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It seems that MS is getting smarter. They are now offering a free compiler to would be programmers. This makes sense, as after all if you want people to create programs for your operating system you shouldn't charge them for the effort. Linux has always supplied a free compiler with their operating system. Since this file is quite large you will have to have high speed internet connection to download. There is a smaller version, which I was able to download on dialup but I eventualy updated to the full version, which required uninstalling the brief version and removal of the .Net framework 2.0. Therefore I suggest getting the full version before doing any installation. This is the link to download the ISO image from which you can create an installation DVD.
http://www.microsoft.com/express/vcsharp/
I have now been using Visual Studio 2008 for C# for over a year and except for some minor differences it seems to work as well as Visual 2005. New programs under Visual 2008 however do require an update of the .Net framework to version 3.0. The main incentive to go to this new compiler is that it allows you to keep current with operating system developments. I think MS is to be commended for making this software available free and if you have never programmed a free compiler is a real incentive to give it a try.
2008 requires .Net framework 3.0 and 3.5 so it is important to include this in any distribution. I include this distributable package (260mb) on each of my distribution disks.
This complete package is included on my demo disk including compiler ISO, .Net Framework, and tutorial. This is a lot easier for people on dialup as this material with the turorial is over 1600mb or I will send this to you on a CD for $10 s/h.
http://www.scratchprojects.com/2006/06/learning_csharp_part1_p03.php
Now that you have your first program under your belt you know how to create a form with a few tools, compile and execute the program you created. I have put together a group of simple programs each one illustrating a single concept. I suggest you download my tutorial package try the programs and compile each.
Various C# Tutorials
Through the years I have learned many programming languages. I have a preference for bare bones simple code when I am first learning a language rather than a piece of code that illustrates 20 ideas. MSDN is a good example of the confusing tutorial as their code is always bloated with irrelevant alternatives. These programs I wrote for a group of aspiring programmers 12-15 years old. Each program "cuts to the chase" and accomplishes a specific task using an absolute minimum of code. The kids are amazed when they can write six lines of code and play their MP3 files. I have also noted the addition of System.<includes> as I always had to ferret out which ones were used for what.
This is what I wish I had when I started with C#.
These downloads demonstrate some very simple C# concepts for the beginner. They were all written under the .Net Studio 2008 and require the .Net framework 3.0 and 3.5. I have now re-written these programs using .NET Visual 2008 so the resulting files are in that format rather than the format of a .Net Studio 2005 file that has been converted.