The Little C# Book

The Little C# Book is a compact guide for programmers looking to quickly get up to speed with C#. Unlike longer, more traditional programming books, this one is designed to be short and to the point, helping you learn the essentials without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail.

Inside, you'll find:

• A guide to getting started, including steps for installing the .NET SDK on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• An overview of C# language basics, from its C-like syntax to concepts like static typing, exception handling and garbage collection.
• Fundamental object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts such as encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.
• Common collections and LINQ (Language Integrated Query) for filtering and working with data collections.
• A look at concurrency and the use of Threads, Tasks and async/await to write concurrent code.
• Lots more.....

Break out your code editor, and happy coding!

-- Kenneth

Contents

Introduction

1. Getting Started
   1. Linux and MacOS
   2. Windows
   3. Check Your Install
   4. Code Editor
   5. Running Your First Program
2. Language Basics
   1. C-Like Syntax
   2. Statically Typed
   3. Compiling
   4. Assemblies
   5. Variables
   6. Reference and Value Types
   7. Declarations
   8. Variable Initialization
   9. Type Inference
   10. Garbage Collection
   11. Skeleton C# Program
   12. Namespaces
   13. Using
   14. Global Using
   15. Namespace Conflicts
   16. Control Flow
   17. If-Statement
   18. Switch-Statement
   19. Loops
   20. Enumerations
   21. Methods (aka Functions)
       1. Return Values
       2. Tuples
   22. Parameters
       1. Optional Parameters
       2. Named Parameters
       3. The out and ref Modifiers
   23. Delegates
   24. Anonymous Methods
   25. Lambda Expressions
   26. Exception Handling
       1. Exception Filtering
   27. Generics
   28. Chapter Summary
3. Object-Orientated Programming
   1. Classes
      1. Constructors
      2. this
      3. Instance Methods
      4. Static Classes and Methods
   2. Encapsulation - Hiding Our Class Internals
   3. Properties
      1. Auto-Implemented Properties
      2. Object Initializers
      3. init Properties
   4. Interfaces
   5. Inheritance (and a little about Polymorphism)
   6. Abstract Classes
   7. Object
   8. Polymorphism
   9. Protected Access Modifier
   10. Extension Methods
   11. Structures
   12. Records
   13. Chapter Summary
4. Collections of Things
   1. Arrays
   2. List
   3. Dictionary<K,V>
   4. Collection Expressions & The Spread Operator
   5. IEnumerable
      1. IEnumerable In Practice
   6. Read-Only Collections
   7. Language Integrated Query (LINQ)
      1. LINQ Extension Methods
      2. Projections
      3. Select
      4. SelectMany
      5. Filtering
      6. Where
      7. First & FirstOrDefault
      8. Single & SingleOrDefault
      9. Skip & Take
      10. Quantifier Methods
      11. Aggregate Operators
      12. Deferred Execution
   8. Chapter Summary
5. Concurrency
   1. Threads
   2. Tasks
   3. async/await
   4. Exception Handling
   5. Continuations
   6. Cancelling Tasks
   7. Task Extensions
   8. Synchronization
   9. Sharing Data
   10. Chapter Summary
6. Odds and Ends
   1. Pattern Matching
   2. Nullable Types
   3. Null References - The Billion-Dollar Mistake
   4. Null Coalescing Operator ??
   5. using
   6. Chapter Summary
7. Conclusion