C# Language Pocket Reference

Chapter . C# Language Pocket Reference

C# is a programming language from Microsoft that is designed specifically to target the .NET Framework. Microsoft’s .NET Framework is a runtime environment and class library that dramatically simplifies the development of modern, component-based applications.

Microsoft has shown an unprecedented degree of openness in C# and the .NET Framework. The key specifications for the C# language and the .NET platform have been published, reviewed, and ratified by an international standards organization called the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA). This standardization effort has led to a Shared Source release of the specification called the Shared Source CLI (http://msdn.microsoft.com/net/sscli/), as well as to Open Source implementations of .NET called DotGNU Portable .NET (http://www.dotgnu.org) and Mono (http://www.go-mono.com). All three implementations include support for C#.

This book is a quick-reference manual to the C# language as of version 1.0 of the .NET Framework. It lists a concise description of language syntax and provides a guide to other areas of the .NET Framework that are of interest to C# programmers.

The purpose of this quick reference is to aid readers who need to look up some basic detail of C# syntax or usage. It is not intended to be a tutorial or user guide, and at least a basic familiarity with C# is assumed. If you’d like more in-depth information or a more detailed reference, please see Programming C#