CSharp Tutorials

C# Tutorials Roadmap

Section 1: Introduction to C# and .NET

  • Introduction to C#:
    • What is C#? (Pronounced "C sharp").
    • History and Evolution of C#.
    • Why learn C#? (Windows Development, Web Development with ASP.NET, Game Development with Unity, Mobile Development with Xamarin/MAUI, Cloud Computing with Azure).
    • C# vs. other languages (Java, C++, Python).
  • Introduction to .NET:
    • What is .NET? (A platform for building various applications).
    • Understanding the .NET ecosystem (.NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET 5/6/7/8+).
    • Common Language Runtime (CLR) - JIT Compilation, Garbage Collection.
    • Base Class Library (BCL).
    • Setting up a C# development environment (Visual Studio, VS Code with C# extensions, .NET SDK).
  • Your First C# Program:
    • Writing and compiling "Hello, World!" in C#.
    • Understanding the basic program structure (using directives, namespace, class, Main method).
    • Using System.Console.WriteLine() for output.
    • Understanding namespaces.
  • Data Types and Variables:
    • Value Types (int, float, double, bool, char, structs, enums).
    • Reference Types (string, classes, interfaces, delegates, arrays).
    • Understanding the difference between value and reference types.
    • Declaring and initializing variables.
    • Implicitly typed variables (var).
    • Constants (const).
  • Operators:
    • Arithmetic operators.
    • Assignment operators.
    • Comparison operators.
    • Logical operators.
    • Bitwise operators.
    • Conditional operator (?:).
    • Null-coalescing operator (??).
    • Null-conditional operator (?., ?[]).
  • Input and Output (Console I/O):
    • Using System.Console.ReadLine() for input.
    • Using System.Console.Write() and System.Console.WriteLine() for output.
    • String formatting (composite formatting, interpolated strings - $"").
  • Control Flow:
    • Conditional statements (if, else if, else).
    • Switch statement (with pattern matching - C# 7+).
    • Loops (for, while, do-while, foreach).
    • Break and continue statements.
  • Arrays:
    • Declaring and initializing arrays.
    • Single-dimensional arrays.
    • Multi-dimensional arrays.
    • Jagged arrays.
    • Accessing array elements.
    • Using foreach with arrays.

Section 2: Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in C#

  • Introduction to OOP Concepts:
    • Encapsulation.
    • Abstraction.
    • Inheritance.
    • Polymorphism.
  • Classes and Objects:
    • Defining a class (members: fields, properties, methods, events).
    • Creating objects (instances of a class).
    • Access modifiers (public, private, protected, internal, protected internal, private protected).
    • Understanding the role of access modifiers in encapsulation.
  • Fields and Properties:
    • Understanding fields (data members).
    • Understanding properties (providing controlled access to fields - getters and setters).
    • Auto-implemented properties.
    • Expression-bodied properties (C# 6+).
  • Methods:
    • Defining and calling methods.
    • Method parameters (value parameters, reference parameters - ref, output parameters - out, parameter arrays - params).
    • Optional parameters and named arguments (C# 4+).
    • Method overloading.
    • Expression-bodied methods (C# 6+).
  • Constructors and Destructors:
    • Understanding constructors (initializing objects).
    • Default constructor.
    • Parameterized constructors.
    • Constructor chaining (using this and base).
    • Static constructors.
    • Understanding destructors (finalizers - cleanup before garbage collection).
    • The role of garbage collection.
  • Inheritance:
    • Understanding inheritance (creating new classes from existing ones).
    • Base classes and derived classes.
    • Using the base keyword.
    • Understanding the inheritance hierarchy.
    • Single inheritance (C# does not support multiple inheritance of classes).
    • Sealed classes and methods.
  • Polymorphism:
    • Understanding polymorphism ("many forms").
    • Method overloading (compile-time polymorphism).
    • Method overriding (runtime polymorphism).
    • Using the virtual, override, and new keywords.
  • Abstract Classes and Abstract Members:
    • Understanding abstract classes (cannot be instantiated).
    • Abstract methods and properties (must be implemented by derived classes).
  • Interfaces:
    • Understanding interfaces (defining a contract).
    • Implementing interfaces.
    • Explicit interface implementation.
    • Default interface methods (C# 8+).
    • Interfaces vs. Abstract Classes.
  • Structs:
    • Understanding structs (value types).
    • Differences between classes and structs.
    • Defining and using structs.
  • Enums:
    • Understanding enums (sets of named constants).
    • Defining and using enums.
    • Working with enum values.

Section 3: Advanced C# Concepts

  • Delegates:
    • Understanding delegates (type-safe function pointers).
    • Declaring and using delegates.
    • Multicast delegates.
  • Events:
    • Understanding events (a way for objects to notify other objects of something that has happened).
    • Declaring and raising events.
    • Subscribing to and unsubscribing from events.
    • Using the EventHandler delegate.
  • Exceptions and Exception Handling:
    • Understanding exceptions (handling runtime errors).
    • try, catch, and finally blocks.
    • Throwing exceptions.
    • Custom exceptions.
    • The exception hierarchy.
    • Using using statements with disposable resources (IDisposable).
  • Generics:
    • Understanding generics (writing type-safe and reusable code).
    • Generic classes.
    • Generic methods.
    • Generic interfaces.
    • Generic constraints.
  • Collections and Data Structures:
    • Introduction to the .NET Collection Hierarchy.
    • Working with common collections:
      • System.Collections.Generic.List.
      • System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary.
      • System.Collections.Generic.HashSet.
      • System.Collections.Generic.Queue.
      • System.Collections.Generic.Stack.
    • Understanding the performance characteristics of different collections.
  • LINQ (Language Integrated Query):
    • Introduction to LINQ (querying data from various sources).
    • LINQ to Objects.
    • Query syntax vs. Method syntax.
    • Common LINQ operations (filtering, sorting, projecting, grouping, joining).
    • Deferred execution.
  • Extension Methods:
    • Understanding extension methods (adding methods to existing types without modifying them).
    • Defining and using extension methods.
  • Anonymous Types:
    • Understanding anonymous types (implicitly typed objects with properties).
    • Using anonymous types, often with LINQ.
  • Nullable Types:
    • Understanding nullable value types (int?, bool?).
    • Using the null-coalescing (??) and null-conditional (?.) operators.
    • Nullable reference types (C# 8+).
  • Asynchronous Programming (Async/Await):
    • Understanding the need for asynchronous programming.
    • Introduction to the Task-based Asynchronous Pattern (TAP).
    • Using the async and await keywords.
    • Working with Task and Task.
    • Handling exceptions in async methods.
  • Multithreading and Concurrency:
    • Introduction to threads.
    • Using the System.Threading namespace.
    • Synchronization primitives (lock, Mutex, Semaphore).
    • Understanding race conditions and deadlocks.
    • Using the Task Parallel Library (TPL) - Parallel.For, Parallel.ForEach.
  • File Handling and Streams:
    • Working with files and directories (System.IO).
    • Reading from and writing to text files (StreamReader, StreamWriter).
    • Reading from and writing to binary files (BinaryReader, BinaryWriter).
    • Using streams.
  • Serialization and Deserialization:
    • Understanding serialization (converting an object to a stream of bytes).
    • Understanding deserialization (converting a stream of bytes back to an object).
    • Using JSON serialization (System.Text.Json - .NET Core+).
    • Using XML serialization (System.Xml.Serialization).
  • Reflection:
    • Understanding reflection (examining and modifying metadata of types at runtime).
    • Using the System.Reflection namespace.
  • Attributes:
    • Understanding attributes (adding declarative information to code).
    • Using built-in attributes.
    • Creating custom attributes.
  • Pointers and Unsafe Code (Optional):
    • Understanding when and why to use unsafe code.
    • Using pointers.
    • The fixed keyword.

Section 4: Modern C# and .NET Features

  • Tuples (C# 7+):
    • Understanding tuples (grouping multiple values).
    • Value tuples.
    • Tuple deconstruction.
  • Pattern Matching (C# 7+):
    • Understanding pattern matching (testing if an object has a certain shape).
    • is expressions with patterns.
    • switch statements with patterns.
    • Property patterns, Positional patterns, Var patterns, Constant patterns.
  • Local Functions (C# 7+):
    • Understanding local functions (functions defined inside other functions).
    • Capturing variables from the enclosing scope.
  • Expression-Bodied Members (C# 6+):
    • Using expression bodies for methods, properties, constructors, etc.
  • Null-Coalescing Assignment Operator (??= - C# 8+).
  • using Declarations (C# 8+).
  • Async Streams (IAsyncEnumerable - C# 8+).
  • Indices and Ranges (C# 8+).
  • Target-Typed new Expressions (C# 9+).
  • Init-only Setters (C# 9+).
  • Records (C# 9+):
    • Understanding records (simplified syntax for creating immutable types).
    • Positional records, nominal records.
    • with expressions.
  • Top-Level Statements (C# 9+).
  • Global using Directives (C# 10+).
  • File-Scoped Namespaces (C# 10+).
  • const Interpolated Strings (C# 10+).
  • Pattern Matching Enhancements (various C# versions).
  • Primary Constructors (C# 12+).
  • Collection Expressions (C# 12+).

Section 5: Practical Application and Development

  • Understanding the .NET Build Process.
  • Using NuGet Package Manager.
  • Debugging C# Applications.
  • Unit Testing in C# (e.g., NUnit, xUnit, MSTest).
  • Logging in C#.
  • Configuration Management.
  • Dependency Injection.
  • Introduction to Common .NET Workloads:
    • Web Development: ASP.NET Core (MVC, Razor Pages, Blazor, Web APIs).
    • Desktop Development: WPF, Windows Forms, MAUI.
    • Mobile Development: MAUI.
    • Game Development: Unity (using C#).
    • Cloud Development: Azure Functions, Azure App Services.
    • Cross-Platform Development: .NET on Linux, macOS, Docker.
  • Working with Databases:
    • ADO.NET.
    • Entity Framework Core (ORM).
  • Design Patterns in C#.
  • Code Style and Best Practices.
  • Performance Optimization in C#.
  • Security Considerations in C#.

Section 6: Further Exploration and Specialization

  • Exploring Specific .NET Libraries and Frameworks.
  • Advanced LINQ Topics.
  • Metaprogramming with C# (e.g., Source Generators - C# 9+).
  • Interoperability with other languages (P/Invoke).
  • Contributing to Open Source .NET Projects (Optional).
  • Keeping up with the latest C# and .NET versions.
  • Practice and Building Projects.