Sept. 17, 2010, 11:01 p.m.
posted by vendetta
Installing a C# Development Environment
Before you can begin programming in C#, you must have a C# development environment—a system for creating, compiling, and debugging C# programs. Unfortunately, one of the most stringent requirements for .NET application development is the designation of OS platform to use for development. Currently, .NET requires one of the following systems for full C# program development:
-
Windows NT 4 Workstation or Server (with Service Pack 6a)
-
Windows 2000 Professional or Server (with Service Pack 2)
-
Windows XP Home Edition or Professional
Programmers without access to any of these systems will not be able to develop C# programs—but there is a solution to this, as will be explained later in the C# Runtime Environment section.
C# Development Options
Microsoft offers three development environments for C# developers. Each environment has its own set of pros and cons. This section describes these C# development environments and how they differ.
-
Visual Studio .NET
-
Visual C# .NET
-
.NET Framework software development kit (SDK)
Note All of the example programs in this book can be compiled in any of the .NET development environments. To simplify things, this book’s examples are shown using the .NET Framework command-line compiler. This ensures that anyone can use the examples, no matter which development environment you are using.
Visual Studio .NET
The Visual Studio .NET package is the flagship development product for Microsoft .NET. This Integrated Development Environment (IDE) offers many features to assist your Windows application programming tasks. Microsoft describes the Visual Studio package as “a rapid application development (RAD) tool, enabling programmers to quickly code and debug .NET applications.” It includes a complete graphical environment for creating Windows forms, typing code, and debugging programs. In addition to containing a fancy development environment, Visual Studio also supports all the .NET programming languages—Visual Basic .NET, Visual C++ .NET, Visual J# .NET, and Visual C# .NET. If you are looking at developing with all of the .NET languages, the Visual Studio package is well worth the extra expense.
In Visual Studio .NET, applications can be created in a graphical environment using any of the four programming languages. The IDE provides separate windows for developing code and for visually laying out Window controls for the application, including text boxes, list boxes, buttons, and scrollbars. Visual Studio .NET offers an easy way to create, test, and debug .NET applications, whether they are stand-alone Windows applications or ASP.NET web pages.
There are several package levels for Visual Studio .NET, depending on your development requirements (and budget). Each package level includes progressively more development functionality, and also comes with a progressively higher price tag.
Visual C# .NET
If you are interested only in programming using the C# language, you do not have to buy the full Visual Studio .NET package. Instead, Microsoft offers the Visual C# .NET package, which has the same functionality of Visual Studio .NET but supports only the C# language. This is a much less expensive method of development for C# programmers. Similar to Visual Studio, the Visual C# package also comes in various package levels, from a bare-bones student version to a full-featured professional developer version. Before you choose this version, however, be aware that it does not include some of the advanced features, such as automatic database support, that are in Visual Studio .NET.
Both the Visual Studio and C# development options require that you purchase a commercial software development package from Microsoft. Both are excellent software development packages that can save you hours of time in creating Windows and debugging applications. However, many first-time and hobbyist programmers might find the cost of these IDE packages too great.
.NET Framework SDK
If you are looking for an inexpensive way to get started with C# programming, the .NET Framework SDK is the way to go. The SDK is available free from Microsoft and contains command-line tools for compiling and debugging .NET programs, including C#. This package allows you to get the feel for developing C# applications without investing in an expensive IDE development environment. You can obtain the .NET Framework SDK package by downloading the complete package via Microsoft’s .NET Framework website, or by ordering a minimal-cost CD directly from Microsoft. (See the upcoming section for website information.)
If you are completely new to C#, you may want to start by downloading the .NET Framework SDK and giving it a try. It is often said that the best way to learn a programming language is to hand-code all your programs and suffer the consequences—I think this is especially true of network programming. As you progress in your C# programming skills, you can migrate to the Visual C# .NET package for creating Windows forms and debugging complex applications. To get you started, the following section describes how to download and install the .NET Framework SDK.
Downloading the .NET Framework SDK
At the time of this writing, the current version of the .NET Framework SDK is release 1. As mentioned, it can be downloaded free or you can purchase a CD from Microsoft. If you choose to download the package from Microsoft, there are two methods that can be used. Because the SDK is so large (131MB), you can either download it in one piece, or as ten smaller (13.1MB) packages that can be assembled after the download. Both methods require the same amount of data to be downloaded, but people with slower connections may want the convenience of downloading the individual pieces one at a time.
The .NET Framework website URL is currently www.microsoft.com/netframework/. As is common on the Web, this location may change by the time you read this. If so, just go to the Microsoft home page (www.microsoft.com) and look for the .NET stuff.
The .NET Framework site contains lots of information about the SDK, including a link to the separate software download page. The download page shows the various options for downloading the software. The single-file download is a file named setup.exe, which can be downloaded to your workstation or server for installation. If you select the multipart download option, you must download all of the split SDK files, along with the separate setup.bat file, to a temporary directory. After all of the files are downloaded, you must run the setup.bat file. This file creates the master setup.exe file from all of the SDK split files.
In either download scenario, the resulting file will be a setup.exe file. You must run this file to install the .NET Framework SDK package. The following section describes this process.
Installing the .NET Framework SDK
Once the setup.exe file is obtained, either by single download, multipart download, or CD, you can install the .NET Framework SDK. You start the installation by running the setup.exe file from a DOS command prompt, or by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer.
When the installation starts, a dialog box asks if you want to install the .NET Framework SDK. Click the Yes button to start the installation.
The .NET installation process first extracts the working installation files into a temporary directory, pointed to by the TEMP environment variable. This allows you to place the temporary working files on a drive other than the system drive (usually C:\) if you are tight on disk space. After the working files are extracted, the installation updates the Windows installer package on the workstation and then launches Windows installer with the .NET Framework installation.
After the opening screen and a license agreement screen, you are asked which components of the SDK package you want installed. This is shown in Figure.
If you are tight on disk space, you can prevent the SDK samples from being loaded on the workstation by deselecting the SDK Samples checkbox. After the Install Options screen, the program asks where to install the SDK components. This only applies to some of the components, as the DLLs and executable files used by the .NET Framework must be installed on the system drive (usually C:\). After you select the installation destination, the installation begins. When it’s completed, you should be ready to compile and run C# programs.
| Tip |
It’’s a good idea to check out the Microsoft .NET Framework home page occasionally to see if new service packs are released, and then to install them as directed. |