4102.  C# Essentials

Rev. 4.0

 

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 Microsoft’s 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 2010 and .NET 4.0, which introduces important new features such as dynamic data type, named and optional arguments, and the use of variance in generic interfaces. The new features are covered in a new chapter. A new appendix covers the fundamentals of Language Integrated Query (LINQ), which was introduced with .NET 3.5.

 

This course concisely covers the essentials of programming using Microsoft’s 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#. Appendices provide a tutorial on Visual Studio 2010 and an overview of LINQ.

 

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.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

·         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 dynamic data type, named and optional arguments, and other new features in C# 4.0.

 

Duration:  2 days. The course could also be presented over a 3-day timeframe for somewhat less experienced students.

 

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

 

1.      NET: What You Need to Know

.NET Executables and the CLR

A .NET Testbed for C# Programming

Using Visual Studio 2010

 

2.      C# Overview for the Sophisticated Programmer

First C# Console Application

Namespaces

Data Types

Conversions

Control Structures

Subroutines and Functions

Parameter Passing

Strings

Arrays

Implicitly Typed Variables

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

Constant and Readonly Fields

Auto-Implemented Properties

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

Object Initializers

Collection Initializers

Anonymous Types

Attributes

 

5.      Delegates and Events

Delegates

Anonymous Methods

Lambda Expressions

Random Number Generation

Events

 

6.      Introduction to Windows Forms

Creating Windows Applications Using Visual Studio 2010

Partial Classes

Buttons, Labels and Textboxes

Handling Events

Listbox Controls

 

7.      New Features in C# 4.0

Dynamic Data Type

Named Arguments

Optional Arguments

Automating Office with C# 4.0

Variance in Generic Interfaces

 

Appendix A.  Using Visual Studio 2010

 

Overview of Visual Studio 2010

Creating a Console Application

Project Configurations

Debugging

Multiple-Project Solutions

 

Appendix B.  Language Integrated Query (LINQ)

 

What Is LINQ?

Basic Query Operators

Filtering

Ordering

Aggregation

 

Appendix C.  Learning Resources

 

System Requirements

 

Course exercises require Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and a Windows operating system, XP or more recent. 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.