve one thing about the book, it would probably be the code examples themselves. I understand why the author did it the way he did, but I would have preferred one long code listing instead of having it broken up. I am used to seeing as much code as possible in one sitting and visualizing the connections in my mind. Some books can do this by referring to line numbers in the source code. That may be impossible in book of this length and could make it less approachable to those needing information in smaller chunks so I don't press the issue much.I did publish a video on YT comparing the performance of C++ on Linux with C# and .NET 9 on Linux. The book inspired me to write a nice little benchmark. The video recived over 300 views in 24 hours. What I found was that .NET 9 is so well designed that it blows standard C++ code out of the water by a wide margin. I did not expect that. Now, I see a solid future for .NET on Linux as an alternative to not only C++ but Rust as well. More than that, you can use C# to automate in ways you'd use Python but with more structure. That tangent aside, this book shows the continued vibrancy of .NET and for the sake of those who don't have access, there is no dependency on Azure.When the .NET 10 series of books release, I will get get all of them. Yes, you can use Microsoft's online documentation but a book like this has the right level of curation. The topics are carefully chosen and organized and often reflect where the industry is headed and what is relevant in job interviews, portfolio projects, and the standards of the day. Since .NET 10 will be long-term, expect those books to track well with how .NET is expected to be applied as organizations engage in migration projects.

"C# 13 and .NET 9 – Modern Cross-Platform Development Fundamentals" by Mark J. Price is an exceptional resource for both novice and seasoned developers aiming to master the latest advancements in C# and .NET. The book offers a comprehensive exploration of new features, including enhanced LINQ methods and optimized ASP.NET Core 9 functionalities, such as built-in OpenAPI document generation and HybridCache. Price's clear and direct writing style makes complex concepts accessible, while practical examples and hands-on exercises reinforce learning. Additionally, readers benefit from supplementary online materials, downloadable code exercises, and direct support from the author via Discord. This commitment to reader success makes it an invaluable guide for building professional, high-performance web applications using the latest technologies.

While I have only read 200 pages of this outstanding book, let me say what probably everyone one else already knows. Mark Price is absolutely fantastic and thorough for giving an in-depth overview of C# and .NET9. His explanations and copious links for further detail inform me that I am listening to a master. This book could only have been achieved by someone thoroughly immersed for decades in this field with complete dedication (as Mark Price has been). This is worth every penny.

excelent come with digital version

This tome is extremely well written and totally up to date. It makes for a great introduction to the latest in C#, Blazor, and ASP.NET, as well as the totality of .NET 9. In short, he has done it again! If you need it all in one volume, look no further.

Had purchase the previous three editions of this book and had liked them. Wanted to upgrade to the latest version. Exceeded my expectations.

Very good for both beginners and intermediate 👍👍

Well written. Highly recommend for beginners to intermediate developers and very good for experienced developers moving to .NET framework.