Sams Teach Yourself C# in 24 Hours

By James Foxall and Wendy Haro-Chun

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Authors
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Audience and Organization
  • Conventions Used in This Book
  • Onward and Upward!
  • Part I. The Visual Studio Environment
  • Hour 1. A C# Programming Tour
  • Hour 2. Navigating C#
    • Using the Visual Studio .NET Start Page
    • Navigating and Customizing the C# Environment
    • Adding Controls to a Form Using the Toolbox
    • Setting Object Properties Using the Properties Window
    • Managing Projects
    • Managing Project Files with the Solution Explorer
    • Getting Help
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • Hour 3. Understanding Objects and Collections
  • Hour 4. Understanding Events
  • Part II. Building a User Interface
  • Hour 5. Building FormsPart I
  • Hour 6. Building FormsPart II
  • Hour 7. Working with the Traditional Controls
  • Hour 8. Advanced Controls
  • Hour 9. Adding Menus and Toolbars to Forms
  • Hour 10. Drawing and Printing
  • Part III. Making Things HappenProgramming!
  • Hour 11. Creating and Calling Methods
  • Hour 12. Using Constants, Data Types, Variables, and Arrays
  • Hour 13. Performing Arithmetic, String Manipulation, and Date/Time Adjustments
  • Hour 14. Making Decisions in C# Code
  • Hour 15. Looping for Efficiency
  • Hour 16. Debugging Your Code
  • Hour 17. Designing Objects Using Classes
  • Hour 18. Interacting with Users
  • Part IV. Working with Data
  • Hour 19. Performing File Operations
  • Hour 20. Controlling Other Applications Using Automation
  • Hour 21. Working with a Database
  • Part V. Deploying Solutions and Beyond
  • Hour 22. Deploying a Solution
  • Hour 23. Introduction to Web Development
  • Hour 24. The 10,000-Foot View
  • Appendix A. Answers to Quizzes/Exercises

Hour 2. Navigating C#

The key to expanding your knowledge of C# is to become as comfortable as possible—as quickly as possible—with the C# design environment. Just as a carpenter doesn't think much about hammering a nail into a piece of wood, performing actions such as saving projects, creating new forms, and setting object properties should become second nature to you. The more comfortable you are with the tools of C#, the more you can focus your energies on what you're creating with the tools.

In this hour, you'll learn how to customize your design environment. You'll learn how to move, dock, float, hide, and show design windows, as well as how to customize menus and toolbars; you'll even create a new toolbar from scratch. After you've gotten acquainted with the environment, I'll teach you about projects and the files that they're made of (taking you beyond what was briefly discussed in Hour 1, "A C# Programming Tour"), and I'll introduce you to the design windows with which you'll work most frequently. Finally, I'll show you how to get help when you're stuck.

The highlights of this hour include the following:

• Navigating C#
• Using the Visual Studio .NET Start Page to open and create projects
• Showing, hiding, docking, and floating design windows
• Customizing menus and toolbars
• Adding controls to a form using the toolbox
• Viewing and changing object attributes using the Properties window
• Working with the files that make up a project
• How to get help

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