C# From Basics

C# (C-Sharp) is a programming language developed by Microsoft that runs on the .NET Framework.

C# is used to develop web apps, desktop apps, mobile apps, games and much more.

Example

using System;

namespace HelloWorld

{

  class Program

  {

    static void Main(string[] args)

    {

      Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");    

    }

  }

}

What is C#?

C# is pronounced "C-Sharp".

It is an object-oriented programming language created by Microsoft that runs on the .NET Framework.

C# has roots from the C family, and the language is close to other popular languages like C++ and Java.

C# IDE

The easiest way to get started with C#, is to use an IDE.

An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is used to edit and compile code.

In our tutorial, we will use Visual Studio Community, which is free to download from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/community/.

Applications written in C# use the .NET Framework, so it makes sense to use Visual Studio, as the program, the framework, and the language, are all created by Microsoft.

using System;

namespace HelloWorld

{

  class Program

  {

    static void Main(string[] args)

    {

      Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");    

    }

  }

}

Syntax of Above given code.

Line 1: using System means that we can use classes from the System namespace.

Line 2: A blank line. C# ignores white space. However, multiple lines makes the code more readable.

Line 3: namespace is used to organize your code, and it is a container for classes and other namespaces.

Line 4: The curly braces {} marks the beginning and the end of a block of code.

Line 5: class is a container for data and methods, which brings functionality to your program. Every line of code that runs in C# must be inside a class. In our example, we named the class Program.

Don't worry if you don't understand how using System, namespace and class works. Just think of it as something that (almost) always appears in your program, and that you will learn more about them in a later chapter.

Line 7: Another thing that always appear in a C# program, is the Main method. Any code inside its curly brackets {} will be executed. You don't have to understand the keywords before and after Main. You will get to know them bit by bit while reading this tutorial.

Line 9: Console is a class of the System namespace, which has a WriteLine() method that is used to output/print text. In our example it will output "Hello World!".

If you omit the using System line, you would have to write System.Console.WriteLine() to print/output text.

Note: Every C# statement ends with a semicolon ;.

Note: C# is case-sensitive: "MyClass" and "myclass" has different meaning.

Note: Unlike Java, the name of the C# file does not have to match the class name, but they often do (for better organization). When saving the file, save it using a proper name and add ".cs" to the end of the filename. To run the example above on your computer, make sure that C# is properly installed.

Some Programming Examples to Practice with C# *Open this*