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C Sharp
Overview

Overview

Master C# step-by-step. This directory contains the complete C# Full Set tutorial series - a comprehensive learning path from installation to expert mastery. Choose your starting point based on your experience level.

Where C# Fits in Your Learning Journey

C# is a recommended language for enterprise development, game development, and cross-platform applications. Best learned as a second or third language after Python or alongside Java.

Why C#? C# represents Microsoft’s modern evolution of C++ and Java - combining object-oriented principles with functional programming features, strong type safety with type inference, and enterprise robustness with developer productivity. The language has evolved significantly with .NET Core/.NET 5+, becoming truly cross-platform.

What makes C# special? C# excels at enterprise applications, game development (Unity), desktop applications (WPF, WinForms), web development (ASP.NET Core), cloud services (Azure), and cross-platform mobile apps (MAUI). LINQ provides powerful data querying, async/await enables elegant asynchronous programming, and the rich .NET ecosystem offers libraries for virtually every domain.

Prerequisites recommended: Familiarity with at least one programming language (Python or Java) helps you appreciate C#’s design choices. See Programming Languages Overview for the complete learning path.

Getting Started

Before diving into comprehensive tutorials, get up and running:

  1. Initial Setup - Install .NET SDK, configure your environment, verify your setup
  2. Quick Start - Your first C# program, basic syntax touchpoints, essential concepts

These foundational tutorials (0-30% coverage) prepare you for the complete learning path.

By Example Track (Code-First Learning)

The by-example track provides 85 heavily annotated code examples achieving 95% language coverage:

By Example

  • Coverage: 0-95% (Comprehensive code-first approach)
  • What you’ll learn: C# through 85 self-contained, heavily annotated examples
  • Goal: Achieve comprehensive C# mastery through working code
  • Best for: Experienced developers who prefer learning by reading and running code

Structure:

  • Beginner (Examples 1-30): Fundamentals and core syntax
  • Intermediate (Examples 31-60): Production patterns and framework features
  • Advanced (Examples 61-85): Expert mastery and optimization

How to Choose Your Starting Point

Choose based on your experience level:

Experience LevelRecommended Path
No programming experienceQuick Start → By Example (Beginner → Advanced)
Experienced programmer, new to C#By Example (Beginner → Advanced)
Familiar with some C#, want depthBy Example (Intermediate → Advanced)
Building production systems nowBy Example (Intermediate → Advanced)
Seeking expert masteryBy Example (Advanced, review earlier as needed)
Need a specific pattern?Search By Example for relevant topics

Tutorial Structure

Each tutorial follows the Diátaxis framework principles for learning-oriented content:

  • Learning-oriented: Designed to help learners master C# by doing
  • Step-by-step: Clear, sequential progression with increasing complexity
  • Practical: Hands-on examples with working, runnable C# code
  • Self-contained: Examples include all necessary code and explanations
  • Production-focused: Real-world patterns and best practices

What You’ll Learn

Language Fundamentals (0-40%)

  • Variables, types, and type inference
  • Control flow (if, switch expressions, loops)
  • Methods and lambda expressions
  • Collections (List, Dictionary, HashSet)
  • LINQ query syntax and method syntax
  • Exception handling
  • Object-oriented programming (classes, inheritance, interfaces)
  • Generics and constraints
  • Delegates and events

Production Patterns (40-75%)

  • Async/await and Task-based asynchronous programming
  • File I/O and streams
  • HTTP clients and ASP.NET Core basics
  • Entity Framework Core and database access
  • Dependency injection
  • Configuration and options pattern
  • Testing with xUnit/NUnit
  • LINQ to Objects, LINQ to SQL
  • Pattern matching
  • Records and init-only properties

Expert Mastery (75-95%)

  • Advanced async patterns (ValueTask, IAsyncEnumerable)
  • Memory and span types (Span, Memory)
  • High-performance techniques (Stackalloc, ArrayPool)
  • Reflection and runtime code generation
  • Source generators
  • Advanced C# features (discriminated unions, with expressions)
  • Concurrency patterns (lock, SemaphoreSlim, channels)
  • Minimal APIs and modern web development
  • Cloud-native patterns (health checks, metrics, distributed tracing)
  • Performance profiling and optimization

Key C# Concepts

Type Safety with Flexibility

C# provides strong compile-time type checking while offering type inference (var), dynamic typing (dynamic), and nullable reference types for null safety.

LINQ - Language Integrated Query

Query collections using SQL-like syntax or fluent method chains, with compile-time type checking and IntelliSense support.

Async/Await

Write asynchronous code that reads like synchronous code, avoiding callback hell and making concurrent programming accessible.

Rich Standard Library

.NET provides comprehensive libraries for web development (ASP.NET Core), data access (Entity Framework Core), testing (xUnit, NUnit), serialization (System.Text.Json), and more.

Cross-Platform

.NET 5+ runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS with a single codebase, enabling cloud deployment, container support, and true portability.

Learning Path Progression 

  %% Color Palette: Blue #0173B2, Orange #DE8F05, Teal #029E73, Purple #CC78BC, Brown #CA9161
graph TD
    A["Initial Setup<br/>0-5%"]
    B["Quick Start<br/>5-30%"]
    C["By Example: Beginner<br/>0-40%"]
    D["By Example: Intermediate<br/>40-75%"]
    E["By Example: Advanced<br/>75-95%"]

    A --> B
    B --> C
    C --> D
    D --> E

    style A fill:#0173B2,stroke:#000,color:#fff
    style B fill:#DE8F05,stroke:#000,color:#fff
    style C fill:#029E73,stroke:#000,color:#fff
    style D fill:#CC78BC,stroke:#000,color:#fff
    style E fill:#CA9161,stroke:#000,color:#fff

Related Languages

  • Java - Similar object-oriented design with cross-platform JVM runtime
  • F# - Functional-first language on .NET platform
  • TypeScript - Statically-typed JavaScript with similar modern language features
  • Kotlin - Modern JVM language with similar null safety and conciseness

External Resources

Version Information

These tutorials target .NET 8 (LTS - Long Term Support) and C# 12, the latest stable versions as of 2024. Examples use modern C# features including records, pattern matching, nullable reference types, and minimal APIs.

Migration notes: If using older versions (.NET Framework, .NET Core 3.1, .NET 5-7), most examples work with minor adjustments. Version-specific features are clearly marked.

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Initial Setup