C＃.net助记符和一般用法

Question

I'm just starting out with C# and to me it seems like Microsoft Called their new system .Net because you have to use the Internet to look everything up to find useful functions and which class they stashed it in.

To me it seems nonsensical to require procedure/functions written and designed to stand alone ( non instantiated static objects) to have their class not also function as their namespace.

That is Why can't I use Write or WriteLine instead of Console.WriteLine ?

Then when I start to get used to the idea that the objects I am using ( like string) know how to perform operations I am used to using external functions to achieve ( like to upper, tolower, substring, etc) they change the rules with numbers, numbers don't know how to convert themselves from one numeric type to another for some reason, instead you have to invoke Convert class static functions to change a double to an int and Math class static functions to achieve rounding and truncating.. which quickly turns your simple( in other languages) statement to a gazillion character line in C#.

It also seems obsessed with strong typing which interferes somewhat with the thought process when I code. I understand that type safety reduces errors , but I think it also increases complexity, sometimes unnecessarily. It would be nice if you could choose context driven types when you wish without the explicit Casting or Converting or ToStringing that seems to be basic necessity in C# to get anything done.

So... Is it even possible to write meaningful code in notepad and use cl with out Internet access? What ref book would you use without recourse to autocomplete and Network access?

Any suggestions on smoothing the process towards grokking this language and using it more naturally?

Answer 1

I think you're suffering a bit from the fact that you've used to working in one way during some years, and now must take time to get yourself comfortable using / developing in a new platform.

I do not agree with you , that MS hasn't been consistent on the fact that a string knows how it should convert itself to another type, and other datatypes (like ints) do not. This is not true, since strings do not know for themselves how they should be converted to another type as well. (You can use the Convert class to Convert types to other types). It is however true that every type in .NET has a ToString() method, but, you should not rely on that method to convert whatever you have to a string.

I think you have never worked in an OO language before, and therefore, you're having some difficulties with the paradigm shift. Think of it this way: it's all about responsabilities and behaviour. A class is (if it is well designed) responsible for doing one thing, and does this one thing good.

Answer 2

There is no excuse to use notepad to code a modern language. SharpDevelop or Visual C# Express provide the functionality to work with C# in a productive way.

And no, due to the complexity, not using the internet as a source of information is also not a good option.

You could buy a book that introduces you to the concepts of the language in a structured way, but to get up-to-date information, the internet is neccessary.

Yes, there are drawbacks in C#, like in any other language. I can only give you the advice to get used to the language. Many of the drawbacks become understandable after that, even if some of them don't become less annoying. I recommend that you ask clear, direct questions with example code if you want to know how some language constructs work or how you can solve specific problems more efficiently. That makes it easier to answer those questions.

Answer 3

For notepad, I have no useful advice, however I would advise you to use one of the free IDE's, Microsofts Express Editions , or Sharp Develop . The IDE will speed the groking of the language, at which point, you can switch back to notepad.

Answer 4

Reading your post I was thinking that you worked mostly with C or dynamic languages previously. Maybe C# is just a wrong choice for you, there are IronPython, F# and a bunch of other languages that have necessary functionality (like functions outside of classes etc.)

I disagree with you about consistency. In fact there are small inconsistency between some components of .NET, but most part of FW is very consistent and predictable.

Strong typing is a huge factor in low defect count. Dynamic typing plays nice in small/intermediate projects (like scripts, etc). In more or less complex program dynamism can introduce a lot of complexity.

Regarding internet/autocomplete - I can hardly imagine any technology with size of .NET that doesn't require a lot of knowledge sources.

Answer 5

Programming in c# using notepad is like buying a ferrari to drive in dirt roads.

At least use Visual Studio Express Edition. For what you wrote I understand that you come from a non OO background, try to learn the OO concept and try to use it. You will eventually understand most design decisions made for .Net.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming

Answer 6

Oh boy where do i start with you(this will be a long post hahaha), well, lets go little by little: "Microsoft called their system .NET because you have to use Intenet...", the reason why is called .NET is because the SUITE OF MICROSOFT LANGUAGUES(and now some other ones too like Phyton and Ruby, etc) CAN CALL ANY LIBRARY or DLLs, example you can "NET"(Network OR CALL) a DLL that was built in Visual Basic, F#, C++ from WITHIN C# or from any of those languagues you can also call(or ".NET") C# libraries. OK ONE DOWN!!!

NEXT ONE: "it seems nonsensical to require....to have their class not also function as their namespace", this is because a Namespace can have AS MANY CLASSES AS YOU WISH, and your question: "That is Why can't I use Write or WriteLine instead of Console.WriteLine ?". The reason is because: "Console"(System.Console hense the "Using" statement at the beginning of your program) Namespace is where "Write" and "WriteLine" LIVES!!(you can also FULLY qualify it (or "call It"). (all this seems to me that you need to study C# Syntax), ok NEXT:

"when I start to get used to the idea that the objects...", ok in simple words: C# is a "Strongly Type-Safe language" so that SHOULD-MUST tell you what "you are getting in to" otherwise STAY WITH "WEAK or NO TYPE SAFE LANGUAGES" LIKE PHP or C , etc. this does NOT means is bad it just MEANS IS YOUR JOB TO MAKE SURE, as i tell my students: "IF YOU NEED AN INT THEN DEFINE AN INT INSTEAD LETTING THE COMPILER DO IT FOR YOU OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE A LOT OF BAD BUGS", or in other words do YOUR homework BEFORE DESIGNING A PIECE OF SOFTWARE.

Note: C# is IMPLICITY TYPE SAFE language SO IF YOU WANT YOU CAN RUN IT AS UNSAFE so from then it wiLL be your job to make sure, so dont complain later(for being lazy) when bugs arrive AT RUNTIME(and a lot of times when the customer is already using your crappy software).

...and last but not least : Whey do you wan to shoot yourself by using notepad? Studio Express is FREE, even the database SQL SERVER is FREE TOO!!, unless you work for a company I WILL ASK FOR PRO, ETC. all the "extra" stuff is for large companies, teams, etc, YOU CAN DO 99% OF THE STUFF WITH THE FREE VERSIONS(and you can still buy-update to full version once you want to scalate to Distributed Software or a Large Project, or if your software becomes a big hit, Example: if you need millions of queryes or hits PER SECOND from your database or 100 people are working on same project(code) but for the majority of times for 2 or 3 "normal" developers working at home or small office the FREE ONES ARE ENOuGH!!)

cherrsss!!! (PS: Software Developer since the 80's)