Introduction to C#

This C# tutorial series is designed for novices and professionals. It will take you from very basics to advance concepts related to C# programming. If you are having basic knowledge of C language/C++ programming, then learning C# will become easy and fun for you as it directly related to C, C++, and Java. Let's start with some basics!

What is Object-oriented programming?

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm which collects information into single entities called objects. Each object is an instance of a class. The objects represent data, in the form of fields of different datatypes and have functions to operate on the data fields or to perform any specific operation. The OOP concept was developed by Alan Kay in the 1970s and the first language with the primary features of an object-oriented language accepted was Simula (1967).

In the later part of this tutorial, we will cover the concept of classes in C# and objects in details as C# programming language is an object oriented programming language.

What is C#?

C# is an easy to learn, new-age, high-level, object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft (Anders Hejlsberg is the creator) and approved by the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) and International Standards Organization (ISO). It is Microsoft's premier language for .NET development and runs on the .NET framework.

C# is designed for Common Language Infrastructure (CLI). CLI is a specification that consists of executable code and runtime environment.

Types of C# Applications

Different types of applications that can be developed using C# are:

1. Web applications

2. Window applications

3. Distributed applications

4. Web service applications

5. Database programs

6. Hardware-level programming

Programming Features of C#

Following are some of the most prominent features of C# programming language:

1. Automatic Garbage Collection

2. Standard Libraries

3. Properties and Events

4. Delegates and Event Management

5. Easy to use Generics

6. Multi-threading is supported

7. Indexers

8. LINQ and Lambda Expressions

Some real-time examples of C#

1. It is used to create applications such as Stocks, maintaining deliveries, etc.

2. It is used for Machine Learning applications via ML.NET framework

3. It is widely-used to create games using the Unity Game Engine.

4. It is used in mobile application development (examples: Slack, Pinterest, Tableau, Cinemark, etc. are written in C# language)

5. Windows client applications like Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Skype, etc. are based on C# language and .NET framework

6. Companies like Amazon, Amgen, Peraton, etc. use C# language for developing various components of their applications.

You may also like:

• C# Static and Dynamic Polymorphism

• C# Single, Hierarchal, and Multilevel Inheritance

• Control Statements in C# - if, else, switch etc

• C# Operators and Reserved Keywords