.NET Tutorials

.NET Tutorials Roadmap

Section 1: Introduction to .NET

  • What is .NET?
    • Understanding the .NET ecosystem (runtime, libraries, compilers).
    • History: .NET Framework vs. .NET Core vs. .NET 5/6/7/8 (Unified .NET).
    • Key components: CLR (Common Language Runtime), BCL (Base Class Library), JIT (Just-In-Time) Compiler, GC (Garbage Collector).
    • Cross-platform nature of modern .NET.
  • Why Learn .NET?
    • Versatility (web, desktop, mobile, cloud, IoT, AI/ML).
    • Performance.
    • Large community and ecosystem.
    • Strong tooling (Visual Studio, VS Code).
    • Open Source.
  • Choosing a Programming Language:
    • C# (most common and recommended for beginners).
    • F#.
    • Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET).
  • Setting up the Development Environment:
    • Installing the .NET SDK (Software Development Kit).
    • Installing an IDE (Integrated Development Environment):
      • Visual Studio (Windows - comprehensive).
      • Visual Studio Code (Cross-platform - lightweight and popular).
      • JetBrains Rider (Cross-platform - commercial, excellent).
    • Verifying the installation (dotnet --version).
  • Your First .NET Application:
    • Creating a simple "Hello, World!" console application using the .NET CLI (Command Line Interface).
    • Understanding the project structure (.csproj file, Program.cs).
    • Running the application (dotnet run).

Section 2: C# Fundamentals (Essential for .NET Development)

  • Variables and Data Types:
    • Primitive data types (int, float, double, bool, char, string, etc.).
    • Value types vs. Reference types.
    • Type conversion (implicit and explicit).
  • Operators:
    • Arithmetic, comparison, logical, assignment operators.
  • Control Flow:
    • Conditional statements (if, else if, else, switch).
    • Loops (for, while, do-while, foreach).
  • Arrays and Collections:
    • Single-dimensional and multi-dimensional arrays.
    • Introduction to common collection types (List<>, Dictionary<,>, HashSet<>).
  • Methods:
    • Defining and calling methods.
    • Method parameters (value, reference, output).
    • Return types.
    • Method overloading.
  • Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Concepts:
    • Classes and Objects.
    • Properties and Fields.
    • Constructors.
    • Encapsulation (access modifiers: public, private, protected, internal).
    • Inheritance (base classes, derived classes, base keyword, method overriding).
    • Polymorphism (method overriding, interfaces, abstract classes).
    • Abstraction (abstract classes and methods, interfaces).
  • Namespaces and Assemblies:
    • Organizing code with namespaces.
    • Understanding assemblies (DLLs and EXEs).
    • Using the using directive.
  • Error Handling:
    • Exceptions (try, catch, finally, throw).
    • Custom exceptions.
  • Strings and String Manipulation.
  • Working with Dates and Times.

Section 3: Intermediate .NET and C#

  • Nullable Types.
  • Enums.
  • Structs.
  • Generics:
    • Understanding the need for generics.
    • Using generic classes and methods.
    • Constraints.
  • Interfaces (Deep Dive):
    • Defining and implementing interfaces.
    • Explicit interface implementation.
    • Default interface methods (C# 8+).
  • Abstract Classes vs. Interfaces.
  • Delegates and Events:
    • Understanding delegates.
    • Publishing and subscribing to events.
  • Anonymous Methods and Lambda Expressions.
  • LINQ (Language Integrated Query):
    • Querying collections and other data sources.
    • Basic LINQ operators (Where, Select, OrderBy, GroupBy).
    • Query syntax vs. Method syntax.
  • Asynchronous Programming (async/await):
    • Understanding the need for asynchronous programming.
    • The async and await keywords.
    • Working with Task and Task<>.
    • Handling asynchronous operations.
  • File I/O and Streams.
  • Serialization (JSON, XML).

Section 4: Building Applications with .NET

  • Console Applications (More Advanced):
    • Command-line arguments.
    • Working with the console.
  • Desktop Applications (Choose one or two):
    • WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation): (Windows only, powerful UI framework).
    • WinForms (Windows Forms): (Windows only, older but still used, simpler).
    • MAUI (.NET Multi-platform App UI): (Cross-platform, for desktop and mobile).
  • Web Development with ASP.NET Core:
    • Introduction to ASP.NET Core:
      • Understanding web development concepts (HTTP, request/response).
      • ASP.NET Core architecture (Middleware, Dependency Injection).
      • Creating a basic web application.
    • Building APIs with ASP.NET Core:
      • Creating RESTful APIs.
      • Routing.
      • Controller-based vs. Minimal APIs.
      • Request and response handling.
      • Model Binding and Validation.
    • Building Web Applications with ASP.NET Core:
      • MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern.
      • Razor Pages.
      • Blazor (Server-side and WebAssembly).
    • Working with Data:
      • Introduction to Entity Framework Core (EF Core) - .NET's ORM.
      • Connecting to databases (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, etc.).
      • Migrations.
      • Querying and updating data.
    • Configuration and Options Pattern.
    • Logging.
    • Authentication and Authorization.
    • Testing ASP.NET Core applications (Unit Testing, Integration Testing).
  • Mobile Development with MAUI (.NET Multi-platform App UI):
    • Building cross-platform native UIs for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows from a single codebase.
    • XAML vs. C# UI.
    • Using platform-specific features.
  • Cross-Platform Development with Xamarin (Legacy, MAUI is the successor).

Section 5: Advanced .NET Concepts

  • Delegates, Events, and Callbacks (Deep Dive).
  • Reflection.
  • Attributes.
  • Dependency Injection (Deep Dive):
    • Understanding the principles.
    • Using the built-in DI container in .NET Core.
    • Dependency lifetimes (Singleton, Scoped, Transient).
  • Multithreading and Parallel Programming:
    • Understanding threads.
    • The Task Parallel Library (TPL).
    • Parallel loops (Parallel.For, Parallel.ForEach).
    • Synchronization primitives (locks, mutexes).
  • Garbage Collection (How the GC works).
  • Memory Management and Performance Optimization.
  • Interoperability (Calling native code, COM).
  • Metaprogramming (Expression Trees - Advanced).

Section 6: .NET in the Cloud and DevOps

  • Deploying .NET Applications:
    • Publishing .NET applications (framework-dependent vs. self-contained).
    • Deployment options (IIS, Kestrel, Docker).
  • Dockerizing .NET Applications:
    • Creating Dockerfiles for .NET applications.
    • Building and running .NET containers.
    • Multi-stage builds for smaller images.
  • Cloud Integration:
    • Introduction to cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP).
    • Deploying .NET applications to the cloud (App Services, EC2, Cloud Run, etc.).
    • Serverless .NET (Azure Functions, AWS Lambda).
    • Using cloud services with .NET (Databases, Storage, Messaging).
  • CI/CD for .NET Applications:
    • Integrating .NET builds and tests into CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI).

Section 7: Ecosystem and Specialized Areas (Choose based on interest)

  • Unit Testing Frameworks:
    • xUnit.net, NUnit, MSTest.
    • Mocking frameworks (Moq, NSubstitute).
  • Logging Frameworks:
    • Serilog, NLog.
  • Messaging Systems:
    • RabbitMQ, Kafka, Azure Service Bus, AWS SQS.
    • Using libraries like MassTransit or Rebus.
  • Caching:
    • In-memory caching.
    • Distributed caching (Redis, Memcached).
  • Microservices Architecture with .NET.
  • gRPC with .NET.
  • SignalR for Real-time Applications.
  • AI/ML with ML.NET.
  • Game Development with Unity (uses C#).
  • IoT Development with .NET.

Section 8: Staying Updated and Community

  • Following the .NET Blog and Release Notes.
  • Exploring NuGet Packages (the .NET package manager).
  • Contributing to Open Source .NET Projects.
  • Attending Conferences and Meetups.
  • Engaging with the .NET Community (forums, Stack Overflow, Discord).