Professional .NET 2.0 Generics (PDF)

The power and elegance of generic types have long been
acknowledged. Generics allow developers to parameterize data types
much like you would parameterize a method. This brings a new
dimension of reusability to your types without compromising
expressiveness, type-safety, or efficiency. Now .NET generics makes
this power available to all .NET developers. By introducing generic
concepts directly into the Common Language Runtime (CLR), Microsoft
has also created the first language-independent generics
implementation. The result is a solution that allows generic types
to be leveraged by all the languages of the .NET platform.

This book explores all aspects of the .NET generics
implementation, covering everything from fundamental generic
concepts, to the elements of generic syntax, to a broader view of
how and when you might apply generics. It digs into the details
associated with creating and consuming your own generic classes,
structures, methods, delegates, and interfaces, examining all the
nuances associated with leveraging each of these language
constructs. The book also looks at guidelines for working with
generic types, the performance gains achieved with generics, the
new generic container libraries (BCL and third party), and key
aspects of the underlying .NET implementation.

For those transitioning from C++, the book provides an in-depth
look at the similarities and differences between templates and.NET
generics. It also explores the syntactic variations associated with
using generics with each of the .NET languages, including C#,
Visual Basic, J#, and C++.