Introduction to .NET Programming

.NET is a free, cross-platform, open-source developer platform for building many different types of applications. With .NET, you can:

This documentation portal provides comprehensive guides, API references, and tutorials to help you master .NET development.

Getting Started with .NET

Begin your journey by setting up your development environment and creating your first application.

Key steps:

  1. Install the .NET SDK: Download the latest version from the official .NET website.
  2. Choose your IDE: Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, or JetBrains Rider are excellent choices.
  3. Create your first project: Use the command-line interface (CLI) or your IDE to create a new console application.

Example using the .NET CLI:

dotnet new console -o MyFirstApp
cd MyFirstApp
dotnet run

Core Concepts in .NET

Understanding the fundamental concepts is crucial for effective .NET development.

C# Basics

C# is a modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. It's widely used for .NET development.

Key features include:

A simple "Hello, World!" in C#:

using System;

public class HelloWorld
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
    }
}

VB.NET Basics

Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) is another powerful language supported by the .NET platform. It offers a more straightforward syntax for developers familiar with older versions of Visual Basic.

F# Basics

F# is a functional-first, general-purpose programming language that runs on the .NET platform. It excels in areas requiring concise, robust, and parallel code.

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

.NET strongly supports OOP principles, enabling you to model real-world entities and create reusable, maintainable code.

Generics

Generics provide compile-time type safety and performance by allowing you to define collections and types that operate on a specified type without casting.

Collections

The .NET Framework provides a rich set of collection types (e.g., List<T>, Dictionary<TKey, TValue>) for managing groups of objects.

Asynchronous Programming

Learn to write non-blocking code using async and await to improve application responsiveness, especially in UI and I/O-bound operations.

Error Handling

Master exception handling using try-catch-finally blocks to gracefully manage runtime errors.

Key .NET Framework Features and Technologies

Explore the vast ecosystem of libraries and frameworks built on .NET.

.NET Core & .NET 5+

.NET Core (now simply ".NET") is the successor to the .NET Framework, offering cross-platform compatibility, high performance, and modularity. .NET 5 and later versions unify the .NET platform.

ASP.NET Core

A modern, cross-platform, high-performance framework for building web applications, APIs, and microservices.

Entity Framework Core (EF Core)

An object-relational mapper (ORM) that enables .NET developers to work with a database using .NET objects. It supports various database providers.

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

A UI framework for building Windows desktop applications with rich user interfaces and support for hardware acceleration.

Windows Forms (WinForms)

A mature UI framework for building traditional Windows desktop applications.

Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

A platform for building modern applications that run across all Windows 10 devices.

Xamarin

A Microsoft-owned framework for building native cross-platform mobile applications for iOS, Android, and macOS with C# and .NET.

Azure SDK for .NET

A comprehensive set of libraries for interacting with Azure cloud services from your .NET applications.

Advanced .NET Topics

Dive deeper into performance optimization, concurrency, reflection, metaprogramming, and more.

Additional Resources