Mikael Olsson - C# 7 Quick Syntax Reference: A Pocket Guide to the Language, APIs, and Library

Any source code or other supplementary material referenced by the author in this book is available to readers on GitHub via the books product page, located at www.apress.com/9781484238165 . For more detailed information, please visit http://www.apress.com/source-code .

The C# programming language is an object-oriented language created by Microsoft for the .NET Framework. C# (pronounced see sharp) builds on some of the best features of the major programming languages. It combines the power of C++ with the simplicity of Visual Basic and also borrows much from Java. This results in a language that is easy to learn and use, robust against errors, and enables rapid application development. All this is achieved without sacrificing much of the power or speed, when compared to C++.

In the years following its release in 2002, C# has grown to become one of the most popular programming languages. It is a general-purpose programming language, so it is useful for creating a wide range of programs. Everything from small utilities to computer games, desktop applications, or even operating systems can be built in C#. The language can also be used with ASP.NET to create web-based applications.

When developing in .NET, programmers are given a wide range of choices as to which programming language to use. Some of the more popular .NET languages include VB.NET, C++/CLI, F#, and C#. Among these, C# is often the language of choice. Like the other .NET languages, C# is initially compiled to an intermediate language. This language is called the Common Intermediate Language (CIL) and is run on the .NET Framework. A .NET program will therefore be able to execute on any system that has this framework installed.

The .NET Framework is a software framework that includes a common execution engine and a rich class library. It runs on Microsoft Windows and is therefore only used for writing Windows applications. However, there are also cross-platform ports available, the two largest being Mono These are both open source projects that allow .NET applications to be run on other platforms, such as Linux, MacOS, and embedded systems.

About the Author

Mikael Olsson

is a professional web entrepreneur, programmer, and author. He works for an R&D company in Finland, where he specializes in software development. In his spare time he writes books and creates websites that summarize various fields of interest. The books he writes are focused on teaching their subjects in the most efficient way possible, by explaining only what is relevant and practical without any unnecessary repetition or theory. The portal to his online businesses and other websites is Siforia.com .

About the Technical Reviewer

Michael Thomas

has worked in software development for more than 20 years as an individual contributor, team lead, program manager, and vice president of engineering. Michael has more than 10 years of experience working with mobile devices. His current focus is in the medical sector, using mobile devices to accelerate information transfer between patients and health care providers.

http://www.mono-project.com

https://docs.microsoft.com/dotnet/core

To begin coding in C#, you need an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that supports the Microsoft .NET Framework. The most popular choice is Microsofts own Visual Studio.

The C# language has undergone a number of updates since the initial release of C# 1.0 in 2002. At the time of writing, C# 7.3 is the current version and was released in 2018. Each version of the language corresponds to a version of Visual Studio, so in order to use the features of C# 7.3 you need Visual Studio 2017 (version 15.7 or higher).

After installing the IDE, go ahead and launch it. You then need to create a new project, which will manage the C# source files and other resources. To display the New Project window, go to File New Project in Visual Studio. From there select the Visual C# template type in the left frame. Then select the Console App template in the right frame. At the bottom of the window you can configure the name and location of the project if you want to. When you are done, click OK and the project wizard will create your project.