|
First of all, you need to install a C# compiler. You can either use a
command line compiler available from Microsoft or third party compiler
kit developed by Mono. Microsoft’s C# compiler is widely used by many
developers as the Mono compiler kit is not yet fully developed. In
addition to this you can also build C# applications with Visual C# .NET.
It is a robust development tool used for developing all kinds of C#
applications.
Is it necessary to install Visual C# .NET to build C#
applications?
Not necessary. A command line compiler is
sufficient to learn C#. Visual C# .NET is only used to simplify the
development process.
Microsoft’s C# compiler is available in the form of a package
called Software Development Kit (SDK). A latest version of this kit can
be downloaded by
clicking here. You will also find this kit along with many
programming magazine CD’s or from popular C# books such as Sams Teach
Yourself the C# language in 21 Days.
After the kit has been downloaded, you have to install it. The
installation process normally takes between 15-30 minutes depending upon
the speed of your computer and is self explanatory. The setup will
automatically register the required environment variables and hence you
can straight away start programming with C# after the completion of its
installation.
Is it necessary to install .NET SDK and Visual Studio .NET
separately?
If you have installed Visual Studio .NET on
your system, then there is no need to install .NET SDK separately. .NET
Framework will be automatically installed as a prerequisite during the
installation of Visual Studio .NET
During the course of its installation, setup will request you to run
Windows update. This update will install Microsoft Data Access
Components 2.7 which is required for developing database and ASP.NET
applications. If you have purchased Visual Studio .NET, then you will
have a separate CD titled “Visual Studio .NET prerequisites”. It
contains all the essential components required for running Visual Studio
.NET setup.
To test whether .NET Framework has been
successfully installed on your system, go to command prompt and enter
csc. If the system returns a fatal error message with the code CS 2008
then the installation is perfect.
All C# error messages are documented with codes. These messages will
become familiar to you as you gain more experience with C#.
In addition to Microsoft’s C# compiler you also have an option to
install Mono C# compiler kit available from www.go-mono.com. Mono is a
project started to create .NET compilers meant for platforms other than
Windows, such as Linux. But the project is still under development and
with each release of the kit more features and additional support for
namespaces are added. The upcoming version of this kit promises to
provide support for Windows Forms, ASP.NET and ADO.NET. Moreover, the
new compiler will also provide database connectivity support for MySQL
databases.
Can I install Mono C# compiler kit on Windows?
Yes. While Microsoft’s .NET SDK has been
designed to work with Windows, Mono C# kit can be installed in both
Windows and Linux.
|