Getting Started with .NET

A complete guide to getting started with .NET and C# application development

Getting Started with .NET

.NET is an open-source development platform built by Microsoft. With .NET, you can build all kinds of applications: web, mobile, desktop, cloud, gaming, IoT, and more.

What is .NET?

.NET (pronounced “dot net”) is:

• A framework for building applications
• A runtime for running applications
• An ecosystem encompassing libraries, tools, and community

.NET Versions

Recommendation: Use .NET 8 for new projects. It’s the latest LTS release with support through 2026.

Installing the .NET SDK

Windows

1. Download the .NET SDK from dotnet.microsoft.com
2. Run the installer
3. Restart your terminal/command prompt

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install dotnet-sdk

# Or download from the official website

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Add the Microsoft repository
wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/22.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb
sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
rm packages-microsoft-prod.deb

# Install the SDK
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0

Verify the Installation

# Check .NET version
dotnet --version

# View detailed information
dotnet --info

Your First Project

Let’s build a simple “Hello World” application.

1. Create a New Project

# Create the project folder
mkdir hello-dotnet
cd hello-dotnet

# Create a console project
dotnet new console

2. Project Structure

hello-dotnet/
├── hello-dotnet.csproj    # Project file
├── Program.cs             # Main code
└── obj/                   # Build artifacts

3. Look at the Code

Open Program.cs:

// Program.cs - .NET 8 with top-level statements
Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");

Simple, right? In .NET 8, you don’t need boilerplate like namespace and a Main() method for simple programs.

4. Run the Application

dotnet run

Output:

Hello, World!

C# Basics

C# is the primary language for .NET. Here are some fundamentals:

Variables and Types

// Variable declarations
string name = "Anjar";
int age = 25;
double height = 175.5;
bool active = true;

// Using var (type inference)
var city = "Jakarta";  // automatically becomes string
var year = 2024;       // automatically becomes int

String Interpolation

string name = "Anjar";
int age = 25;

// Old way (concatenation)
Console.WriteLine("Name: " + name + ", Age: " + age);

// Modern way (interpolation) — much more readable!
Console.WriteLine($"Name: {name}, Age: {age}");

Collections

// Array
string[] fruits = { "Apple", "Orange", "Mango" };

// List (dynamic size)
List<string> hobbies = new List<string> { "Coding", "Gaming" };
hobbies.Add("Reading");

// Dictionary
Dictionary<string, int> grades = new Dictionary<string, int>
{
    { "Math", 90 },
    { "English", 85 }
};

Loops

// For loop
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Iteration {i}");
}

// Foreach
foreach (var item in fruits)
{
    Console.WriteLine(item);
}

// While
int counter = 0;
while (counter < 3)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Counter: {counter}");
    counter++;
}

Recommended Tools

IDE / Editor

1. Visual Studio 2022 (Windows/Mac) — Full-featured IDE, free for personal/small teams
2. VS Code — Lightweight, cross-platform, with the C# Dev Kit extension
3. JetBrains Rider — Powerful, paid, cross-platform

VS Code Extensions

# Install C# Dev Kit
code --install-extension ms-dotnettools.csdevkit

Next Steps

Once you’ve got the basics down, continue with:

1. C# Basics — Deeper dive into language syntax and features
2. ASP.NET Core — Building web applications
3. Entity Framework — Database access

Resources

• Official .NET Documentation
• C# Documentation
• .NET YouTube Channel

Congratulations! You’ve taken your first steps with .NET. In the next article, we’ll dive deeper into C# features.