K1 Getting started: programming with C#

Who it is for

For beginners who want to learn programming properly after their first program, including people coming from another job.

Prerequisites

The K0 taster course or the placement test. Reading English well helps, because the documentation is in English, but it is not a requirement.

Afterward, you can

• Work with the .NET SDK, VS Code and the command line
• Build programs from types, methods and clear control flow
• Process data in lists, dictionaries, files and JSON
• Design classes, records and interfaces, composition over inheritance
• Write expressive code with LINQ, pattern matching and nullable reference types
• Handle errors and find them in the debugger
• Work with Git, pull requests and reviews
• Test code with xUnit and develop test-first
• Write asynchronous code with async, await and HttpClient

Contents

1. 1.1

   Tools

   .NET SDK, VS Code with C# Dev Kit, the command line, Codespaces, project structure

   10 h
2. 1.2

   The language

   types, variables, expressions, control flow, methods, scopes

   25 h
3. 1.3

   Data

   arrays, List, Dictionary, strings, date and time, files, JSON with System.Text.Json

   20 h
4. 1.4

   Object orientation

   classes, records, interfaces, composition over inheritance, encapsulation, SOLID in the small

   25 h
5. 1.5

   Expressive code

   lambdas, LINQ, pattern matching, nullable reference types

   15 h
6. 1.6

   Errors

   exceptions, the result pattern, debugging

   10 h
7. 1.7

   Git

   commit, branch, pull request, review, conflicts

   10 h
8. 1.8

   Tests

   xUnit, good test names, a TDD kata, why the exit code counts

   15 h
9. 1.9

   Asynchronous code

   async/await, HttpClient, canceling with CancellationToken

   10 h
10. 1.10

    Final project

    the Kladde as a console program

    20 h

About 160 hours in all (indicative).

Lessons

You see the text and video of every lesson here on the site after buying the course; the titles and goals are already shown. A self-study course: you work through the lessons in order and check your exercises yourself against the solutions.

The lessons stand under their modules, in the order of the course. Click a module to open or close its lessons.

Final project: the Kladde

Certifications

No certification is needed at this stage.

Keep learning with Microsoft Learn

Microsoft's learning paths and documentation that go with this course.

• Write your first code using C# (Get started with C#, Part 1)
• Create and run simple C# console applications (Get started with C#, Part 2)
• Add logic to C# console applications (Get started with C#, Part 3)
• Work with variable data in C# console applications (Get started with C#, Part 4)
• Create methods in C# console applications (Get started with C#, Part 5)
• Debug C# console applications (Get started with C#, Part 6)
• Build .NET applications with C#