Learning C#

Chaos · 28 Jun 2007 at 00:39

Just thought I'd mention that Gamedev are running a C# workshop that starts on the 1st of July, and is for beginners who want to learn the language.

Thought some people in here might be interested, I started C# a while ago but never got very far due to other commitments so might join in on this.

Details are here -

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=450219

n3crius · 28 Jun 2007 at 08:19

Seems a fun way to learn a language.

Stil, I'dl rather just get stuck into it myself.

Have fun learning.

MNuTz · 28 Jun 2007 at 15:39

ive signed up for it, should be interesting and a good way to stay motivated.

LabR@t · 28 Jun 2007 at 19:54

whats the best way to teach yourself? what books / software required?

FishPolice · 28 Jun 2007 at 23:48

hmm I'm thinking about this myself but am going away for 2 weeks at the start of August so I'll probably get way behind & give up or something :/

MNuTz · 29 Jun 2007 at 00:20

FishPolice said:
hmm I'm thinking about this myself but am going away for 2 weeks at the start of August so I'll probably get way behind & give up or something :/

they have a timetable so you could the required reading before you went away, plus loads of people will be able to help you. Better to at least try.

ive learnt the basics of a few languages but never keep going. hopefully this will help my motivation.

Clarkey · 29 Jun 2007 at 01:46

Might sign up for this, but maybe a little slow for my tastes.

I just graduated with a computing degree, learned java and managed a 1st in my programming module so I know a thing or two about programming, OO design etc.. also did my FYP in PHP. Seems that MS .NET stuff is the flavour of the moment though and want to learn about it. I don't really have the first idea what it is about though.

Given my experience with Java and PHP, what reading can anyone suggest for me to make the move over to C# and ASP.NET?

I've only limited experience of Eclipse for some java work, I usually just write out my code in NP++ and use a regular old command line compiler. What is the equivalent of javac for C# and is it really worth my while using Visual C# as that thread recommends?

Finally, where will I find the equivalent to the Java API and PHP Manual?

Oh and while i'm wittering on, just what is the difference between C, C++ and C#?

noob · 29 Jun 2007 at 09:00

LabR@t said:
whats the best way to teach yourself? what books / software required?

Sams Teach Yourself the C# Language in 21 Days - Good Book

Also get this

C# Language Pocket Reference O'Reilly

then all you need is this which is free: -

Visual C# Express

Inquisitor · 29 Jun 2007 at 10:03

Clarkey said:
Given my experience with Java and PHP, what reading can anyone suggest for me to make the move over to C# and ASP.NET?

Well I learnt C# without any previous experience in OOP or real programming languages (I only knew PHP at the time), and ended up with a few different books, probably the best of which being Programming C#, 4th Edition by Jesse Liberty. This may focus on the basics too much for you though, so you might want a book that's aimed at those who already know Java or another language. I found this just looking at Amazon, which might be good:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-NET-...5323805?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183107222&sr=8-1

Clarkey said:
I've only limited experience of Eclipse for some java work, I usually just write out my code in NP++ and use a regular old command line compiler. What is the equivalent of javac for C# and is it really worth my while using Visual C# as that thread recommends?

csc.exe is the C# compiler. You can do it all manually with just a text editor and console, but I'd strongly recommend you don't try that.

And yes, Visual Studio is absolutely 100% worth using. I've never looked back since I started using it

Clarkey said:
Finally, where will I find the equivalent to the Java API and PHP Manual?

The MSDN Library (more specifically, the class library).

Clarkey said:
Oh and while i'm wittering on, just what is the difference between C, C++ and C#?

C and C++ are lower level, unmanaged languages. That's to say you don't have the luxury of automatic garbage collection, etc. and a lot of things take a lot more code to do than they would in .NET, say.

C#, on the other hand, is very similar to Java and aims to eliminate all of the low-level memory management and other things like that by delegating that job back to the CLR (Common Language Runtime).

Clarkey · 29 Jun 2007 at 11:08

thanks for the help I'll take a look later on

Inquisitor · 29 Jun 2007 at 12:16

A bit of clarification: the CLR is the .NET equivalent of the JVM; it manages the application's execution and memory usage and performs JIT compilation of the program's MSIL code (Microsoft Intermediate Language: the .NET equivalent of Java byte code) into native machine code.

LabR@t · 29 Jun 2007 at 20:53

what structure will these lessons be in?

FishPolice · 30 Jun 2007 at 15:04

ok I've signed up now

This should be a great little course provided I can get the time/privacy at home to fit it all in. I suspect I shall be studying into the wee hours when the rest of the household is asleep...

M0KUJ1N · 30 Jun 2007 at 15:39

I've signed up too, should be fun even if it's a bit MS biased

Chaos · 30 Jun 2007 at 16:13

Programmers Heaven have a free C# ebook which looks pretty decent, you can get it here -

http://www.programmersheaven.com/2/CSharpBook

FishPolice · 30 Jun 2007 at 16:40

LabR@t said:
what structure will these lessons be in?

They won't be lessons as such as far as I understand it. There are a couple of downloads which is for the required reading. There will be regular tests & projects and the opportunity to discuss these/ask questions etc in threads on the forum.
Looks quite heavy going tbh as they will expect you to read & digest approx 50 pages each week. I'm hoping there will be plenty of fellow n00bs on the course so I won't get left too far behind or feel too isolated. I've studied a little bit of C++ so I'm hoping the early chapters will be straightforward enough.

I've downloaded the recommended IDE and had a quick look at one of the C# videos on this page: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/beginner/learningpath/default.aspx

I shall also download the ebook Chaos linked to.