Introducing this book and its contents

Let’s get started by introducing you to the code solutions, structure, and content of this book.

Setting up your development environment

Before you start programming, you’ll need a code editor for C#, either from Microsoft or a third party.Microsoft has a family of code editors and Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), which include:

• Visual Studio for Windows
• VS Code for Windows, Mac, or Linux
• VS Code for the Web or GitHub Codespaces

Third parties have created their own C# code editors; for example, JetBrains has the cross-platform Rider, which is available for Windows, Mac, or Linux and since October 2024 is free for non-commercial use. Rider is popular with more experienced .NET developers.

Warning! Although JetBrains is a fantastic company with great products, both Rider and the ReSharper extension for Visual Studio are software, and all software has bugs and quirky behavior. For example, they might show errors like Cannot resolve symbol in your Razor Pages, Razor views, and Blazor components. Yet you can build and run those files because there is no actual problem...

Building console apps and managing multiple projects in a solution

The goal of this section is to showcase how to build a console app using Visual Studio.If you do not have a Windows computer or want to use VS Code, then you can skip this section, since the code will be the same; just the tooling experience is different. However, I recommend that you review this section because it does explain some of the code and how top-level programs work, and that information applies to all code editors.This section is also available in the GitHub repository (so it can be updated after publishing if needed) at the following link:https://github.com/markjprice/cs14net10/blob/main/docs/code-editors/vs.md.If you do not have a Windows computer, or you do not want to use Visual Studio, then you can read similar instructions for using VS Code or Rider. They are available in the GitHub repository at the following links:https://github.com/markjprice/cs14net10/blob/main/docs/code-editors/vscode.md and https...

Making good use of the GitHub repository for this book

Git is a commonly used source code management system. GitHub is a company, website, and desktop application that makes it easier to manage Git. Microsoft purchased GitHub in 2018, so it will continue to get closer integration with Microsoft tools.I created a GitHub repository for this book, and I use it for the following:

• To store the solution code for the book that can be maintained after the print publication date.
• To provide extra materials that extend the book, like errata fixes, small improvements, lists of useful links, and optional sections about topics that cannot fit in the printed book.
• To provide a place for readers to get in touch with me if they have issues with the book.

Good Practice: I strongly recommend that you all review the errata, improvements, post-publication changes, and common errors pages before attempting any coding task in this book. You can find them at the following link: https://github.com/markjprice...

Looking for help

This section is all about how to find quality information about programming on the web.

Practicing and exploring

Let’s now test your knowledge and understanding by trying to answer some questions, getting some hands-on practice, and going into the topics covered throughout this chapter in greater detail.

Summary

In this chapter, we:

• Set up your development environment.
• Discussed the similarities and differences between modern .NET, .NET Core, .NET Framework, Xamarin, and .NET Standard in an online article.
• Used Visual Studio and VS Code with the .NET SDK CLI to create a couple of simple console apps, grouped in a solution.
• Learned how to download the solution code for this book from its GitHub repository.
• Learned how to find help. This could be in the traditional way, by using help command switches, documentation, and articles, or the modern way, by having a conversation with coding expert AI or using an AI-based tool to perform “grunt work.”

In the next chapter, you will learn how to “speak” C#.Learn more on DiscordTo join the Discord community for this book – where you can share feedback, ask questions to the author, and learn about new releases – follow the QR code below:

https://packt.link/cs14net10

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