Learning C# introduces C# specifically, and the .NET development platform more generally, to programmers with little or no object-oriented programming experience. Along the way, you will learn a great deal about writing high-quality, industrial-strength programs for .NET.
This brief introduction will show you how C# fits into the .NET picture, what you can do with the language, and what benefits this language has over its predecessors.
You will also learn some of the concepts integral to object-oriented programming, which has revolutionized how web and Windows applications are developed. Object-oriented programming is closely tied to the semantics of the C# language, that is, the meaning behind the code you write. Obviously, you need to have a basic understanding of the syntax of the C# language, but you also need to understand what you are actually trying to accomplish.
In the past, you might have learned a language like C or Java without much concern about the platform on which you would be programming. These cross-platform languages were as comfortable on a Unix box as they were on a PC running Windows.
C#, however, was created specifically for .NET. While .NET may become cross-platform some day soon — a Unix port is reportedly in the offing — for now the overwhelming majority of .NET programs will be written to run on a machine running .NET. At the time of this writing, that means a Windows machine.
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