Getting started with Microsoft .NET development

by Tony Patton | Oct 03, 2006 7:00:00 AM

Tags: .NET, Application servers, Middleware, version number, Microsoft Corp., CLR, Tony Patton, Microsoft .NET, Framework Class Library, Microsoft .NET Framework, .NET Newsletter

Takeaway: In response to TechRepublic member Liesl's request, Tony Patton decided to cover the basics in this week's .NET column. He offers a brief overview of the main aspects of the .NET Framework and discusses where to get and then install the necessary tools.

As Microsoft works on version 3.0 of its .NET Framework, more developers are turning their attention to .NET development. Thankfully, getting started with .NET is easy with the tools freely available from Microsoft.

Based on a suggestion by TechRepublic member Liesl, I decided to go back to basics this week and show you how to get started in .NET. I begin with a quick overview of the main aspects of the .NET Framework and continue with getting and installing the necessary tools.

What is it?

The .NET Framework sits at the core of Microsoft's .NET platform. It provides a platform for quickly building full-featured applications. The two main parts of the framework are the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and the Framework Class Libraries (FCL).

The CLR is the execution environment for .NET-based applications. It manages code execution, which includes security, thread management, memory management and allocation, and so forth. You may write code in one of the many available .NET languages, including the out-of-box options VB.NET, C#, and J#. These languages compile their code into Intermediate Language (IL). The CLR takes the IL and makes it go.

The FCL is a set of reusable object-oriented classes that provide basic .NET functionality. These classes comprise the coding options available to the .NET developer, which include ADO.NET, ASP.NET, Web services, and so forth. These classes are available within namespaces, which are logical collections of objects. Namespaces allow you to group objects together, and there are a variety of classes available with .NET. You can think of namespaces as a library of objects or functionality.

Now I'll turn my attention to getting your development environment up and running so you can begin churning out code.

The necessary pieces

One of the great features of .NET is the fact that it is freely available from Microsoft. A quick visit to the Microsoft .NET Developer Center provides everything you need. (The most recent version of the Framework is 2.0 with version 3.0 in the works.) The home page includes links for your platform. It only supports Windows-based environments. If you are interested in open source .NET development within a UNIX-based environment, check out the Mono project.

Once you have downloaded the installation file for your platform, you can run it to set up the .NET Framework on your system. Once it is installed, you will have the following base directory on your system (assuming the default installation directories are used):

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\<version number>

The version number corresponds to the build of the Framework installed with these possible values:

• v1.0.3705: Version 1.0
• v1.1.4322: Version 1.1
• v2.0.50727: Version 2.0

These directories will contain dll's used in .NET development. Each .NET namespace is contained within its own dll file. Here are a few examples:

• System.Web: Contains classes for ASP.NET Web development.
• System.XML: Contains classes for working with XML.
• System: The base library of classes for working with .NET code.

In addition to the dll's, there are a number of command-line tools that allow you to build .NET applications. This includes a compiler, debugger, and more. The following list provides a sampling of these tools:

• csc.exe: C# compiler
• vbc.exe: VB.NET compiler
• jsc.exe: J# compiler
• regasm.exe: .NET Assembly registration tool
• regsvcs.exe: .NET Services installation tool

Each of these tools support a help switch (/?) that may be passed to the program to view the online help information about its usage.

.NET code may be created using your favorite text editor (like Windows' Notepad) or a specialized development tool like Microsoft Visual Studio or the freely available SharpDevelop. With your code created, you can easily compile them with the command-line tools listed above or utilize the features of an IDE.

ASP.NET development

In addition to the command-line tools for basic .NET development, the tools for development of Web applications with ASP.NET are included as well. You can include your .NET code directly in the ASP.NET Web page or utilize the codebehind construct available in .NET. Whatever approach you choose, you must have a Web server available to test or run your applications.

A development Web server is included with Visual Studio, but you can also utilize IIS running on your development machine. (The installation and setup of IIS is beyond the scope of this article, but it is not a standard part of Windows, so you'll have to add it if it is not selected during setup.) With IIS installed and running, you must properly set it up to handle ASP.NET Web pages. The .NET Framework includes a tool in its base directory (c:\windows\framework\<version>) to easily configure it: aspnet_regiis.exe. This file installs ASP.NET support on the computer's IIS instance. Once it is run, IIS will properly handle ASP.NET files.

Team development

Team development has been a major focus of Microsoft with its latest batch of .NET development tools. The Visual Studio IDE now offers a Team System version, which provides features for development teams. In addition, you can always utilize Microsoft's Visual SourceSafe tool or a third-party product. The focus is on source control management and communication between team members.

Plenty of options

The .NET Framework from Microsoft has enjoyed overwhelming success since its introduction with version 1.0. This article shows you how you can get up and running with .NET development with a few mouse clicks and downloads from Microsoft. Once you set up the .NET Framework on your system, you are now faced with a plethora of development options and choices.

Miss a column?

Check out the .NET Archive, and catch up on the most recent editions of Tony Patton's column.

Tony Patton began his professional career as an application developer earning Java, VB, Lotus, and XML certifications to bolster his knowledge.

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