C# is the most exciting new language since Java. It is simple, modern, object oriented, and type-safe. It combines the high productivitiy of Rapid Application Development languages such as Visual Basic with the raw power of C++. While the specification is available online, many people find the printed version to be useful, as we have seen with The Java Language Specification and The C++ Annotated Reference Manual. Microsoft Press published the specification for the beta version of C#, and then revised that for version 1.0. The printed books, however, were nothing more than the spec printed out with covers bound on. This new version should sell much better, because of several factors.