C# Essentials

Microsoft .NET is an advance in programming technology that greatly simplifies application development, both for traditional, proprietary applications and for the emerging paradigm of Web-based services. .NET is a complete restructuring of Microsofts entire system infrastructure and represents a major learning challenge for programmers developing applications on Microsoft platforms.

This two-day intensive course is designed for the experienced programmer to help you quickly come up to speed on the C# language. It is current to Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5, which introduces important new features such as implicit typing, extension methods, lambda expressions and Language-Integrated Query (LINQ). The new features are covered in a new chapter.

This course concisely covers the essentials of programming using Microsofts new C# programming language. It starts with a brief chapter, .NET: What You Need to Know, which gets you up and running in the .NET environment with a minimum of fuss. The next two chapters cover C# language essentials and object-oriented programming in C#. The next chapter discusses how C# relates to the .NET Framework. The following chapter covers delegates and events. The course includes a succinct introduction to creating GUI programs using Windows Forms. The course concludes with a chapter covering the new features in C#. An appendix provides a tutorial on Visual Studio 2008.

The course is practical, with many example programs and a progressively developed case study. The goal is to quickly bring you up to speed in writing C# programs. The student will receive a comprehensive set of materials, including course notes and all the programming examples.

• The student should be an experienced application developer or architect. Some background in object-oriented programming would be helpful.

• Acquire a working knowledge of C# programming
• Learn about important interactions between C# and the .NET Framework
• Learn how to implement simple GUI programs using Windows Forms
• Gain a working knowledge of implicit typing, object initializers, anonymous types, extension methods, lambda expression, LINQ, and other new features in C# 3.0.

• 1. NET: What You Need to Know
  • .NET Executables and the CLR
  • A .NET Testbed for C# Programming
  • Visual Studio 2008

• 2. C# Overview for the Sophisticated Programmer
  • First C# Console Application
  • Namespaces
  • Data Types
  • Conversions
  • Control Structures
  • Subroutines and Functions
  • Parameter Passing
  • Strings
  • Arrays
  • Console I/O
  • Formatting
  • Exception Handling

• 3. Object-Oriented Programming in C#
  • Classes
  • Access Control
  • Methods and Properties
  • Asymmetric Accessor Accessibility
  • Static Data and Methods
  • Inheritance
  • Overriding Methods
  • Abstract Classes
  • Sealed Classes
  • Access Control and Assemblies

• 4. C# and the .NET Framework
  • Components
  • Interfaces
  • System.Object
  • .NET and COM
  • Collections
  • IEnumerable and IEnumerator
  • Copy Semantics in C#
  • Generic Types
  • Type-Safe Collections
  • Attributes

• 5. Delegates and Events
  • Delegates
  • Anonymous Methods
  • Random Number Generation
  • Events

• 6. Introduction to Windows Forms
  • Creating Windows Applications Using Visual Studio 2005
  • Partial Classes
  • Buttons, Labels and Textboxes
  • Handling Events
  • Listbox Controls

• 7. New Features in C# 3.0
  • Auto-Implemented Properties
  • Implicitly Typed Variables
  • Object Initializers
  • Collection Initializers
  • Anonymous Types
  • Partial Methods
  • Extension Methods
  • Lambda Expressions
  • Language-Integrated Query (LINQ)

• Appendix A. Using Visual Studio 2008
  • Versions of Visual Studio
  • Overview of Visual Studio 2008
  • Creating a Console Application
  • Project Configurations
  • Debugging
  • Multiple-Project Solutions

• Appendix B. Learning Resources

Course exercises require Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition or higher. The preferred operating system is Windows XP. See the appropriate course Setup Guide for details.

A good minimal hardware profile for this course consists of a 2 GHz or better CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and at least 4 GB of free disk space for tools installation and courseware.

References