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  • C# 6 and .NET Core 1.0
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C# 6 and .NET Core 1.0

C# 6 and .NET Core 1.0

3.8 (11)
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C# 6 and .NET Core 1.0

C# 6 and .NET Core 1.0

3.8 (11)

Overview of this book

With the release of .NET Core 1.0, you can now create applications for Mac OS X and Linux, as well as Windows, using the development tools you know and love. C# 6 and .NET Core 1.0 has been divided into three high-impact sections to help start putting these new features to work. First, we'll run you through the basics of C#, as well as object-orient programming, before taking a quick tour through the latest features of C# 6 such as string interpolation for easier variable value output, exception filtering, and how to perform static class imports. We'll also cover both the full-feature, mature .NET Framework and the new, cross-platform .NET Core. After quickly taking you through C# and how .NET works, we'll dive into the internals of the .NET class libraries, covering topics such as performance, monitoring, debugging, internationalization, serialization, and encryption. We'll look at Entity Framework Core 1.0 and how to develop Code-First entity data models, as well as how to use LINQ to query and manipulate that data. The final section will demonstrate the major types of applications that you can build and deploy cross-device and cross-platform. In this section, we'll cover Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps, web applications, and web services. Lastly, we'll help you build a complete application that can be hosted on all of today's most popular platforms, including Linux and Docker. By the end of the book, you'll be armed with all the knowledge you need to build modern, cross-platform applications using C# and .NET Core.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
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Preface
Preface
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Free Chapter
1
1. Hello, C#! Welcome, .NET Core!
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1. Hello, C#! Welcome, .NET Core!
Setting up your development environment
Understanding .NET Framework, .NET Core, and .NET Native
Writing and compiling code using the Developer Command Prompt
Writing and compiling code using Microsoft Visual Studio 2015
Targeting the .NET Core
Managing source code with GitHub
Practicing and exploring
Summary
2
2. Speaking C#
2. Speaking C#
Understanding C# basics
Declaring variables
Building console applications
Operating on variables
Practicing and exploring
Summary
3
3. Controlling the Flow, Converting Types, and Handling Exceptions
3. Controlling the Flow, Converting Types, and Handling Exceptions
Selection statements
Iteration statements
Casting and converting between types
Handling exceptions
Checking for overflow
Looking for help
Practice and explore
Summary
4
4. Using Common .NET Types
4. Using Common .NET Types
Using assemblies and namespaces
Storing and manipulating text
Storing data with collections
Practicing and exploring
Summary
5
5. Using Specialized .NET Types
5. Using Specialized .NET Types
Debugging and diagnostics
Unit testing an application
Internationalizing an application
Interoperating with unmanaged code
Practicing and exploring
Summary
6
6. Building Your Own Types with Object-Oriented Programming
6. Building Your Own Types with Object-Oriented Programming
Talking about OOP
Building class libraries
Storing data with fields
Writing and calling methods
Controlling access with properties and indexers
Simplifying methods with operators
Raising and handling events
Practicing and exploring
Summary
7
7. Implementing Interfaces and Inheriting Classes
7. Implementing Interfaces and Inheriting Classes
Implementing interfaces
Managing memory with reference and value types
Inheriting from classes
Casting within inheritance hierarchies
Documenting your types
Inheriting and extending .NET types
Practice and explore
Summary
8
8. Working with Relational Data Using the Entity Framework
8. Working with Relational Data Using the Entity Framework
Relational Database Management Systems
Using ADO.NET
Using Entity Framework 6
Using Entity Framework Core
Practicing and exploring
Summary
9
9. Querying and Manipulating Data with LINQ
9. Querying and Manipulating Data with LINQ
Writing LINQ queries
Using multiple threads with Parallel LINQ
Creating your own LINQ extension methods
Working with LINQ to XML
Practicing and exploring
Summary
10
10. Working with Files, Streams, and Serialization
10. Working with Files, Streams, and Serialization
Managing the filesystem
Reading and writing with streams
Encoding text
Serializing object graphs
Practice and explore
Summary
11
11. Protecting Your Data and Applications
11. Protecting Your Data and Applications
Understanding the vocabulary of protection
Encrypting and decrypting data
Hashing data
Signing data
Authenticating and authorizing users
Practicing and exploring
Summary
12
12. Improving Performance and Scalability with Multitasking
12. Improving Performance and Scalability with Multitasking
Understanding processes and threads
Running tasks asynchronously
The async and await keywords
Synchronizing access to shared resources
Practicing and exploring
Summary
13
13. Building Universal Windows Platform Apps Using XAML
13. Building Universal Windows Platform Apps Using XAML
Understanding the UWP
Understanding XAML
Creating a Windows desktop application using WPF
Creating an app for the Universal Windows Platform
Using resources and templates
Data binding
Animating with storyboards
Testing in emulators
Practicing and exploring
Summary
14
14. Building Web Applications and Services Using ASP.NET Core
14. Building Web Applications and Services Using ASP.NET Core
Understanding ASP.NET Core
ASP.NET Core startup
ASP.NET Core controllers
ASP.NET Core models
ASP.NET Core views
Taking ASP.NET Core further
ASP.NET Core Web API
Practicing and exploring
Summary
15
15. Taking C# Cross-Platform
15. Taking C# Cross-Platform
Understanding cross-platform development
Installing Visual Studio Code and ASP.NET Core
Building a console application
Building cross-platform web applications using ASP.NET Core
Understanding the .NET Core command-line tools
Practicing and exploring
Summary
16
16. Building a Quiz
16. Building a Quiz
Designing the quiz application
Building the quiz solution
Running the quiz
Hosting ASP.NET Core web apps in Microsoft Azure
Practicing and exploring
Summary
17
A. Answers to the Test Your Knowledge Questions
A. Answers to the Test Your Knowledge Questions
Chapter 1 – Hello, C#! Welcome, .NET Core!
Chapter 2 – Speaking C#
Chapter 3 – Controlling the Flow, Converting Types, and Handling Exceptions
Chapter 4 – Using Common .NET Types
Chapter 5 – Using Specialized .NET Types
Chapter 6 – Building Your Own Types with Object-Oriented Programming
Chapter 7 – Implementing Interfaces and Inheriting Classes
Chapter 8 – Working with Relational Data Using the Entity Framework
Chapter 9 – Querying and Manipulating Data with LINQ
Chapter 10 – Working with Files, Streams, and Serialization
Chapter 11 – Protecting Your Data and Applications
Chapter 12 – Improving Performance and Scalability with Multitasking
Chapter 13 – Building Universal Windows Platform Apps Using XAML
Chapter 14 – Building Web Applications and Services Using ASP.NET Core
Chapter 15 – Taking C# Cross-Platform
Chapter 16 – Building a Quiz
18
B. Creating a Virtual Machine for Your Development Environment
B. Creating a Virtual Machine for Your Development Environment
Signing up for a Microsoft account
Creating a Microsoft Azure subscription
Managing your Microsoft Azure account
Creating a virtual machine
Connecting to your virtual machine using remote desktop
Supporting other platforms
Summary
19
Index
Index

Understanding .NET Framework, .NET Core, and .NET Native

.NET Framework, .NET Core, and .NET Native are related platforms for developers to build applications and services upon.

Understanding .NET Framework platform

Microsoft's .NET Framework is a development platform that includes a Common Language Runtime (CLR) that manages the execution of code and a rich library of classes for building applications.

Microsoft designed the .NET Framework to have the possibility of being cross-platform, but Microsoft put their implementation effort into making it work best with Windows.

Practically speaking, the .NET Framework is Windows-only.

Understanding the Mono project

The open source community developed a cross-platform .NET implementation named the Mono project (http://www.mono-project.com/).

Mono is cross-platform, but it fell well behind Microsoft's implementation of .NET Framework. It has found a niche as the foundation of the Xamarin mobile platform.

Understanding the .NET Core platform

Today, we live in a truly cross-platform world. Modern mobile and cloud development have made Windows a much less important operating system. So, Microsoft has been working on an effort to decouple the .NET Framework from its close ties with Windows.

While rewriting .NET to be truly cross-platform, Microsoft has taken the opportunity to refactor .NET, to remove major parts that are no longer considered "core".

This new product is branded as the .NET Core 1.0, which includes a cross-platform implementation of the CLR, known as CoreCLR , and a streamlined library of classes known as CoreFX.

Streamlining .NET

.NET Core 1.0 is much smaller than the current version of the .NET Framework because a lot has been removed.

For example, Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) can be used to build graphical user interface (GUI) applications, but they are tightly-bound to Windows, so they have been removed from the .NET Core. The latest technology for building Windows apps is the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). You will learn about it in Chapter 13, Building Universal Windows Platform Apps Using XAML.

ASP.NET Web Forms and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) are old web applications and service technologies that fewer developers choose to use today, so they have also been removed from the .NET Core. Instead, developers prefer to use ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Web API. These two technologies have been refactored and combined into a new product that runs on the .NET Core, named ASP.NET Core 1.0. You will learn about it in Chapter 14, Building Web Applications and Services Using ASP.NET Core.

The Entity Framework (EF) 6.x is an object-relational mapping technology for working with data stored in relational databases, such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. It has gained baggage over the years, so the cross-platform version has been slimmed down and named Entity Framework Core 1.0. You will learn about it in Chapter 8, Working with Relational Data Using the Entity Framework.

Some data types in .NET that are included with both the .NET Framework and the .NET Core have been simplified by removing some members. For example, in the .NET Framework, the File class has both a Close and Dispose method, and either can be used to release the file resources. In .NET Core, there is only the Dispose method. This reduces the memory footprint of the assembly and simplifies the API.

Tip

The .NET Framework 4.6 is about 200 MB. The .NET Core 1.0 is about 11 MB. Eventually, the .NET Core may grow to a similar larger size. Microsoft's goal is not to make the .NET Core smaller than the .NET Framework. The goal is to componentize .NET Core to support modern technologies and to have fewer dependencies so that deployment requires only those components that your application really needs.

The future of .NET

The .NET Core is the future of .NET, but in my opinion, we are not there yet. .NET Core 1.0 is a great start, but it will take another version or two to become as mature as the current version of the .NET Framework.

This book will focus features available in .NET Core, but will use the .NET Framework when features have not (yet) been implemented in the .NET Core.

Tip

One of the reasons we picked this cover image for this book is that you can think of .NET Core as a new dawn for .NET. The .NET Framework has become overgrown, like a dense forest, and the .NET Core is like finding a clearing or glade within it. It's a fresh start.

Understanding the .NET Native platform

Another .NET initiative is .NET Native which compiles C# code to native CPU instructions ahead-of-time (AoT) rather than using the CLR to compile IL just-in-time (JIT) to native code later.

The .NET Native compiler improves execution speed and reduces the memory footprint for applications. It supports the following:

  • UWP apps for Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Xbox One, HoloLens, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as Raspberry Pi
  • Server-side web development with ASP.NET Core 1.0
  • Console applications for use on the command line

Comparing .NET technologies

The following table summarizes and compares Microsoft's three .NET technologies:

Platform

Feature set

C# compiles to

Host OSes

.NET Framework

Mature and extensive

Intermediate Language (IL) code

Windows only

.NET Core

Brand-new and somewhat limited

Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Docker

.NET Native

Brand-new and very limited

Native code

End of Section 3
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