Which version of C# (and .Net) should I begin with? [closed]

Question

I'm trying to bring myself up to speed on C#, having never developed for it before. In a previous question I asked about good book review sites, and through that I found a very positive (beginner-oriented) review for "Essential C#" but it was for a previous edition.

While I'm sure that it will still be a good book even if the quality dropped between versions, it raises an interesting question for me:

When beginning a new language, is it best to start with the latest version (e.g. C# 3.0/.Net 3.5) or should I go back a version or two and try to learn what got added to the language afterward?

The former seems better from the point of view of being up to date immediately, but the latter seems more pragmatic in that it's probably more likely a shop will be using a slightly older version of the language.

Answer 1

I would suggest you start a project with the latest. You do not necessarily need to learn all the newest enhancements, but they will be readily available to you when you are ready.

3.5 is actually the 2.0 framework, with 'additions'.

Also if you are in the process of actually working through the samples, they should work in the latest. Then as you are comfortable, you can look for areas to enhance using the latest version. E.G. Maybe a Loop with Nested IF's could be enhanced to use LINQ.

Answer 2

Start with the latest. If you need to work with code built on a previous version, you can then learn the differences between version X and version Y.