MSDN .NET Documentation

Your First Steps with .NET

This guide will help you set up your development environment and build your first .NET application. We'll cover installation, essential tools, and a simple "Hello, World!" project.

1. Installation

The first step is to install the .NET SDK (Software Development Kit). The SDK includes the runtime and libraries you need to develop and run .NET applications.

• Visit the official .NET download page.
• Choose the latest stable version of .NET (e.g., .NET 8).
• Download the SDK installer for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
• Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

2. Verify Installation

After installation, you can verify it by opening a terminal or command prompt and running the following command:

dotnet --version

This should display the installed .NET SDK version.

3. Create Your First Application

Let's create a simple console application. Open your terminal or command prompt, navigate to a directory where you want to create your project, and run these commands:

dotnet new console -o MyFirstApp
cd MyFirstApp

This creates a new console application named "MyFirstApp" in a new directory and then navigates into that directory.

4. Write Your Code

Open the Program.cs file in your favorite text editor or IDE. You'll find some starter code:

// Program.cs
Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");

The Console.WriteLine method is used to print text to the console.

5. Run Your Application

In your terminal, inside the MyFirstApp directory, run the following command:

dotnet run

You should see the output:

Hello, World!

Congratulations! You've just built and run your first .NET application.

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