Introduction to .NET

Getting Started

Isn’t .NET development expensive?If .NET was important then we would learn about it at University.NET is proprietary and goes against industry standards

.NET Presentation :: Getting Started

Common Questions:

My Project

Task: To create a personal blog

Why?To act as a resume to potential employers, to keep a record of my developments and to gain a reputation as a community orientated developer.

.NET Presentation :: Getting Started

http://www.kgbnetworks.com/

The MSDN Academic Alliance program gives students access to the latest Microsoft software. Current products that are freely available to students are Windows XP Pro, Windows Server 2003, Visio Professional, Project Professional and Visual Studio .NET 2003 Academic.

MSDN Connection is a free program which gives students access to a number of services. This includes free ASP.NET hosting, a bi-monthly MSDN Australia Magazine, 20% off MSPress books and discounts on training and certification.

.NET Presentation :: Student Resources

Although you can access the full version of Visual Studio through the MSDNAA program, you can also download the Express Editions for free from the Microsoft website

The Visual Studio Express Edition website is http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/

The versions available for download are:Visual Web Developer 2005 Express EditionVisual Basic 2005 Express EditionVisual C# 2005 Express EditionVisual C++ Express EditionSQL Server 2005 Express EditionVisual J# Express Edition

.NET Presentation :: Student Resources

.NET Presentation :: VS.NET Express Edition 2005

Isn’t .NET development expensive?

Cost Summary:

.NET Presentation :: Development

ProductProduct PricePrice

Windows Server 2003 $0

Visual Studio Express Edition

$0

Total $0

If .NET was important then we would learn about it at

UniversityThe following Universities offer .NET based courses:

The University of Melbourne – 2 coursesThe University of Swinburne – 13 coursesRMIT – 9 coursesCharles Sturt University – 12 coursesUniversity of Technology Sydney – 4 coursesQueensland University of Technology – 10 courses

.NET Presentation :: Development

But I like my language better!

That is ok too! Microsoft has made sure the .NET platform supports a number of different languages:

Microsoft Languages: Visual Basic, C#, J# Other Languages: Java, Perl, Python, C++, Jscript, Pascal, Small Talk, APL, Cobol, Eiffel, Fortran and Forth

.NET Presentation :: Other Languages

These are referred to as Common Language Specification (CLS) compatible programming

languages

I know Java, but where do I start with .NET?

.NET Presentation :: Other Languages

The Java to .NET migration workshop is a good place to startLocated at http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/java/migrate/workshop/This workshop has numerous examples with full source code as well as written and video demos. Examples include:

Automatic Java -> J#.NET migration JSP -> ASP.NET migration Java -> .NET user interface migration

Starting with ASP.NET

Example code to connect to a MySQL Database:

.NET Presentation :: KGB Networks Development

<%@ Page Language="C#" %><%@ Import Namespace="System.Data.Odbc" %><script runat="server"> using(OdbcConnection con = new OdbcConnection(ConnStr)) using(OdbcCommand cmd = new OdbcCommand("SELECT * FROM news", con))</script>

ASP.NET Code:

<?php mysql_select_db("kgbnetworks",$db); $result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM news",$db);?>

PHP Code:

Performance Comparison

I was curious to see if ASP.NET performed any better even with my tiny example:

.NET Presentation :: KGB Networks Development

PHP: http://www.kgbnetworks.com/index.php Page Generation Time: 0.0188382 Seconds

ASP: http://www.kgbnetworks.com/Default.aspx Page Generation Time: 0.0156286 Seconds

That’s great, but…

Let’s see what .NET is REALLY all about..NET heavily utilises web servicesWeb Services are based on W3C open standards (HTTP, XML and SOAP)Any application that supports these open standards can communicate with a .NET application locally or remotely

.NET Presentation :: .NET Web Services

Creating a Web Service

It is as simple as:

.NET Presentation :: .NET Web Services

Using Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition

.NET Presentation :: .NET Web Services

Response

The browser shows the response given by your web service in XML format:

Advantages:Test your web service locally before deploying itAllows external developers to play with your web service without having to write a single line of codeUseful for testing and isolating bugs in your system.

.NET Presentation :: .NET Web Services

Your next step

Download Visual Studio Express Editionhttp://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/Find or create some web services to interact with (Plenty of good examples at www.xmethods.net)Write some code that consumes or serves content via SOAP and XMLPublish it on a web site, as an application or both!

.NET Presentation :: Conclusion

Thank you!