This book answers the question, "Do you need to learn C# or VB .NET to develop in .NET?" You'll learn that the answer is, in fact, "no"—at least until you're good and ready. With Managed C++ and .NET Development, your hard-earned skills as an established C++ developer or beginner won't be wasted. Microsoft touts .NET as language-neutral, and this book proves it, at least in the area of C++. Managed C++ and .NET Development is truly a .NET book applying C++ as its development language—not another C++ syntax book that happens to cover .NET.

There's no other book out there like this one. It's written for the C++ programmer who wants to write new .NET programs and not just migrate existing ones. To this end, author Stephen R. G. Fraser covers topics such as collections, multithreading, I/O, XML, ADO.NET, GDI+, Windows Forms (using the new GUI design tool introduced in Visual Studio .NET 2003), Web services, and Web Forms, focusing strictly on code development.