[.net] .NET Forum FAQ

Maybe...

• A direct download link to the Framework


• A list of Windows OSes that the .NET Framework can run on


• Info about developing for compact devices


• Links to info about Mono and dotGNU

It's all stuff that can be googled without too much trouble, but even so, it'd be handy.

List of languages that are supported by .NET (C#, VB, J#, C++, Python, Ada, etc etc...)

I'm a mod in a German .NET board and I have made a FAQ as well. Here's a list of questions:

General
-------
What is .NET?
Is .NET bound to Microsoft?
What do I need to program for .NET?
What are pros and cons of .NET?
Is .NET slow?
Is .NET suitable for writing games?
There's an Int32, Double and Boolean in the System-namespace. Where's Float?
How do I convert a string to float/double/int?
What is garbage collection and how does it work in .NET?
I want to localize my app. How?
How do I integrate resources into my assembly and how do I use them?
How do I deploy the framework with my app?
Where do I find P/invoke signatures?


C#
--
What is C#?
C# vs. Java
Where do I find sources of information on C#?
How do I access data of another form?
Does C# support templates?
How do I document C# code?
How do I call native functions (e.g. Win32) from C# code?
Under VB.NET I call anObject.Item(5) = bla, why doesn't this work in C#?
How do I open an Excel sheet in C#?
Book suggestions

Managed C++
-----------
C++, VC++.NET, MC++, who's who?
How do I convert a .NET String to const char*, const wchar_t* or std::string?
How do I convert a char* to a .NET String?
I'm using windows.h in my MC++ project and keep getting errors like "MessageBoxA is not a member of System::Windows::Forms". What's going on here?

<< skipping ADO.NET/ASP.NET/WinForms >>

Managed DirectX und OpenGL
--------------------------
Where do I find tutorials on MDX?

What is OpenGL?
How do I acccess OpenGL from .NET?


Mono, dotGno, GTK#
------------------

What is mono?
How much of the MS FCL is implemented?
Which GUI toolkits does mono provide?
Is mono being accepted by Microsoft?
Can I use ASP.NET/WebServices under mono?
What about ADO.NET?
Additional links


The original size

If you are interested, I could translate/summarize the answers.

Regards
Andre

Oh yes, please do...my german is rusty (haven't used it in years, and the last time I read german...well, let's just say that 13th century german is quite a bit different.)

OK, I'll send you a translation. I won't be able to do it this weekend (too busy) though.

BTW:

Quote:

2) No X VS Y crap, we all know Y is better....

Bullshit, everyone and their sister knows that X r0ckz! :D Just kidding...


Regards,
Andre

OK, here's a few things to help what's been posted already.

Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package
.NET Framework SDK Version 1.1

Here's a link to the .NET Framework 2.0 SDK Beta 1 x86, just for completeness.

To be honest, it's probably just worth putting the .NET Framework Download Center in the FAQ instead, telling people to get the latest stable release, and not a beta (for beginners sake at least).

Probably also worth putting these Microsoft QuickStart tutorials in there as well.

Other things to put in the FAQ:

Q: What Operating Systems are supported by the .NET Framework?

A: Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows XP

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 requires Service Pack 6a.

Obviously, if any other non-Microsoft operating systems are supported, add them there as well.

Q: What are delegates and events?

A: See this tutorial, for an answer to this question, covering the usage of both delegates and events.

I think it'd be worth adding this, as I can imagine the delegates/events questions to be the C# stumbling block equivalent to that of pointers in C/C++.

Other questions:

Q: What's the difference between the .NET types (System.Boolean, System.Double, etc.) and C# types such as bool, double, etc.?

Simple one, but probably would come up.

Bound to be lots more, but I've only just got back from being away for a bit, so I'm pretty tired. I'll post back if I think of anything else. [smile]

-hellz

A question I'd like to see answered (if possible):

How do I convert C++ to C#?
or even
How do I move from unmanaged C++ to managed C++?

Would links to other technical forums be good? I find www.experts-exchange.com often has a post where my exact question has already been asked and answered. Registration is free (you have to register to view the solutions). The only thing that sucks is that the place is literally chock full of posts and the built-in search function is fairly worthless. However, googling for answers with experts and exchange in the search string usually works well.

I'm still waiting for VizOne to post some answers, those questions are very good and would make an excellent FAQ, to bad I don't know german, I'd be over on that site all the time!

I noticed that when all of the languages went ".net"
they all run at the same speed since they compiled down to the same level of code....

this makes a language like visual basic suitable for gaming if one were to use microsofts own game libraries aka directx because there is no speed diference with any language.

open** isn't accessable to any other .net languages except c++
(to any open** programmer's sadness)

then again...
I've recently heard of tao...
it is the medium in which managed code is made into opengl calls
I'd say it's not as easy as dx, but it's doable...

I'm using SDLDotNet and Tao.OpenGL. SDLDotNet is a very nice managed wrapper around SDL that uses events, objects, etc. Tao.OpenGL is the same old OpenGL with everything in the Gl class, so all the old tutorials still apply.

The nice thing is cross-platform-ness. I don't even have to recompile to have my game working on Linux. With my MLib.Timer wrapper around QPF and Environment.TickCount (which returns to the nearest ms on Linux), I can use the same .zip downloadable for Windows and Linux. (Of course the Linux users will want it as a .bz2.)

Oh, and I assume that this won't be the final FAQ, will it? Will someone put everything into FAQ form when we have plenty of info here?

Q - Where should I start?
Q - How do I make a game with .NET?

Help! my VB6 code won't compile on VB.NET! What happened?

Since it is a .NET forum and a game development site, why not a link to the DirectX download (and perhaps a quick answer on how to install the Managed DX assemblies from the redist.

Good ideas. Guess i should whip out the ol' notepad and finish this up soon (like...this weekend)

I'll post what I can translate..meine Deutsche ist aber schlecht..;)

Managed DirectX und OpenGL

Managed DirectX

DE: Wo finde ich Tutoriale zum Thema Managed DirectX?
ENG: Where can I find Managed DirectX Tutorials?
http://www.genkisoft.com/manageddx.shtml
http://staff.develop.com/candera/weblog2/articleview.aspx/DirectX/Direct3D

DE: Buchempfehlung
ENG: Books
Managed DirectX 9 (by Tom Miller)


OpenGL

DE: Was ist OpenGL?
ENG: What is OpenGL?

DE: OpenGL ist eine Library zur hardwarebeschleunigten Grafikausgabe, ähnlich wie (Managed) Direct3D. Im Gegensatz zu DirectX unterstüzt OpenGL auch viele andere Plattformen(Linux,Unix,Windows,MacOS,Embedded Controller...). Außerhalb der Spieleprogrammierung hat sich OpenGL zum Quasi Standard für Grafikprogrammierung etabliert. Genauere Informationen zu OpenGL gibt es auf www.opengl.org .
ENG: Long spiel here, but basically explains that OpenGL is cross platform and DirectX isn't. OpenGL can run on multiple platforms (Linux, Unix, Win32, MacOs, etc). For more information on OpenGL, see opengl.org.


DE: Wie greife ich von .net aus auf OpenGL zu?
ENG: How do I use OpenGL with .NET?

DE: Hierzu gibt es 2 Möglichkeiten: Zum Ersten CSGL. Jedoch ist die Entwicklung dieses Projektes eingestellt. Daher sollte man auf das Tao Framework setzen.
ENG: We've got 2 choices: CSGL and Tao

DE: Welche OpenGL Spezifikation werden unterstüzt?
ENG: What's the latest OpenGL specification?

DE: Derzeit wird die OpenGL Spezifikation 1.5 unterstüzt.
ENG: The OpenGL 1.5 specification is the latest.

DE: Welche zusätzlichen Librarys werden unterstüzt?
ENG: What companion/utility library are available?

DE: Es stehen GLU 1.3,GLUT 3.7.6, WGL und verschiedene GL und WGL Extensions zu Verfügung.
ENG: We've got GLU 1.3, GLUT 3.7.6, WGL and the GL extension mechanism.

More to come!

DirectX managed download (SDK):
msdn.microsoft.com/directx

DirectX Managed runtime (bundled with the 9.0c redist):
www.microsoft.com/directx

Nothing much to installing the redistributable (thank god), just launch it and let it go to work.

Quote:

Original post by hellz Other questions: Q: What's the difference between the .NET types (System.Boolean, System.Double, etc.) and C# types such as bool, double, etc.?

These are aliases to the .NET types for ease of use in C#.
Linky from MSDN