Chapter 3. VB and C# Programming Basics

One of the great things about using ASP.NET is that we can pick and choose which of the various .NET languages we like. In this chapter, we’ll look at the key programming principles that will underpin our use of Visual Basic and C#. We’ll start by discussing some of the fundamental concepts of programming ASP.NET web applications using these two languages. We’ll explore programming fundamentals such as variables, arrays, functions, operators, conditionals, loops, and events, and work through a quick introduction to object oriented programming (OOP). Next, we’ll dive into namespaces and address the topic of classes—seeing how they’re exposed through namespaces, and which ones you’ll use most often.

The final sections of the chapter cover some of the ideas underlying modern, effective ASP.NET design, including code-behind and the value it provides by helping us separate code from presentation. We finish with an examination of how object oriented programming techniques impact upon the ASP.NET developer.