C# Tutorial Series - Part 1: Visual Studio & The .NET Framework

In this tutorial, (Part 1 of the C# Tutorial Series), we will go over the installation of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Visual Studio, as well as a general overview the .NET Framework.


Although there are other many other IDEs that we can utilize to create C# applications (such as SharpDevelop, for example), we'll use Microsoft's Visual Studio in this tutorial series for both consistency of the tutorial and the utilites that Visual Studio brings.

Step 1 - Downloading the Visual Studio Express IDE (Free): 

Go to this link and scroll down to "Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Desktop" (Direct Installer) and download it. Alternatively, you can download the .ISO and burn the .ISO to a CD.

After 30 days, Visual Studio Express 2012 will require a FREE registration key from Microsoft which you will be prompted for after the 30 days are over. This registration key is FREE and will allow you to use Visual Studio 2012 Express for free indefinitely.

If you'd like, you can also purchase Visual Studio 2012 Professional or visit dreamspark.com if you are a student at an accredited school that has bought a Microsoft software license to download Visual Studio Professional 2012 for free.

Step 2 - Installing Visual Studio:

Either use the Direct Installer than you downloaded, or load the CD that you burned into your CD/DVD-Drive and install Visual Studio.

Leave all check-boxes ticked (as the tutorial series goes on, we will be using most, if not all of these features).

When you are prompted to select a development setting, please choose C# (If you didn't do this, don't worry! We'll fix it in Step 3).

You may be prompted to restart your computer -- please do so.

Step 3 - Setting-Up Visual Studio:

Once Visual Studio 2012 has been installed, there are a few things we need to do before we can begin creating applications.

If you did not select Visual C# in the previous step when prompted for a development setting, in the top toolbar:
1) Go to TOOLS > IMPORT AND EXPORT SETTINGS > RESET ALL SETTINGS > NEXT > NEXT > VISUAL C# DEVELOPMENT SETTINGS > FINISH.

Now that our development environment is set up, we can spend some time customizing our IDE, in the top toolbar:
2) Go to TOOLS > OPTIONS > ENVIRONMENT > GENERAL > Pick a Color Theme (Light/Dark) and decide on which one you prefer. Once finished, click > OK.

Step 4 - Getting To Know Visual Studio:

As we progress through the tutorial series, Visual Studio's IDE and its' utilities will be explained in more detail. For now, the next lesson we will create our first application in C# and go over how to organize a simple project.

The .NET Framework (Overview):

The .NET Framework is a framework, as the name suggests, to build our applications on top of. As we work through the tutorials, we will go over this in a lot more depth. For now, just understand that the .NET Framework is the foundation for all applications that we create.

NEXT LESSON: [Part 2 - "Hello World"] 

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