An accessible guide for beginner-to-intermediate programmers to the concepts, real-world applications, and latest features of C# 12 and .NET 8, with hands-on exercises using Visual Studio 2022 and Visual Studio Code.

Key Features

• Explore the latest additions to C# 12, the .NET 8 class libraries, and Entity Framework Core 8
• Create professional websites and services with ASP.NET Core 8 and Blazor
• Build your confidence with step-by-step code examples and tips for best practices

Book Description

This latest edition of the bestselling Packt series will give you a solid foundation to start building projects using modern C# and .NET with confidence.

You'll learn about object-oriented programming; writing, testing, and debugging functions; and implementing interfaces. You'll take on .NET APIs for managing and querying data, working with the fi lesystem, and serialization. As you progress, you'll explore examples of cross-platform projects you can build and deploy, such as websites and services using ASP.NET Core.

This latest edition integrates .NET 8 enhancements into its examples: type aliasing and primary constructors for concise and expressive code. You'll handle errors robustly through the new built-in guard clauses and explore a simplified implementation of caching in ASP.NET Core 8.

If that's not enough, you'll also see how native ahead-of-time (AOT) compiler publish lets web services reduce memory use and run faster. You'll work with the seamless new HTTP editor in Visual Studio 2022 to enhance the testing and debugging process. You'll even get introduced to Blazor Full Stack with its new unified hosting model for unparalleled web development flexibility.

What you will learn

• Discover C# 12's new features, including aliasing any type and primary constructors
• Try out the native AOT publish capability for ASP.NET Core 8 Minimal APIs web services
• Build rich web experiences using Blazor Full Stack, Razor Pages, and other ASP.NET Core features
• Integrate and update databases in your apps using Entity Framework Core models
• Query and manipulate data using LINQ
• Build and consume powerful services using Web API and Minimal API

Who this book is for

This book is for beginners as well as intermediate-level C# and .NET programmers who have worked with C# in the past and want to catch up with the changes made in the last few years.

Prior exposure to C# or .NET is not a prerequisite. A general understanding of programming will help you to work through the book more comfortably, though the content is suitable for those completely new to programming.

If you already have some C# and .NET skills and want to focus on developing practical apps, you can pick up Mark’s other .NET book, Apps and Services with .NET 8, instead.

Table of Contents

1. Hello, C#! Welcome, .NET!
2. Speaking C#
3. Controlling Flow, Converting Types, and Handling Exceptions
4. Writing, Debugging, and Testing Functions
5. Building Your Own Types with Object-Oriented Programming
6. Implementing Interfaces and Inheriting Classes
7. Packaging and Distributing .NET Types
8. Working with Common .NET Types
9. Working with Files, Streams, and Serialization
10. Working with Data Using Entity Framework Core
11. Querying and Manipulating Data Using LINQ
12. Introducing Web Development Using ASP.NET Core
13. Building Websites Using ASP.NET Core Razor Pages
14. Building and Consuming Web Services
15. Building User Interfaces Using Blazor

About the Author

Mark J. Price is a Microsoft Specialist: Programming in C# and Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions, with over 20 years' experience. Since 1993, he has passed more than 80 Microsoft programming exams and specializes in preparing others to pass them. Between 2001 and 2003, Mark was employed to write official courseware for Microsoft in Redmond, USA. His team wrote the first training courses for C# while it was still an early alpha version. While with Microsoft, he taught "train-the-trainer" classes to get other MCTs up-to-speed on C# and .NET. Mark holds a Computer Science BSc. Hons. Degree.