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Principal authors: Rod A. Smith (C) · Jonas Nordlund (C) · Jlenthe (C) · Nercury (C) ·
Ripper234 (C)
Cover: C♯ musical note, by Mothmolevna (See naming) (GFDL)
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Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................04
Foreword............................................................................................................04
Getting Started..................................................................................................06
LANGUAGE BASICS.....................................................................................08
Syntax................................................................................................................08
Variables............................................................................................................11
Operators...........................................................................................................17
Data Structures.................................................................................................23
Control...............................................................................................................25
Exceptions.........................................................................................................31
CLASSES..................................................................................................33
Namespaces.......................................................................................................33
Classes...............................................................................................................35
Encapsulation....................................................................................................40
THE .NET FRAMEWORK.............................................................................42
.NET Framework Overview...............................................................................42
Console Programming.......................................................................................44
Windows Forms.................................................................................................46
ADVANCED OBJECT-ORIENATION CONCEPTS......................................................47
Inheritance........................................................................................................47
Interfaces...........................................................................................................49
Delegates and Events........................................................................................51
Abstract Classes................................................................................................54
Partial Classes...................................................................................................55
Generics.............................................................................................................56
Object Lifetime..................................................................................................59
ABOUT THE BOOK.......................................................................................61
History & Document Notes...............................................................................61
Authors..............................................................................................................62
GNU Free Documentation License....................................................................63
Chapter
1
1 FOREWORD
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# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a multi-purpose computer programming
language suitable for all development needs.
C
Introduction
Although C# is derived from the C programming language, it has features
such as garbage collection that allow beginners to become proficient in C# more
quickly than in C or C++. Similar to Java, it is object-oriented, comes with an
extensive class library, and supports exception handling, multiple types of
polymorphism, and separation of interfaces from implementations. Those
features, combined with its powerful development tools, multi-platform support,
and generics, make C# a good choice for many types of software development
projects: rapid application development projects, projects implemented by
individuals or large or small teams, Internet applications, and projects with strict
reliability requirements. Testing frameworks such as NUnit make C# amenable
to test-driven development and thus a good language for use with Extreme
Programming (XP). Its strong typing helps to prevent many programming errors
that are common in weakly typed languages.
A large part of the power of C# (as with other .NET languages), comes with
the common .NET Framework API, which provides a large set of classes,
including ones for encryption, TCP/IP socket programming, and graphics.
Developers can thus write part of an application in C# and another part in
another .NET language (e.g. VB .NET), keeping the tools, library, and object-
oriented development model while only having to learn the new language syntax.
Because of the similarities between C# and the C family of languages, as well
as Java, a developer with a background in object-oriented languages like C++
may find C# structure and syntax intuitive.
Standard
Microsoft, Anders Hejlsberg as Chief Engineer, created C# as part of their
.NET initiative and subsequently opened its specification via the ECMA. Thus,
the language is open to implementation by other parties. Other implementations
include Mono and DotGNU.
C# and other .NET languages rely on an implementation of the virtual
machine specified in the Common Language Infrastructure, like Microsoft's
Common Language Runtime (CLR). That virtual machine manages memory,
handles object references, and performs Just-In-Time (JIT) compiling of Common
Intermediate Language code. The virtual machine makes C# programs safer
4 | C# Programming
Foreword
than those that must manage their own memory and is one of the reasons .NET
language code is referred to as managed code. More like Java than C and C++,
C# discourages explicit use of pointers, which could otherwise allow software
bugs to corrupt system memory and force the operating system to halt the
program forcibly with nondescript error messages.
History
Microsoft's original plan was to create a rival to Java, named J++ but this
was abandoned to create C#, codenamed "Cool".
Microsoft submitted C# to the ECMA standards group mid-2000.
C# 2.0 was released in late-2005 as part of Microsoft's development suite,
Visual Studio 2005. The 2.0 version of C# includes such new features as
generics, partial classes, and iterators.
Se microsoft-watch and hitmil.
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