C# 13 and .NET 9 - Modern Cross-Platform Development Fundamentals. 9 Ed

Cover....1

Contributors....4

Copyright....3

Table of Contents....8

Preface....14

Chapter 1: Hello, C#! Welcome, .NET!....22

Introducing this book and its contents....22

Setting up your development environment....26

Understanding .NET....34

Building console apps using Visual Studio....39

Building console apps using VS Code....48

Making good use of the GitHub repository for this book....54

Looking for help....57

Practicing and exploring....72

Summary....75

Chapter 2: Speaking C#....78

Introducing the C# language....78

Discovering your C# compiler version....79

Understanding C# grammar and vocabulary....84

Working with variables....100

Exploring more about console apps....125

Practicing and exploring....143

Summary....145

Chapter 3: Controlling Flow, Converting Types, and Handling Exceptions....146

Operating on variables....146

Understanding selection statements....156

Understanding iteration statements....166

Storing multiple values in an array....169

Casting and converting between types....178

Handling exceptions....190

Checking for overflow....195

Practicing and exploring....198

Summary....200

Chapter 4: Writing, Debugging, and Testing Functions....202

Writing functions....202

Debugging during development....222

Hot reloading during development....232

Unit testing....234

Throwing and catching exceptions in functions....241

Practicing and exploring....250

Summary....251

Chapter 5: Building Your Own Types with Object-Oriented Programming....254

Talking about OOP....254

Building class libraries....256

Storing data in fields....266

Working with methods and tuples....283

Controlling access with properties and indexers....299

Pattern matching with objects....308

Working with record types....311

Practicing and exploring....319

Summary....321

Chapter 6: Implementing Interfaces and Inheriting Classes....322

Setting up a class library and console application....323

Static methods and overloading operators....325

Making types safely reusable with generics....333

Raising and handling events....336

Implementing interfaces....343

Working with null values....354

Inheriting from classes....365

Casting within inheritance hierarchies....373

Inheriting and extending .NET types....376

Summarizing custom type choices....382

Practicing and exploring....387

Summary....389

Chapter 7: Packaging and Distributing .NET Types....390

The road to .NET 9....390

Understanding .NET components....392

Publishing your code for deployment....407

Native ahead-of-time compilation....417

Packaging your libraries for NuGet distribution....422

Working with preview features....431

Practicing and exploring....433

Summary....436

Chapter 8: Working with Common .NET Types....438

Working with numbers....438

Working with text....447

Pattern matching with regular expressions....456

Storing multiple objects in collections....466

Working with spans, indexes, and ranges....490

Practicing and exploring....493

Summary....495

Chapter 9: Working with Files, Streams, and Serialization....498

Managing a filesystem....498

Reading and writing with streams....510

Encoding and decoding text....526

Serializing object graphs....530

Practicing and exploring....545

Summary....547

Chapter 10: Working with Data Using Entity Framework Core....548

Understanding modern databases....548

Setting up EF Core in a .NET project....554

Defining EF Core models....561

Querying EF Core models....577

Practicing and exploring....596

Summary....599

Chapter 11: Querying and Manipulating Data Using LINQ....600

Writing LINQ expressions....600

LINQ in practice....605

Sorting and more....611

Using LINQ with EF Core....619

Joining, grouping, and lookups....629

Practicing and exploring....636

Summary....638

Chapter 12: Introducing Modern Web Development Using .NET....640

Understanding ASP.NET Core....640

Structuring projects....649

Building an entity model for use in the rest of the book....653

Understanding web development....671

Practicing and exploring....675

Summary....677

Chapter 13: Building Websites Using ASP.NET Core....680

Exploring ASP.NET Core....680

History of Blazor....697

Exploring Blazor static SSR....700

Using Entity Framework Core with ASP.NET Core....711

Practicing and exploring....713

Summary....716

Chapter 14: Building Interactive Web Components Using Blazor....718

Reviewing the Blazor Web App project template....718

Building components using Blazor....733

Defining forms using the EditForm component....744

Practicing and exploring....750

Summary....753

Chapter 15: Building and Consuming Web Services....754

Building web services using ASP.NET Core....754

Creating a web service for the Northwind database....767

Documenting and trying out web services....779

Consuming web services using HTTP clients....789

Practicing and exploring....797

Summary....798

Epilogue....800

Next steps on your C# and .NET learning journey....800

The tenth edition for .NET 10....802

Good luck!....803

Index....806

An accessible guide for beginner-to-intermediate programmers to the concepts, real-world applications, and latest features of C# 13 and .NET 9, with hands-on exercises using Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code.

Key Features

• Explore the newest additions to C# 13, the .NET 9 class libraries, and Entity Framework Core 9.
• Build professional websites and services with ASP.NET Core 9 and Blazor.
• Enhance your skills with step-by-step code examples and best practices tips.

Book Description

This Packt bestseller continues to be the definitive guide to modern cross-platform development. The 9th edition of C# 13 and .NET 9 – Modern Cross-Platform Development Fundamentals has been updated to cover the latest features and improvements in .NET 9 and C# 13. You'll start by mastering object-oriented programming, learning how to write, test, and debug functions, and implementing interfaces. You'll then dive into .NET APIs for data management, filesystem operations, and serialization. This latest edition integrates .NET 9 enhancements into its examples: faster exceptions and new LINQ methods. New ASP.NET Core 9 features include optimized static assets, built-in OpenAPI document generation, and the HybridCache. Practical examples, such as building websites and services with ASP.NET Core, have been refreshed to utilize the latest .NET 9 features. The book also introduces Blazor, with its new unified hosting model for unparalleled code reusability. With these updates, you'll learn how to build robust applications and services efficiently and effectively. By the end of this book, you'll have the knowledge and confidence to create professional and high-performance web applications using the latest technologies in C# 13 and .NET 9.

What you will learn

• Discover the new features of .NET 9, including more flexible params and new LINQ like CountBy and Index.
• Leverage the new ASP.NET Core 9 features for optimized static assets, OpenAPI document generation, and HybridCache.
• Utilize the native AOT publish capability for faster startup and reduced memory footprint.
• Build rich web user interface experiences using Blazor in ASP.NET Core 9.
• Integrate and update databases in your applications using Entity Framework Core 9 models.
• Query and manipulate data using LINQ.
• Build powerful services using Minimal APIs.

Who this book is for

This book is aimed at beginner to intermediate-level C# and .NET developers. While prior exposure to C# or .NET is not a prerequisite, a general understanding of programming concepts will be beneficial. If you want to learn more technologies for building modern .NET projects like gRPC, SignalR, and .NET MAUI, read Mark's Apps and Services with .NET 8 book next; and if you aim to become a professional .NET developer quickly or mainly work on team projects, read his other book, Tools and Skills for .NET 8.