Visual Studio In C# And How To Create, Run A C# Program

Microsoft’s powerful integrated development environment (IDE), Visual Studio, is made for creating and executing a wide range of applications. C#, Visual Basic.NET (VB.NET), and C++ are among the programming languages it supports. It is also utilized for a variety of software development technologies that fall under the.NET Framework.

What is Visual Studio in C#?

Programming languages, libraries, and developer tools are all integrated into Visual Studio, an IDE that makes it easier to create desktop, online, and other applications. In addition to developing user interfaces, it offers a smooth interface for creating, compiling, running, debugging, and testing applications.

Key Components and Features of the Visual Studio IDE

A number of components that support various stages of the development cycle make up the Visual Studio IDE:

Menu bar and Standard toolbar: Give people access to a range of commands and features.

Tool Windows: Whether docked, auto-hidden, or floating, these consist of:

• Solution Explorer: Shows the files, external library references, and project parameters that make up your project’s hierarchical structure. Several projects may be included in a solution.
• Toolbox: Includes all the controls required to create user interfaces (such as text boxes and buttons) that can be dropped and dragged onto a form.
• Properties Window: Enables you to set up properties and events on controls in your user interface.
• Error List: Shows compilation issues or warnings, and you can navigate to the problematic code line by double-clicking an error message.
• Code Editor: The main area for writing and editing source code, with colourization and IntelliSense features.
• Project Designer: A collection of property pages that allow you to configure project-wide parameters including security, deployment, and compilation choices.
• Class View: Gives you a class-based view of your project, making it easy to navigate to any member or class.
• Object Browser: Enables the viewing of type information (methods, classes, events) in DLLs, including COM objects and assemblies built with the.NET Framework, and shows comments from XML documentation.

Types of Applications Developed

Visual Studio’s C# allows you to create a variety of apps, such as:

• Console Applications: Straightforward text-based programs with common input/output methods.
• Windows Applications (Windows Forms/WPF): PC programs with a graphical user interface (GUI).
• Web Applications (ASP.NET): Programs that are web-based and run in a web browser.
• Web Service Applications: For creating XML Web services and using them.
• Database Applications: Created to communicate with databases in order to store, retrieve, modify, and oversee data.
• Distributed Applications.
• Windows Controls and Web Controls.
• Mobile and Embedded Applications: For smart devices running Windows CE.
• Component Libraries.

Creating and Running a C# Program in Visual Studio

Creating a New Project

You must first make a new project in Visual Studio in order to begin a new application. The steps for a console application are typically:

• Get Visual Studio open.
• Go to File → New → Project (or use the Start Page).
• Select Console Application from the Visual C# templates list.
• After giving your project a name and indicating where you want it saved, click OK.
• A Program.cs file is frequently included in the project structure that Visual Studio automatically generates.

Writing the Code

The Main method, the entry point for all C# programs, is usually found in the Program.cs file. The code for a basic “Hello World” program would look somewhat like this, written inside the Main method:

using System; // Includes the System namespace 
namespace MyConsoleApplication // Namespace declaration, a collection of classes 
{
    class Program // Class declaration, contains data and method definitions 
    {
        static void Main(string[] args) // Main method, entry point 
        {
            /* This is a multi-line comment.
               It is ignored by the compiler and used for explanation. */
            System.Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!"); // Prints a message to the console 
            
            // Console.ReadKey(); // Optional: Keeps the console window open until a key is pressed, useful when running from VS 
        }
    }
}

Output

Hello, World!

Important points about C# program structure

• The case of C# matters.
• Every sentence and expression needs to be followed by a semicolon (;).
• The Main method is usually void (does not return a value) and must be static.
• The class name and the C# program file name may differ, in contrast to Java.
• For single-line comments, they begin with //; for multi-line comments, they begin with /*… */. The compiler ignores these comments.
• using a keyword: This is used to include namespaces, which permits classes to be used directly within them without complete qualification (e.g., Console.WriteLine instead of System.Console.WriteLine).

You can also read C# Windows Application Development Environment & Structure

Compiling and Running

You can compile and execute the code in a single step using Visual Studio:

• To launch the debugger, hit F5 or click the “Start” button (usually a green triangle) on the toolbar.
• To run without debugging, alternatively use Ctrl+F5; this usually maintains the console window open automatically.
• After the application has finished compiling, an executable file (.exe) will be produced, such as MyConsoleApplication.exe.

Additionally, you can use the C# compiler (csc.exe) to compile and execute C# programs from the command line:

• Save the code as a Hello.cs file, for example.
• To access the file, open the command prompt and go to the directory.
• Press Enter after typing csc Hello.cs to begin compiling.
• In the event that compilation is successful, type Hello.exe (or just Hello) and hit Enter to start it.

Other Important Features and Concepts

Debugging

Visual Studio has strong debugging capabilities. It is possible to:

• By hitting F9, you may set breakpoints on particular lines of code to halt execution and examine the values of variables.
• Use F10 to step through the code line by line.
• Correct several mistakes, then carry on debugging without recompiling (Edit and Continue).

IntelliSense

It also increases the accuracy of the code and reduces the amount of time spent searching for assistance. What it offers is:

Completion Lists: As you type, C# keywords and.NET Framework classes are suggested.

Quick Info: Shows the type’s basic documentation when the cursor is over it.

List Members: Type the dot operator (.) to display members of a type (fields, methods, properties).

Parameter Info: Displays the different kinds of method parameters and their order, including overloaded signatures.

Refactoring

Visual Studio offers features for automatically restructuring source code without altering how it behaves from the outside. Some examples are as follows:

• Creating parameters out of local variables.
• Transforming a chunk of code into an Extract Method method.
• To rename identifiers, press Ctrl+R.
• Upgrading a class to implement an interface after extracting it from the class.

Code Snippets

These are short, reusable chunks of frequently used C# source code that are easy to insert. An empty for loop structure can be created, for example, by typing for and hitting TAB. Additionally, they can encircle the current code.

XML Documentation Comments

XML tags in special comment fields just before the code block they refer to let you produce documentation for your code in Visual C#. An XML file is produced by the C# compiler after processing these comments. These comments are automatically processed and shown in IntelliSense by Visual Studio. These XML files can subsequently be converted into MSDN-style web documentation using programs like Sandcastle Help File Builder (SHFB).

Versions and Editions

Versions of Visual Studio have changed over time, including 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. Visual Studio Express, a free, condensed version ideal for educational use, Professional, Premium, and Ultimate are among its various editions.

Alternatives to Visual Studio

The main IDE for C# development is Visual Studio, however there are other open-source and free options as well:

SharpDevelop (#Develop): An open-source integrated development environment (IDE) for.NET languages that runs on Linux and other operating systems and has many features similar to Visual Studio.

MonoDevelop: This free, open-source IDE for the.NET framework supports Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows and allows projects made in Visual Studio to be transferred between platforms.

You can also read What Is Mean By Multithreading In C#, Concepts & Components