.NET Framework Standard Library Annotated Reference, Volume 2

Description
“This is a complete, authoritative, and truly useful reference for every .NET developer. It covers every aspect of .NET Framework library by providing concise descriptions with just the right number of examples. I would not start development of any significant .NET project without having this book on my bookshelf.”
—Max Loukianov, Vice President of Research and Development, Netpise Inc. “The .NET Framework Standard Library Annotated Reference is the one reference you really need when you use the .NET Framework library. The annotations provide clear insight into the design choices that the library development team made when building the library. Those explanations will guide you to the best design choices for your own application code.”
—Bill Wagner, Founder/Consultant, SRT Solutions, and author of Effective C#“More than just a reference, this book provides great insight into the massive amount of thought that went into designing the Microsoft .NET Framework. It is both entertaining and educational, combining interesting and sometimes amusing annotations along with the reference material.”
—Jordan Matthiesen, Software Engineer “Brad Abrams, Tamara Abrams, and the CLR team take readers on a journey through the backstreets of the .NET Framework, pointing out invaluable design decisions and performance best practices along the way. Not to be missed by any developer who has ever wondered why the Framework is designed the way it is.”
—William D. Bartholomew, Senior Software Architect, Orli-TECH Pty Ltd “This volume provides an in-depth review for every class method listed, including a CD with many examples of usage. The most valuable aspect of this book is the annotations provided; the annotators’ thoughts about the design of the .NET Framework lets the reader develop a crystal-clear understanding of what can be accomplished with this fantastic technology.”
—Bradley Snobar, Software Engineer “The utility of a reference book is often a function of how easily you can find a desired subject and, once there, how clearly is it explained. On both counts, you should find that this book stands well.”
—Dr. Wes Boudville, Inventor

The .NET Framework Standard Library Annotated Reference, Volume 2, completes the definitive reference to the .NET Framework base class library. This book-and-CD set offers programmers unparalleled insight into the ECMA and ISO specifications for the classes and members, while also explaining why they were designed as they were and demonstrating how to use them. This volume covers the Networking, Reflection, and XML libraries, complementing Volume 1’s coverage of the Base Class and Extended Numerics libraries.

The printed book contains high-level descriptions of each namespace, plus detailed descriptions and samples of each type, including annotations, inheritance diagrams, and a listing of members.

The accompanying CD contains a vastly expanded version of the book’s text that includes detailed descriptions of each member and samples for most members—almost two thousand searchable pages of immediately useful reference material, plus a full source-code archive.

With the ECMA and ISO standards as its core, the combined book and CD include

• A clear and complete overview of each namespace, describing its purpose and functionality and the inheritance hierarchy of types it defines.
• Type descriptions. Each type is covered in its own chapter, with a quick reference to the C# declaration syntax for all members defined in the type, and a detailed description of how the type is used.
• Annotations from key insiders: members of the Microsoft design team and the ECMA Standards Committee. These comments cover everything from design rationale and history to common problems and shortcomings, with exceptional clarity and candor.
• Reference tabs and an exhaustive index, which allow readers to quickly and easily navigate the text.
• Code samples. Types are illustrated by working code samples, with output included.
• Reusable source code for the more than one thousand samples is supplied as an archive on the CD. All code has been tested with versions 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 of the .NET Framework and, where appropriate, with the .NET Compact Framework.

Back Cover
“This is a complete, authoritative, and truly useful reference for every .NET developer. It covers every aspect of .NET Framework library by providing concise descriptions with just the right number of examples. I would not start development of any significant .NET project without having this book on my bookshelf.”
—Max Loukianov, Vice President of Research and Development, Netpise Inc. “The .NET Framework Standard Library Annotated Reference is the one reference you really need when you use the .NET Framework library. The annotations provide clear insight into the design choices that the library development team made when building the library. Those explanations will guide you to the best design choices for your own application code.”
—Bill Wagner, Founder/Consultant, SRT Solutions, and author of Effective C#“More than just a reference, this book provides great insight into the massive amount of thought that went into designing the Microsoft .NET Framework. It is both entertaining and educational, combining interesting and sometimes amusing annotations along with the reference material.”
—Jordan Matthiesen, Software Engineer “Brad Abrams, Tamara Abrams, and the CLR team take readers on a journey through the backstreets of the .NET Framework, pointing out invaluable design decisions and performance best practices along the way. Not to be missed by any developer who has ever wondered why the Framework is designed the way it is.”
—William D. Bartholomew, Senior Software Architect, Orli-TECH Pty Ltd “This volume provides an in-depth review for every class method listed, including a CD with many examples of usage. The most valuable aspect of this book is the annotations provided; the annotators’ thoughts about the design of the .NET Framework lets the reader develop a crystal-clear understanding of what can be accomplished with this fantastic technology.”
—Bradley Snobar, Software Engineer “The utility of a reference book is often a function of how easily you can find a desired subject and, once there, how clearly is it explained. On both counts, you should find that this book stands well.”
—Dr. Wes Boudville, Inventor

The .NET Framework Standard Library Annotated Reference, Volume 2, completes the definitive reference to the .NET Framework base class library. This book-and-CD set offers programmers unparalleled insight into the ECMA and ISO specifications for the classes and members, while also explaining why they were designed as they were and demonstrating how to use them. This volume covers the Networking, Reflection, and XML libraries, complementing Volume 1’s coverage of the Base Class and Extended Numerics libraries.

The printed book contains high-level descriptions of each namespace, plus detailed descriptions and samples of each type, including annotations, inheritance diagrams, and a listing of members.

The accompanying CD contains a vastly expanded version of the book’s text that includes detailed descriptions of each member and samples for most members—almost two thousand searchable pages of immediately useful reference material, plus a full source-code archive.

With the ECMA and ISO standards as its core, the combined book and CD include

• A clear and complete overview of each namespace, describing its purpose and functionality and the inheritance hierarchy of types it defines.
• Type descriptions. Each type is covered in its own chapter, with a quick reference to the C# declaration syntax for all members defined in the type, and a detailed description of how the type is used.
• Annotations from key insiders: members of the Microsoft design team and the ECMA Standards Committee. These comments cover everything from design rationale and history to common problems and shortcomings, with exceptional clarity and candor.
• Reference tabs and an exhaustive index, which allow readers to quickly and easily navigate the text.
• Code samples. Types are illustrated by working code samples, with output included.
• Reusable source code for the more than one thousand samples is supplied as an archive on the CD. All code has been tested with versions 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 of the .NET Framework and, where appropriate, with the .NET Compact Framework.

Contents

Foreword.

Preface.

Annotators' Biographies.

I: NAMESPACE OVERVIEWS.

System

System.Collections.Specialized

System.Globalization

System.Net

System.Reflection

System.Runtime.CompilerServices

System.Runtime.InteropServices

System.Security.Permissions

System.Xml

II: CLASS LIBRARIES.

System.Net.Sockets.AddressFamily Enum

System.Reflection.AmbiguousMatchException

System.AppDomain

System.Reflection.Assembly

System.AssemblyLoadEventArgs

System.AssemblyLoadEventHandler Delegate

System.Net.AuthenticationManager

System.Net.Authorization

System.BadImageFormatException

System.Reflection.Binder

System.Reflection.BindingFlags Enum

System.Runtime.InteropServices.CallingConvention Enum

System.CannotUnloadAppDomainException

System.Runtime.InteropServices.CharSet Enum

System.Reflection.ConstructorInfo Structure

System.Net.CredentialCache

System.Globalization.CultureInfo

System.Runtime.CompilerServices.DecimalConstantAttribute

System.Reflection.DefaultMemberAttribute

System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImportAttribute

System.Net.Dns

System.Net.DnsPermission

System.Net.DnsPermissionAttribute

System.Net.EndPoint

System.EntryPointNotFoundException

System.Reflection.EventAttributes Enum

System.Reflection.EventInfo

System.FieldAccessException

System.Reflection.FieldAttributes Enum

System.Reflection.FieldInfo

System.Runtime.InteropServices.FieldOffsetAttribute

System.Xml.Formatting Enum

System.Runtime.InteropServices.GCHandle Structure

System.Runtime.InteropServices.GCHandleType Enum

System.Net.GlobalProxySelection

System.Net.HttpContinueDelegate Delegate

System.Net.HttpStatusCode Enum

System.Net.HttpVersion

System.Net.HttpWebRequest

System.Net.HttpWebResponse

System.Net.IAuthenticationModule Interface

System.Net.ICredentials Interface

System.Runtime.InteropServices.InAttribute

System.IntPtr Structure

System.Net.IPAddress

System.Net.IPEndPoint

System.Net.IPHostEntry

System.Runtime.CompilerServices.IsVolatile

System.Net.IWebProxy Interface

System.Net.IWebRequestCreate Interface

System.Runtime.InteropServices.LayoutKind Enum

System.Net.Sockets.LingerOption

System.Runtime.InteropServices.MarshalAsAttribute

System.MemberAccessException

System.Reflection.MemberInfo

System.MethodAccessException

System.Reflection.MethodAttributes Enum

System.Reflection.MethodBase

System.Runtime.CompilerServices.MethodImplAttribute

System.Runtime.CompilerServices.MethodImplOptions Enum

System.Reflection.MethodInfo

System.MissingFieldException

System.MissingMemberException

System.MissingMethodException

System.Reflection.Module

System.Net.Sockets.MulticastOption

System.Xml.NameTable

System.Collections.Specialized.NameValueCollection

System.Ne.NetworkAccess Enum

System.Net.NetworkCredential

System.Net.Sockets.NetworkStream

System.Runtime.InteropServices.OutAttribute

System.ParamArrayAttribute

System.Reflection.ParameterAttributes Enum

System.Reflection.ParameterInfo

System.Reflection.ParameterModifier Structure

System.Reflection.PropertyAttributes Enum

System.Reflection.PropertyInfo

System.Net.Sockets.ProtocolType Enum

System.Net.ProtocolViolationException

System.Xml.ReadState Enum

System.Security.Permissions.ReflectionPermission

System.Security.Permissions.ReflectionPermissionAttribute

System.Security.Permissions.ReflectionPermissionFlag Enum

System.RuntimeFieldHandle Structure

System.Runtime.CompilerServices.RuntimeHelpers

System.RuntimeMethodHandle Structure

System.RuntimeTypeHandle Structure

System.Net.Sockets.SelectMode Enum

System.Net.ServicePoint

System.Net.ServicePointManager

System.Net.Sockets.Socket

System.Net.SocketAddress

System.Net.Sockets.SocketException

System.Net.Sockets.SocketFlags Enum

System.Net.Sockets.SocketOptionLevel Enum

System.Net.Sockets.SocketOptionName Enum

System.Net.SocketPermission

System.Net.SocketPermissionAttribute

System.Net.Sockets.SocketShutdown Enum

System.Net.Sockets.SocketType Enum

System.Runtime.InteropServices.StructLayoutAttribute

System.Reflection.TargetException

System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException

System.Reflection.TargetParameterCountException

System.Net.TransportType Enum

System.Reflection.TypeAttributes Enum

System.TypeLoadException

System.TypeUnloadedException

System.UIntPtr Structure

System.UnhandledExceptionEventArgs

System.UnhandledExceptionEventHandler Delegate

System.Runtime.InteropServices.UnmanagedType Enum

System.Uri

System.UriBuilder

System.UriFormatException

System.UriHostNameType Enum

System.UriPartial Enum

System.Void Structure

System.Net.WebClient

System.Net.WebException

System.Net.WebExceptionStatus Enum

System.Net.WebHeaderCollection

System.Net.WebPermission

System.Net.WebPermissionAttribute

System.Net.WebProxy

System.Net.WebRequest

System.Net.WebResponse

System.Xml.WhitespaceHandling Enum

System.Xml.WriteState Enum

System.Xml.XmlConvert

System.Xml.XmlException

System.Xml.XmlNamespaceManager

System.Xml.XmlNameTable

System.Xml.XmlNodeType Enum

System.Xml.XmlParserContext

System.Xml.XmlReader

System.Xml.XmlResolver

System.Xml.XmlSpace Enum

System.Xml.XmlTextReader

System.Xml.XmlTextWriter

System.Xml.XmlUrlResolver

System.Xml.XmlWriter

Annotations Index.

Index.

Author

Brad Abrams was a founding member of both the Common Language Runtime and .NET Framework teams at Microsoft, where he is currently a Lead Program Manager. Brad has been involved with WinFX and Windows Vista efforts from the beginning. His primary role is to ensure consistency and developer productivity of the .NET Framework through Vista and beyond. His popular blog can be found at http://blogs.msdn.com/BradA/.

Tamara Abrams most recently worked as a Software Test Engineer at Microsoft and, prior to that, was involved in designing and building factory automation software.