Reusing and Editing

1. Download InitialSolution.zip and save it onto your computer.

2. Unzip the program file. You can refer to our small guide on manipulating archives. Be careful as some file explorers will simply preview the (zip) archive if you simply double-click on it, but most IDEs will not accept a file if it has not been actually extracted / unzipped!

Renaming

Open the InitialSolution file that you just extracted in your IDE.

Editing

We will now change (edit) our EditedSolution solution.

1. In Program.cs:

   • replace "Welcome to the lab portion of CSCI 1301!"
   • with "This is my first program.".

2. Build and run the program. Do you notice any change(s)?

3. Insert a new line after the existing Console.WriteLine but before the first close brace (i.e. }) and paste the following:

   Console.Write("This is my second message."); 

4. Build and execute the program. Do you notice any change(s)?

5. Insert another new line after the one you just created, and paste the following:

   Console.Write("This is my third message."); 

6. Build and execute the program. Do you understand the difference between WriteLine and Write?

7. Insert another new line after the one you just created, and paste the following:

   Console.Write("\t This is my fourth message."); 

8. Build and execute the program. Do you understand what \t is doing?

9. Insert another new line after the one you just created and paste the following:

   Console.Write("\n This \n is \n my fifth message.\n");

10. Build and execute the program. You should see something like this:

    This is my first program.
    This is my second message.This is my third message.    This is my fourth message.
     This
     is
     my fifth message.

    Do you understand what \n is doing?

11. Have a look at escape sequences, and edit your program by adding a statement that displays the \ and the " characters.

12. Add a comment (using // or /* and */) in your program.

Make a back up of what you just did. Upload EditedSolution to your remote backup, or copy it onto your thumb drive. After saving the backup, close your IDE and make sure you can still open the solution. Redownloading and reopening solutions is a good way of making sure that your backup is correct.

Starting from a Template

We will first create a new C# project using the template for a “Console App” (we give first a general guidance, and then some details that are specific to particular IDE / operating systems combinations):

1. Launch your IDE

2. After the IDE launches, look for an option to create a new project. The exact wording varies between different IDEs, but look for one of the following:

   • Create a new project or New or New Solution in the launch screen
     
   • File > New > Project in the IDE menu
   • File > New Solution in the IDE menu

3. Look for the “Console Application” option, and check that the associated language is C# (cf. below).

4. If multiple frameworks are offered, make sure you pick the right one (cf. below).

5. Enter MyFirstProject as the name of the project.

6. Enter MyFirstSolution as the name of the solution.

7. For the location or solution directory, choose a good place to save your solution. The best place would be the folder you created for this lab.

8. Click Create.

Make sure you review the information in the following section that are relevant for you, and then answer the question in the last section.

Editing the Template

Now you will start writing your own code. We’ll start by writing a very familiar instruction to display a message on the screen.

1. Before editing your code, make sure you can actually compile it first!¹.

2. Place the cursor inside the Main method, after static void Main(string[] args) and the open brace (i.e.{).

3. Create a new line.

4. Type Console, and then pause.

5. After a short moment, an auto-completion feature that displays suggestions and messages should display. This is a common IDE feature to help the programmer. You’ll probably end up using it a lot, but let’s not worry about it for now.

6. Type in .Wri after Console (do not forget the period!) and notice the good suggestions. You actually want to write WriteLine! Either finish writing WriteLine or select it from the menu that appears.

7. Now, type an open parenthesis (i.e. (), and notice that a close parenthesis (i.e. )) is added automatically.

8. Type a string of your choice between those two parentheses. You can type something like "This is my first message", but do not forget the quotes.

   At this point, your Main method should look like this:

   static void Main(string[] args)
   {
       Console.WriteLine("This is my first message!")
   }

9. Compile (build) your program.

10. Oh no, something went wrong! Can you fix this problem?

11. Once you can compile your program without errors, execute it.

12. Make a backup of your project.