Programming with the Microsoft .NET Framework (Microsoft Visual C# .NET)

Introduction

The goal of this course is to help application developers understand the Microsoft® .NET Framework. In addition to offering an overview of the .NET Framework and an introduction to key concepts and terminology, the course provides a series of labs, which introduce and explain .NET Framework features that are used to code, debug, tune, and deploy applications.

Audience

This course is intended for experienced, professional software developers including those employed by independent software vendors or those who work on corporate enterprise development teams. Most students will be Microsoft Visual C++® (or C++) and Java developers.

At Course Completion
At the end of the course, students will be able to:

List the major elements of the .NET Framework and explain how they fit into the .NET platform.
Explain the main concepts behind the common language runtime and use the features of the .NET Framework to create a simple application.
Create and use components in Windows Forms-based and ASP.NET-based applications.
Use the deployment and versioning features of the .NET runtime to deploy multiple versions of a component.
Create, use, and extend types by understanding the Common Type System architecture.
Create classes and interfaces that are functionally efficient and appropriate for given programming scenarios.
Use the .NET Framework class library to efficiently create and manage strings, arrays, collections, and enumerators.
Use delegates and events to make an event-sender object signal the occurrence of an action to an event-receiver object.
Describe and control how memory and other resources are managed in the .NET Framework.
Read from and write to data streams and files.
Use the basic request/response model to send and receive data over the Internet.
Serialize and deserialize an object graph.
Create distributed applications by means of XML Web services and Object Remoting.

Prerequisites
Before attending this course, students should be experienced professional software developers and have a basic understanding of the C# language.

Students can meet the C# language prerequisite by taking
Course 2124, Introduction to C# Programming for the Microsoft .NET Platform.

Microsoft Certified Professional Exams
There is no MCP exam associated with this course.

Student Materials
The student kit includes a comprehensive workbook and other necessary materials for this class.

Course Outline

Module 1: Overview of the Microsoft .NET Framework
Take a closer look: Download Sample Module 1 (Portable Document Format, 870 KB).

The following topics are covered in this module:

Overview of the Microsoft .NET Framework
Overview of Namespaces
After completing this module, you will be able to list the major elements of the .NET Framework. This includes:

Describing the .NET Framework and its components.
Explaining the relationship between the .NET Framework class library and namespaces.

Module 2: Introduction to a Managed Execution Environment

Take a closer look: Download Sample Module 2 (Portable Document Format, 935 KB).

Writing a .NET Application
Compiling and Running a .NET Application
After completing this module, you will be able to explain the main concepts behind the common language runtime and use the features of the common language runtime to create a simple application. This includes:

Creating simple console applications in C#.
Explaining how code is compiled and executed in a managed execution environment.
Explaining the concept of garbage collection.

Module 3: Working with Components

The following topics are covered in this module:

An Introduction to Key .NET Framework Development Technologies
Creating a Simple .NET Framework Component
Creating a Simple Console Client
Creating an ASP.NET Client
After completing this module, you will be able to create and use components in Windows Form-based and ASP.NET-based applications. This includes:

Creating a simple .NET Framework component in C#.
Implementing structured exception handling.
Creating a simple .NET Framework console application that calls a component.
Creating a .NET Framework client application by using the Windows Forms library.
Creating an ASP.NET page that uses the previously developed .NET Framework component to create an ASP.NET application.

Module 4: Deployment and Versioning

The following topics are covered in this module:

Introduction to Application Deployment
Application Deployment Scenarios
Related Topics and Tools
After completing this module, you will be able to use the deployment and versioning features of the .NET common language runtime to deploy multiple versions of a component. This includes:

Packaging and deploying simple and componentized applications.
Creating strong-named assemblies.
Installing and removing assemblies from the global assembly cache.
Configuring applications to control binding based on assembly location and version data.

Module 5: Common Type System

The following topics are covered in this module:

An Introduction to the Common Type System
Elements of the Common Type System
Object-Oriented Characteristics
After completing this module, you will be able to create, use, and extend types. This includes:

Describing the difference between value types and reference types.
Explaining the purpose of each element in the type system, including values, objects, and interfaces.
Explaining how object-oriented programming concepts, such as abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism, are implemented in the Common Type System.

Module 6: Working with Types

The following topics are covered in this module:

System.Object Class Functionality
Specialized Constructors
Type Operations
Interfaces
Managing External Types
After completing this module, you will be able to create classes and interfaces that are functionally efficient and appropriate for given programming scenarios. This includes:

Applying attributes to control visibility and inheritance in classes and interfaces.
Creating and using interfaces that define methods and properties.
Explaining how boxing and unboxing work and when boxing and unboxing occur.
Using operators to determine types at run time and to cast values to different types.
Explaining what features are available to work with unmanaged types, such as COM types.

Module 7: Strings, Arrays, and Collections

The following topics are covered in this module:

Strings
Terminology - Collections
.NET Framework Arrays
.NET Framework Collections
After completing this module, you will be able to use the .NET Framework class library to create and manage strings, arrays, collections, and enumerators. This includes:

Parsing, formatting, manipulating, and comparing strings.
Using the classes in the System.Array and System.Collections namespaces.
Improving the type safety and performance of collections by using specialized collections and class-specific code.

Module 8: Delegates and Events

The following topics are covered in this module:

Delegates
Multicast Delegates
Events
When to Use Delegates, Events, and Interfaces
After completing this module, you will be able to use delegates and events to have an event sender object signal the occurrence of an action to an event receiver object. This includes:

Using the delegate class to create type-safe callback functions and event-handling methods.
Using the event keyword to simplify and improve the implementation of a class that raises events.
Implementing events that conform to the .NET Framework guidelines.

Module 9: Memory and resource Management

The following topics are covered in this module:

Memory Management Basics
Non-Memory Resource Management
Implicit Resource Management
Explicit Resource Management
Optimizing Garbage Collection
After completing this module, you will be able to describe and control how memory and other resources are managed in the .NET Framework. This includes:

Describing how garbage collection manages object memory.
Implicitly managing non-memory resources by using a destructor's finalize code.
Explicitly managing non-memory resources by using client-controlled deterministic release of resources.
Writing code by using the temporary resource usage design pattern.
Programmatically controlling the behavior of the garbage collection.
Describing advanced garbage collection features.

Module 10: Data Streams and Files

The following topics are covered in this module:

Streams
Readers and Writers
Basic File I/O
After completing this module, you will be able to read from and write to data streams, files, and the Internet. This includes:

Using Stream objects to read and write bytes to backing stores, such as strings and files.
Using BinaryReader and BinaryWriter objects to read and write primitive types as binary values.
Using StreamReader and StreamWriter objects to read and write characters to a stream.
Using StringReader and StringWriter objects to read and write characters to strings.
Using Directory and DirectoryInfo objects to create, move, and enumerate through directories and subdirectories.
Using FileSystemWatcher objects to monitor and react to changes in the file system.
Explaining the key features of the.NET Framework's isolated storage mechanism.

Module 11: Internet Access

The following topics are covered in this module:

Internet Application Scenarios
The WebRequest and WebResponse Model
Application Protocols
Handling Errors
Security
Best Practices
After completing this module, you will be able to use the .NET Framework classes to work with data over the Internet. This includes:

Using the basic request/response model to send and receive data over the Internet.
Using the System.Net classes to communicate with other applications by using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and Socket Internet protocols.

Module 12: Serialization

The following topics are covered in this module:

Serialization Scenarios
Serialization Attributes
Object Graph
Serialization Process
Serialization Example
Deserialization Example
Custom Serialization
Custom Serialization Example
Security Issues
After completing this module, you will be able to serialize and deserialize an object graph. This includes:

Writing an application that serializes and deserializes an object graph by using either a binary or Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) XML format.

Module 13: Remoting and XML Web Services

The following topics are covered in this module:

Remoting
Remoting Configuration Files
XML Web Services
After completing this module, you will be able to create distributed applications by means of XML Web services and Object Remoting. This includes:

Writing and configuring distributed applications that use .NET Remoting.
Creating an XML Web service by using Visual Studio .NET and ASP.NET.
Consuming an XML Web service by using the Web Services Description Language tool (Wsdl.exe).