Start (or Continue!) Your Programming Journey - Follow the steps below to set yourself up programming in C# from home. We will recap the basics at the start of Year 12 but you can make next year much easier by getting used to it as a language beforehand.
Step 1) Install Visual Studio Community Edition.
You will need to install Visual Studio Community Edition on your computer at home in order to start creating your first programs. It's free! Visual Studio Community | Download Latest Free Version.
Here is an installation guide if you need it:
When you first run it, you will be asked to sign in with your Microsoft account. Use your G-number and password for your school account and you will be granted full access.
You can also use VS Code if you prefer. You will need to research and follow a tutorial to set it up to run C# code successfully. Please be aware that in your final exam in Y13, you will be using Visual Studio, so we recommend we use this if you can!
Step 2) Bookmark (or print off) a cheat sheet
A cheat sheet is a resource that you can use to go back to when you forget something – like a dictionary but for coding. There are many C# ones available, but I really like this one as it covers the basics you will need and not much more. Bookmark it as you will use it often – you can print it off if you like!
Step 3) Practice...Before Visual Studio
Although I've told you to install Visual Studio - before you get stuck in I recommend you work through this course from Microsoft that will help you grasp the basics of the syntax. You run all of the code on this short course in your web browser.
Write your first code using C# (Get started with C#, Part 1) - Training | Microsoft Learn
Step 4) Practice...In Visual Studio
With Visual
Studio installed, you now have somewhere to code. We need to first set the
foundations for you to be successful in your coding practice. At four hours, it's a pretty long video but you don't need to complete it in one sitting. Code along in Visual Studio and make notes of important lines of code that you will need to remember later. Just getting an initial grasp of how programs run and how C# code looks is great for now.
Step 5) Problem Solving...
This problem solving aspect of programming is often over-looked. The first four steps are very technical and involve you applying code directly, but programming is more a skill of problem solving that it is of coding. Sign up for an account on this website: Bebras
Try some of the problem solving challenges of various levels - you can start younger then you are to get started. They are not code or Computer Science based generally, they just encourage you to think creatively and deeply to solve problems - a skill that is essential to be a strong programmer!
That's it! We will do plenty more programming practice next year and we will upskill you in many areas you will need to be a successful and confident programmer.