30-10-2012, 04:37 PM
.NET Tutorial for Beginners
dotnet tutorial for beginners.pdf (Size: 1.96 MB / Downloads: 23)
Tracing the .NET History
Sometime in the July 2000, Microsoft announced a whole new software development
framework for Windows called .NET in the Professional Developer Conference (PDC).
Microsoft also released PDC version of the software for the developers to test. After
initial testing and feedback Beta 1 of .NET was announced. Beta 1 of the .NET itself got
lot of attention from the developer community. When Microsoft announced Beta 2, it
incorporated many changes suggested by the community and internals into the software.
The overall ‘Beta’ phase lasted for more than 1 ½ years. Finally, in March 2002
Microsoft released final version of the .NET framework.
One thing to be noted here is the change in approach of Microsoft while releasing this
new platform. Unlike other software where generally only a handful people are involved
in beta testing, .NET was thrown open to community for testing in it’s every pre-release
version. This is one of the reasons why it created so many waves of excitement within the
community and industry as well.
Microsoft has put in great efforts in this new platform. In fact Microsoft says that its
future depends on success of .NET. The development of .NET is such an important event
that Microsoft considers it equivalent to transition from DOS to Windows. All the future
development – including new and version upgrades of existing products – will revolve
around .NET. So, if you want to be at the forefront of Microsoft Technologies, you
should be knowing .NET!
Now, that we know about brief history of .NET let us see what .NET has to offer.
1.2 Flavors of .NET
Contrary to general belief .NET is not a single technology. Rather it is a set of
technologies that work together seamlessly to solve your business problems. The
following sections will give you insight into various flavors and tools of .NET and what
kind of applications you can develop.
• What type of applications can I develop?
When you hear the name .NET, it gives a feeling that it is something to do only
with internet or networked applications. Even though it is true that .NET provides
solid foundation for developing such applications it is possible to create many
other types of applications. Following list will give you an idea about various
types of application that we can develop on .NET.
1. ASP.NET Web applications: These include dynamic and data driven browser
based applications.
2. Windows Form based applications: These refer to traditional rich client
applications.
3. Console applications: These refer to traditional DOS kind of applications like
batch scripts.
4. Component Libraries: This refers to components that typically encapsulate
some business logic.
5. Windows Custom Controls: As with traditional ActiveX controls, you can
develop your own windows controls.
6. Web Custom Controls: The concept of custom controls can be extended to
web applications allowing code reuse and modularization.
7. Web services: They are “web callable” functionality available via industry
standards like HTTP, XML and SOAP.
8. Windows Services: They refer to applications that run as services in the
background. They can be configured to start automatically when the system
boots up.
As you can clearly see, .NET is not just for creating web application but for
almost all kinds of applications that you find under Windows.
• .NET Framework SDK
You can develop such varied types of applications. That’s fine. But how? As with
most of the programming languages, .NET has a complete Software Development
Kit (SDK) - more commonly referred to as .NET Framework SDK - that
provides classes, interfaces and language compilers necessary to program for
.NET. Additionally it contains excellent documentation and Quick Start tutorials
that help you learn .NET technologies with ease. Good news is that - .NET
Framework SDK is available FREE of cost. You can download it from the MSDN
web site. This means that if you have machine with .NET Framework installed
and a text editor such as Notepad then you can start developing for .NET right
now!
You can download entire .NET Framework SDK (approx 131 Mb) from MSDN
web site at
• Development Tools
If you are developing applications that require speedy delivery to your customers
and features like integration with some version control software then simple
Notepad may not serve your purpose. In such cases you require some Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) that allows for Rapid Action Development
(RAD). The new Visual Studio.NET is such an IDE. VS.NET is a powerful and
flexible IDE that makes developing .NET applications a breeze. Some of the
features of VS.NET that make you more productive are:
- Drag and Drop design
- IntelliSense features
- Syntax highlighting and auto-syntax checking
- Excellent debugging tools
- Integration with version control software such as Visual Source Safe (VSS)
- Easy project management
Note that when you install Visual Studio.NET, .NET Framework is automatically
installed on the machine.
• Visual Studio.NET Editions
Visual Studio.NET comes in different editions. You can select edition appropriate
for the kind of development you are doing. Following editions of VS.NET are
available:
- Professional
- Enterprise Developer
- Enterprise Architect
Visual Studio .NET Professional edition offers a development tool for
creating various types of applications mentioned previously. Developers can
use Professional edition to build Internet and Develop applications quickly
and create solutions that span any device and integrate with any platform.
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer (VSED) edition contains all the
features of Professional edition plus has additional capabilities for enterprise
development. The features include things such as a collaborative team
development, Third party tool integration for building XML Web services and
built-in project templates with architectural guidelines and spanning
comprehensive project life-cycle.
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect (VSEA) edition contains all the
features of Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer edition and additionally
includes capabilities for designing, specifying, and communicating application
architecture and functionality. The additional features include Visual designer
for XML Web services, Unified Modeling Language (UML) support and
enterprise templates for development guidelines and policies.