Book Image

Beginning C# 7 Hands-On - The Core Language

By : Tom Owsiak
Book Image

Beginning C# 7 Hands-On - The Core Language

By: Tom Owsiak

Overview of this book

Beginning C# 7 Hands-On - The Core Language teaches you core C# language and syntax in a working Visual Studio environment. This book covers everything from core language through to more advanced features such as object-oriented programming techniques. This book is for C# 7 beginners who need a practical reference to core C# language features. You'll also gain a view of C# 7 through web programming with web forms, so you'll learn HTML, basic CSS, and how to use a variety of controls, such as buttons and drop-down lists. You'll start with the fundamentals of C# and Visual Studio, including defining variables, interacting with users, and understanding data types, data conversions, and constants. You'll move on to checking conditions using if/else blocks, and see how to use loops to do things such as repeat blocks of code. After covering various operators to evaluate and assign control structures, you'll see how to use arrays to store collections of data. By the time you’ve finished the book, you’ll know how to program the vital elements of the core C# language. These are the building blocks that you can then combine to build complex C# programs.

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Current Title:

Small book image
Beginning C# 7 Hands-On - The Core Language
Tom Owsiak
Aug, 2017 | 566 pages
Small book image
Beginning C# 7 Hands-On - Advanced Language Features
Tom Owsiak
Oct, 2017 | 310 pages
Table of Contents (60 chapters)
Preface
Preface
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Free Chapter
1
Why C# and How to Download and Install the Visual Studio Community Edition
Why C# and How to Download and Install the Visual Studio Community Edition
Locating and downloading the Visual Studio Community edition
Summary
2
Customizing Visual Studio to Make it Feel More Personal
Customizing Visual Studio to Make it Feel More Personal
Customizing Visual Studio
Selecting the text editor font and size
Selecting the Statement Completion font and size
Selecting the Environment font and size
Positioning Visual Studio panels
Summary
3
Creating and Running Your First Page
Creating and Running Your First Page
Starting a new project in Visual C#
Working with Solutions Explorer
Adding a document to your browser
Working with HTML code in Visual Studio
Launching the HTML code
Summary
4
Creating and Running a Page That Incorporates C#
Creating and Running a Page That Incorporates C#
Improving your first program
Working in the Design view
Working in the Source view
Viewing the code in your browser
Summary
5
Creating and Using a Single Variable
Creating and Using a Single Variable
Setting up Visual C# to deal with a variable
Running the code
Summary
6
String Interpolation and Updating Visual Studio
String Interpolation and Updating Visual Studio
Selecting a NuGet package
Summary
7
Formatting Output Strings for More Professional Results
Formatting Output Strings for More Professional Results
Setting a value and formatting it as currency
Summary
8
Using Variables and Data Types
Using Variables and Data Types
Setting a page title automatically
Summary
9
Computed Variables and Basic Math
Computed Variables and Basic Math
Declaring and setting two variables to signify two different salaries
Summary
10
Interacting with Users Through the Web Page
Interacting with Users Through the Web Page
Using Toolbox to search for a command
Summary
11
Using Method Chaining to Write More Compact Code
Using Method Chaining to Write More Compact Code
Inserting a text box into the markup
Summary
12
Reacting to a Single Condition with If/Else Blocks
Reacting to a Single Condition with If/Else Blocks
Adding checkbox to your code
13
Making a Variable Grow by Adding 1
Making a Variable Grow by Adding 1
Growing a variable by one
Summary
14
Repeating Blocks of Code with While Loops
Repeating Blocks of Code with While Loops
Inserting a button
Summary
15
Repeating Blocks of Code with For Loops
Repeating Blocks of Code with For Loops
Inserting a button
Summary
16
Iterating Over Collections with foreach Loops
Iterating Over Collections with foreach Loops
Inserting TextBox
Summary
17
Examining Multiple Variable Values with Switch Blocks
Examining Multiple Variable Values with Switch Blocks
Inserting DropBox and Label
Summary
18
Improving Input Processing with TryParse
Improving Input Processing with TryParse
Inserting a button and a textbox
Summary
19
Replacing If/Else Blocks with the Ternary Operator
Replacing If/Else Blocks with the Ternary Operator
Inserting two text boxes and a button
Summary
20
Operators That Evaluate and Assign in Place
Operators That Evaluate and Assign in Place
Inserting Button and Label
Summary
21
Checking Two Conditions with the Logical AND Operator
Checking Two Conditions with the Logical AND Operator
Setting up the project
Summary
22
Checking Two Conditions with the Logical OR Operator
Checking Two Conditions with the Logical OR Operator
Working with check boxes
Summary
23
Declaring, Setting, and Reading Arrays
Declaring, Setting, and Reading Arrays
Setting up the basic interface
Summary
24
Iterating Over Arrays with foreach Loops
Iterating Over Arrays with foreach Loops
Setting up the beginning interface
Summary
25
Creating and Using a Simple Method
Creating and Using a Simple Method
Setting up the user interface
Summary
26
Passing Arrays into Methods
Passing Arrays into Methods
Setting up the user interface
Summary
27
Reference Type and Value Type Variables
Reference Type and Value Type Variables
Setting up the user interface
Summary
28
Creating More Flexible Methods with the params Keyword
Creating More Flexible Methods with the params Keyword
Designing the starting markup
Summary
29
Creating More Flexible Functions with the out Keyword
Creating More Flexible Functions with the out Keyword
Setting up the beginning interface
Summary
30
Combining the ref and out Keywords to Write Flexible Functions
Combining the ref and out Keywords to Write Flexible Functions
Setting up the starting interface
Summary
31
The out Keyword in C# 7
The out Keyword in C# 7
Creating the program template
Writing the Summarize function
Implementing the function
Running the program
Summary
32
Multidimensional Arrays
Multidimensional Arrays
Understanding two-dimensional arrays
Summary
33
Writing Easier Code with the Var and Dynamic Keywords
Writing Easier Code with the Var and Dynamic Keywords
Setting up the project
Summary
34
Creating a Class with a Constructor and a Function
Creating a Class with a Constructor and a Function
Our initial markup
Summary
35
Creating a Class with a Static Method
Creating a Class with a Static Method
Setting up a simple initial interface
Summary
36
Creating a Class with an Object Property
Creating a Class with an Object Property
Setting up a simple markup page
Summary
37
Creating a Class with Static Fields, and Properties
Creating a Class with Static Fields, and Properties
Setting up the interface for this project
Summary
38
Centralizing Common Code with Inheritance
Centralizing Common Code with Inheritance
Setting up the interface for this lesson
Summary
39
Centralizing Default Code with Virtual Functions
Centralizing Default Code with Virtual Functions
Setting up a basic HTML for this project
Summary
40
Model Concepts with Abstract Classes
Model Concepts with Abstract Classes
Introducing the basic HTML for this lesson's project
Summary
41
Using Custom Types as Return Types
Using Custom Types as Return Types
Setting up the project
Summary
42
Using Lists to Operate on Data Efficiently
Using Lists to Operate on Data Efficiently
Summarizing the values in a list
Summary
43
Writing Less Code with Polymorphism
Writing Less Code with Polymorphism
Setting up the markup for this project
Summary
44
Using Interfaces to Express Common Behaviors
Using Interfaces to Express Common Behaviors
Building a hierarchy
Summary
45
Iterating over Instances with Indexers
Iterating over Instances with Indexers
Setting up a records project
Summary
46
Building Stabler Apps with Exception Handling
Building Stabler Apps with Exception Handling
Setting up the HTML for this chapter
Using a try block
Summary
47
Using Named and Optional Parameters
Using Named and Optional Parameters
Setting up the Book class
Summary
48
Using the Null Coalescing Operator to Write Stabler Applications
Using the Null Coalescing Operator to Write Stabler Applications
Setting up the basic HTML for this project
Searching a database
Summary
49
Overloading Operators to Perform Custom Operations
Overloading Operators to Perform Custom Operations
Creating a Vector class
Summary
50
Using Enumerations to Represent Named Constants
Using Enumerations to Represent Named Constants
Setting up a drop-down list
Summary
51
Creating and Using Namespaces
Creating and Using Namespaces
Creating a new project with a new namespace
Summary
52
Structs, Random Points, and Sleeping Threads
Structs, Random Points, and Sleeping Threads
Adding a SimpleStruct class file
Coding the struct
Modifying the HTML to make use of the struct
Making an array of points
Displaying the results
Running the program
Debugging the program
Lesson review
Summary
53
Declaring, Creating, and Using Delegates
Declaring, Creating, and Using Delegates
Setting up the HTML for this project
Checking out the interface
Making a delegate
Running the program
Summary
54
Switch Blocks with when in C# 7.0
Switch Blocks with when in C# 7.0
Creating the classes
Writing the Main function code
Running the program
Summary
55
Switch Blocks with Objects in C# 7.0
Switch Blocks with Objects in C# 7.0
Creating the interface
Implementing the interface
Creating the Main() program
Running the program
Summary
56
Tuples in C# 7.0
Tuples in C# 7.0
Creating the tuple function
Writing the Main() code
Running the program
Summary
57
Local functions in C# 7.0
Local functions in C# 7.0
Creating the application and core functions
Creating the local function
Running the code
Summary
58
Throwing Exceptions in C# 7.0
Throwing Exceptions in C# 7.0
Creating the main code
Running the program
Summary
59
Tuples in C# 7.0, Part 2
Tuples in C# 7.0, Part 2
Creating the constructor
Summary

Locating and downloading the Visual Studio Community edition

In this chapter, we're going to take a look at how to get Visual Studio 2017. You can either go directly to www.visualstudio.com/downloads or just do a search for Visual Studio 2017 download. This should bring you to a page similar to this one:

Figure 2.1:

Keep in mind that these pages are updated regularly. In the preceding screenshot, you will see that there are several versions. The one that interests us, of course, is Visual Studio Community 2017, the free version.

Click on Free download. This should automatically download a small installer. Depending on how your system is set up, it will either download it directly to the Downloads folder, or prompt you for where you want to save it. I've created a VS_Community folder inside My Downloads folder and saved it there. Of course, you can save it wherever you want to. Once this is done--it won't take long as it's just a small file--locate the downloaded VS_Community.EXE file and open it up.

Once you open it, you should see this screen.

Figure 2.2: The License screen

Click on Continue, which should take you through to the next screen:

Figure 2.3: Choosing download components

From here, you can select the set of features you want to install on your system. For our purposes, I've chosen.NET desktop development at the top. If you click on it, you should see a check mark appear in the top corner to show that it's been selected:

Figure 2.4: Selecting .NET desktop development

Down at the bottom of the window, there's a location bar. If you click on the three little dots, you can select where you want the Visual Studio program to be installed on your system. On the right-hand side, you have a summary field:

Figure 2.5: Selecting the following frameworks

This tells you what's going to be installed; also, down at the bottom, it says Total install size, 3.06 GB, so that's how much minimum free space you need wherever you're going to install this. Then, of course, click on the Install button in the lower right-hand corner. This should bring you to a page similar to this one:

Figure 2.6: Installation in progress

Now, it's just a matter of waiting for everything to be downloaded and then applied to your system. One thing that I recommend you do at this point is temporarily disable your antivirus software while this is being installed because it could interfere with the installation process. I got to about 90 percent and my system hung when I installed it. I went back and disabled my anti-virus software and it installed fine. You may have to do the same.

Once it's downloaded and installed, you should see a screen similar to this one:

Figure 2.7: The Welcome screen

From here on, of course, you can either look at the release notes if you want, or just click on the Launch button. Go ahead and click on the Launch button. This should bring you to a screen similar to this one:

Figure 2.8: The Sign in screen

If you want, you can sign in with your Microsoft account,if you remember. I chose Not now, maybe later. The next step is to choose the interface:

Figure 2.9: Choose color theme

I like the standard Blue one. Of course, you can use the Dark one or the Light one, whichever one you like, and then click on Start Visual Studio. Once it's loaded, it should look very similar to the one that you see right here:

Figure 2.10: Getting Started

Now Go to Help > About Microsoft Visual Studio; you'll see the version that you have installed. Mine is 15.3.0, which is the latest version at the time of this writing. Make sure that yours is the same or above (it should be, as you just downloaded the latest version from Microsoft); otherwise, the code samples that we create will not work because they rely on the features of C# available in this version. Okay, close the About box. That's it! You're now ready to start learning C# 7.

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