Introduction To C# (C-Sharp) Programming

Microsoft introduced a new language called C# (pronounced C Sharp). C# is designed to be a

simple, modern, general-purpose, object-oriented programming language, borrowing key
concepts from several other languages, most notably Java.

C# was developed by Anders Hejlsberg and his team during the development of .Net
Framework.

C# is a part of .NET Framework.

Microsoft introduced C# as a new programming language to

address the problems posed by traditional languages.
We can use C# for building variety of applications
 WINDOWS APPLICATION: using console application or winform application.
 MOBILE APPLICATIONS: for phones such as Nokia Lumia (built-in support) but we
can use a third party tool or library called “XAMARIN” to create mobile applications for
ANDROID and IOS as well.
 WEB APPLICATON: using ASP.NET web forms or ASP.NET MVC.
 GAMING APPLICATION: Unity.

C# could theoretically be compiled to machine code, but in real life, it's always used in
combination with the .NET framework. Therefore, applications written in C#, requires the .NET
framework to be installed on the computer running the application. While the .NET framework
makes it possible to use a wide range of languages, C# is sometimes referred to as THE .NET
language, perhaps because it was designed together with the framework.

Language interoperability is the ability of code to interact with code that is written by using a
different programming language.

What is .Net Framework ?

 .NET is a programming framework created by Microsoft that developers can use to create
applications more easily. A framework is just a bunch of code that the programmer can
call without having to write it explicitly.
 It provides a controlled programming environment where software can be developed,
installed and executed on Windows-based operating systems.
 It is basically a collection of libraries.
 Is a programming platform that is used for developing Windows, Web-based, and mobile
software.
 It has a number of pre-coded solutions that manage the execution of programs written
specifically for the framework.
  A programmer can develop applications using one of the languages supported by .NET.
 Microsoft introduced C# as a new programming language to address the problems posed
by traditional languages.
 The .NET Framework is an infrastructure that is used to build, deploy, and run different
types of applications and services using .NET technologies.
 The .NET Framework is an infrastructure that is used to Minimize software development,
deployment, and versioning conflicts.

Microsoft C# Was Developed To

 Create a very simple and yet powerful tool for building interoperable and robust
applications.
 Create a complete object-oriented architecture.
 Support powerful component-oriented development.
 Allow access to many features previously available only in C++ while retaining the ease-
of-use of a rapid application development tool such as Visual Basic.
 Provide familiarity to programmers coming from C or C++ background.
 Allow to write applications that target both desktop and mobile devices.
 C# has features common to most object-oriented languages.
 Provide consistent object-oriented programming environment.
 Minimize software deployment and versioning conflicts by providing a code-execution
environment.
 Promote safe execution of code by providing a code-execution environment.
 Provide a consistent developer experience across varying types of applications such as
Windows-based applications and Web-based applications.
 It has language-specific features, such as:

o Type safety checking

o Generics
o Indexers

 These features make the C# as a preferred language to create a wide variety of

applications.
 C# is a programming language designed for building a wide range of applications that run
on the .NET Framework.

Purpose of C# Language
 Microsoft .NET was formerly known as Next Generation
Windows Services (NGWS).
 It is a completely new platform for developing the next
generation of Windows/Web applications.
  These applications transcend device boundaries and fully
harness the power of the Internet.
 However, building the new platform required a language
that could take full advantage.
 This is one of the factors that led to the development of C#.
 C# is an object-oriented language derived from C and C++.
 The motive of C# is to provide a simple, efficient,
productive, and object-oriented language that is familiar
and yet at the same time revolutionary.
Features of C#
 C# is a programming language designed for building a
wide range of applications that run on the .NET
Framework.
 Following are some basic key features of C#:
o Type-safety Checking

o Object-oriented Programming

o Garbage Collection

o Standardization by European Computer Manufacturers

Association (ECMA)
o Generic Types and Methods

o Iterators

o Methods with named Arguments

o Methods with optional Arguments

o Static Classes

o Nullable Types

o Auto-implemented Properties

o Accessor Accessibility

o Anonymous Methods

o Parallel Computing
 o Auto-implemented Properties
o Partial Classes
 Object-oriented Programming: Focuses on objects so that
code written once can be reused. This helps reduce time
and effort on the part of developers.
 Type-safety Checking: Checked the overflow of types
because uninitialized variables cannot be used in C# as C#
is a case-sensitive language
 Garbage Collection: Performs automatic memory
management from time to time and spares the programmer
the task.
 Standardization by European Computer Manufacturers
Association (ECMA): Specifies the syntax and constraints
used to create standard C# programs.
 Generic Types and Methods: Are a type of data structure
that contains code that remains the same throughout but the
data type of the parameters can change with each use.
 Iterators: Enable looping (or iterations) on user-defined
data types with the for each loop.
 Static Classes: Contain only static members and do not
require instantiation.
 Partial Classes: Allow the user to split a single class into
multiple source code (.cs) files.
 Anonymous Methods: Enable the user to specify a small
block of code within the delegate declaration.
 Methods with named Arguments: Enable the user to
associate a method argument with a name rather than its
position in the argument list.
 Methods with optional Arguments: Allow the user to define
a method with an optional argument with a default value.
  Nullable Types: Allow a variable to contain a value that is
undefined.
 Accessor Accessibility: Allows the user to specify the
accessibility levels of the get and set accessors.
 Auto-implemented Properties: Allow the user to create a
property without explicitly providing the methods to get
and set the value of the property.
 Parallel Computing: Support for parallel programming
using which develop efficient, fine-grained, and scalable
parallel code without working directly with threads or the
thread pool.
There are Several Applications Of C#
C# is an object-oriented language that can be used in a
number of applications.
 Gaming applications
 Web applications
 Mobile applications for pocket PCs, PDAs, and cell phones
 Web services
 Cloud applications
 Simple standalone desktop applications such as Library
Management Systems, Student Mark Sheet generation, and
so on
 Large-scale enterprise applications
 Complex distributed applications that can spread over a
number of cities or countries
The CLR
 Is the foundation of the .NET Framework.
 Acts as an execution engine for the .NET Framework.
  Manages the execution of programs and provides a suitable environment for programs to
run.
 Provides a multi-language execution environment.
 Is a backbone of .NET Framework
 Performs various functions such as:
o Memory management
o Code execution
o Error handling
o Code safety verification
o Garbage collection

By Using DotNet Framework

 A programmer can develop applications using one of the
languages supported by .NET.
 These applications make use of the base class libraries
provided by the .NET Framework.
 The .NET Framework supports a number of development
tools and language compilers in its Software Development
Kit (SDK).
For Example
 To display a text message on the screen, the following
command can be used:
 System.Console.WriteLine(".NET Architecture");
 The same WriteLine() method will be used across all .NET
languages.
 This is done by making the Framework Class Library as a
common class library for all .NET languages.
DotNet Framework Class Library (FCL)
 Is a comprehensive object-oriented collection of reusable
types.
  Is used to develop applications ranging from traditional
command-line to Graphical User Interface (GUI)
applications that can be used on the Web.
DotNet Framework Components
 Common Language Specification (CLS)
 Common Type System (CTS)
 Base Framework Classes
 WPF
 Asp.Net
 WCF
 Ado.Net
 Entity Framework
 Task Parallel Library
 LINQ
 Parallel LINQ
The .NET Framework languages, such as C#, VB, and J# are
statically typed languages.
CLS - Common Language Specification
 Is a set of rules that any .NET language should follow to
create applications that are interoperable with other
languages.
CTS - Common Type System
 Describes how data types are declared, used, and managed
in the runtime and facilitates the use of types across various
languages.
ADO.NET
 Provides classes to interact with databases.
ASP.Net
 Provides a set of classes to build Web applications.
ASP.NET Web applications can be built using Web Forms,
which is a set of classes to design forms for the Web pages
similar to the HTML.
 Supports Web services that can be accessed using a
standard set of protocols.
WCF
 Is a service-oriented messaging framework.
 Allows creating service endpoints and allows programs to
asynchronously send and receive data from the service
endpoint.
WPF
 Is a UI framework based on XML and vector graphics.
 Uses 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D
technologies to create desktop applications with rich UI on
the Windows platform.
LINQ
 Is a component that provides data querying capabilities to a
.NET application.
Entity Framework
  Is a set of technologies built upon ADO.NET that enables
creating data-centric applications in object-oriented
manner.
Parallel LINQ
 Is a set of classes to support parallel programming using
LINQ.
Task Parallel Library
 Is a library that simplifies parallel and concurrent
programming in a .NET application.
When a code is executed for the first time
 The CIL (COMMON INTERMEDIATE LANGUAGE) code is converted to a code
native to the operating system.
 This is done at runtime by the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler present in the CLR.
 The CLR converts the CIL code to the machine language code.
 Once this is done, the code can be directly executed by the CPU.
The following figure represents the process of conversion of
CIL code to the native code:

The CLR provides many features such as:

 Memory management
 Code execution
 Error handling
 Code safety verification
 Garbage collection
The applications that run under the CLR are called managed
code.
The CLR manages code at execution time and performs
operations such as:
  Thread management
 Remoting
 Memory management
Below figure shows a more detailed look at the working of
the CLR:

CIL - Common Intermediate Language

 Every .NET programming language generally has a
compiler and a runtime environment of its own.
 The compiler converts the source code into executable code
that can be run by the users.
 One of the primary goals of .NET Framework is to
combine the runtime environments so that the developers
can work with a single set of runtime services.
  When the code written in a .NET compatible language such
as C# or VB is compiled, the output code is in the form of
MSIL code.
 MSIL is composed of a specific set of instructions that
indicate how the code should be executed.
 MSIL is now called as Common Intermediate Language
(CIL).
The following figure depicts the concept of CIL:

What Is Memory Management ?

 In programming languages like C and C++, the allocation
and de-allocation of memory is done manually.
 Performing these tasks manually is both, time-consuming
and difficult.
 The C# language provides the feature of allocating and
releasing memory using automatic memory management.
 This means that there is no need to write code to allocate
memory when objects are created or to release memory
when objects are not required in the application.
  Automatic memory management increases the code quality
and enhances the performance and the productivity.
What Is Garbage Collection ?
 Garbage Collection is the process of automatic reclaiming
of memory from objects that are no longer in scope.
 Garbage Collection helps the process of allocating and de-
allocating memory using automatic memory management.
Below figure describes concept of garbage collection:

DLR - Dynamic Language Runtime

 Is a runtime environment built on top of the CLR to enable
interoperability of dynamic languages such as Ruby and
Python with the .NET Framework.
 Allows creating and porting dynamic languages to
the .NET Framework.
 Provides dynamic features to the existing statically typed
languages. For example, C# relies on the DLR to perform
dynamic binding.