The Building Blocks of Programming

Any programming language starts off looking like ancient Greek to the unaccustomed eye, and C# is no exception. The good news is beneath the initial mystery, all programming languages are made up of the same essential building blocks. Variables, methods, and classes (or objects) make up the DNA of conventional programming; understanding these simple concepts opens up an entire world of diverse and complex applications. After all, there are only four different DNA nucleobases in every person on earth; yet, here we are, every one of us a unique organism.

If you are new to programming, there's going to be a lot of information coming at you in this chapter, and this could mark the first lines of code that you've ever written. The point is not to overload your brain with facts and figures; it's to give you a holistic look at the building blocks of programming using examples from everyday life.

This chapter is all about the high-level view of the bits and pieces that make up a program. Getting the hang of how things work before getting into the code directly will not only help you new coders find your feet, but it will also solidify the topics with easy-to-remember references. Ramblings aside, we'll focus on the following topics throughout this chapter:

• Defining variables
• Understanding methods
• Introducing classes
• Working with comments
• Putting the building blocks together