- •Microsoft C# Programming for the Absolute Beginner
- •Table of Contents
- •Microsoft C# Programming for the Absolute Beginner
- •Introduction
- •Overview
- •Chapter 1: Basic Input and Output: A Mini Adventure
- •Project: The Mini Adventure
- •Reviewing Basic C# Concepts
- •Namespaces
- •Classes
- •Methods
- •Statements
- •The Console Object
- •.NET Documentation
- •Getting into the Visual Studio .Net Environment
- •Examining the Default Code
- •Creating a Custom Namespace
- •Adding Summary Comments
- •Creating the Class
- •Moving from Code to a Program
- •Compiling Your Program
- •Looking for Bugs
- •Getting Input from the User
- •Creating a String Variable
- •Getting a Value with the Console.ReadLine() Method
- •Incorporating a Variable in Output
- •Combining String Values
- •Combining Strings with Concatenation
- •Adding a Tab Character
- •Using the Newline Sequence
- •Displaying a Backslash
- •Displaying Quotation Marks
- •Launching the Mini Adventure
- •Planning the Story
- •Creating the Variables
- •Getting Values from the User
- •Writing the Output
- •Finishing the Program
- •Summary
- •Chapter 2: Branching and Operators: The Math Game
- •The Math Game
- •Using Numeric Variables
- •The Simple Math Game
- •Numeric Variable Types
- •Integer Variables
- •Long Integers
- •Data Type Problems
- •Math Operators
- •Converting Variables
- •Explicit Casting
- •The Convert Object
- •Creating a Branch in Program Logic
- •The Hi Bill Game
- •Condition Testing
- •The If Statement
- •The Else Clause
- •Multiple Conditions
- •Working with The Switch Statement
- •The Switch Demo Program
- •Examining How Switch Statements Work
- •Creating a Random Number
- •Introducing the Die Roller
- •Exploring the Random Object
- •Creating a Random Double with the .NextDouble() Method
- •Getting the Values of Dice
- •Creating the Math Game
- •Designing the Game
- •Creating the Variables
- •Managing Addition
- •Managing Subtraction
- •Managing Multiplication and Division
- •Checking the Answers
- •Waiting for the Carriage Return
- •Summary
- •Chapter 3: Loops and Strings: The Pig Latin Program
- •Project: The Pig Latin Program
- •Investigating The String Object
- •The String Mangler Program
- •A Closer Look at Strings
- •Using the Object Browser
- •Experimenting with String Methods
- •Performing Common String Manipulations
- •Using a For Loop
- •Examining The Bean Counter Program
- •Creating a Sentry Variable
- •Checking for an Upper Limit
- •Incrementing the Variable
- •Examining the Behavior of the For Loop
- •The Fancy Beans Program
- •Skipping Numbers
- •Counting Backwards
- •Using a Foreach Loop to Break Up a Sentence
- •Using a While Loop
- •The Magic Word Program
- •Writing an Effective While Loop
- •Planning Your Program with the STAIR Process
- •S: State the Problem
- •T: Tool Identification
- •A: Algorithm
- •I: Implementation
- •R: Refinement
- •Applying STAIR to the Pig Latin Program
- •Stating the Problem
- •Identifying the Tools
- •Creating the Algorithm
- •Implementing and Refining
- •Writing the Pig Latin Program
- •Setting Up the Variables
- •Creating the Outside Loop
- •Dividing the Phrase into Words
- •Extracting the First Character
- •Checking for a Vowel
- •Adding Debugging Code
- •Closing Up the code
- •Summary
- •Introducing the Critter Program
- •Creating Methods to Reuse Code
- •The Song Program
- •Building the Main() Method
- •Creating a Simple Method
- •Adding a Parameter
- •Returning a Value
- •Creating a Menu
- •Creating a Main Loop
- •Creating the Sentry Variable
- •Calling a Method
- •Working with the Results
- •Writing the showMenu() Method
- •Getting Input from the User
- •Handling Exceptions
- •Returning a Value
- •Creating a New Object with the CritterName Program
- •Creating the Basic Critter
- •Using Scope Modifiers
- •Using a Public Instance Variable
- •Creating an Instance of the Critter
- •Adding a Method
- •Creating the talk() Method for the CritterTalk Program
- •Changing the Menu to Use the talk() Method
- •Creating a Property in the CritterProp Program
- •Examining the Critter Prop Program
- •Creating the Critter with a Name Property
- •Using Properties as Filters
- •Making the Critter More Lifelike
- •Adding More Private Variables
- •Adding the Age() Method
- •Adding the Eat() Method
- •Adding the Play() Method
- •Modifying the Talk() Method
- •Making Changes in the Main Class
- •Summary
- •Introducing the Snowball Fight
- •Inheritance and Encapsulation
- •Creating a Constructor
- •Adding a Constructor to the Critter Class
- •Creating the CritViewer Class
- •Reviewing the Static Keyword
- •Calling a Constructor from the Main() Method
- •Working with Multiple Files
- •Overloading Constructors
- •Viewing the Improved Critter Class
- •Adding Polymorphism to Your Objects
- •Modifying the Critter Viewer in CritOver to Demonstrate Overloaded Constructors
- •Using Inheritance to Make New Classes
- •Creating a Class to View the Clone
- •Creating the Critter Class
- •Improving an Existing Class
- •Introducing the Glitter Critter
- •Adding Methods to a New Class
- •Changing the Critter Viewer Again
- •Creating the Snowball Fight
- •Building the Fighter
- •Building the Robot Fighter
- •Creating the Main Menu Class
- •Summary
- •Overview
- •Introducing the Visual Critter
- •Thinking Like a GUI Programmer
- •Creating a Graphical User Interface (GUI)
- •Examining the Code of a Windows Program
- •Adding New Namespaces
- •Creating the Form Object
- •Creating a Destructor
- •Creating the Components
- •Setting Component Properties
- •Setting Up the Form
- •Writing the Main() Method
- •Creating an Interactive Program
- •Responding to a Simple Event
- •Creating and Adding the Components
- •Adding an Event to the Program
- •Creating an Event Handler
- •Allowing for Multiple Selections
- •Choosing a Font with Selection Controls
- •Creating the User Interface
- •Examining Selection Tools
- •Creating Instance Variables in the Font Chooser
- •Writing the AssignFont() Method
- •Writing the Event Handlers
- •Working with Images and Scroll Bars
- •Setting Up the Picture Box
- •Adding a Scroll Bar
- •Revisiting the Visual Critter
- •Designing the Program
- •Determining the Necessary Tools
- •Designing the Form
- •Writing the Code
- •Summary
- •Chapter 7: Timers and Animation: The Lunar Lander
- •Introducing the Lunar Lander
- •Reading Values from the Keyboard
- •Introducing the Key Reader Program
- •Setting Up the Key Reader Program
- •Coding the KeyPress Event
- •Coding the KeyDown Event
- •Determining Which Key Was Pressed
- •Animating Images
- •Introducing the ImageList Control
- •Setting Up an Image List
- •Looking at the Image Collection
- •Displaying an Image from the Image List
- •Using a Timer to Automate Animation
- •Introducing the Timer Control
- •Configuring the Timer
- •Adding Motion
- •Checking for Keyboard Input
- •Working with the Location Property
- •Detecting Collisions between Objects
- •Coding the Crasher Program
- •Getting Values for newX and newY
- •Bouncing the Ball off the Sides
- •Checking for Collisions
- •Extracting a Rectangle from a Component
- •Getting More from the MessageBox Object
- •Introducing the MsgDemo Program
- •Retrieving Values from the MessageBox
- •Coding the Lunar Lander
- •The Visual Design
- •The Constructor
- •The timer1_Tick() Method
- •The moveShip() Method
- •The checkLanding() Method
- •The theForm_KeyDown() Method
- •The showStats() Method
- •The killShip() Method
- •The initGame() Method
- •Summary
- •Chapter 8: Arrays: The Soccer Game
- •The Soccer Game
- •Introducing Arrays
- •Exploring the Counter Program
- •Creating an Array of Strings
- •Referring to Elements in an Array
- •Working with Arrays
- •Using the Array Demo Program to Explore Arrays
- •Building the Languages Array
- •Sorting the Array
- •Designing the Soccer Game
- •Solving a Subset of the Problem
- •Adding Percentages for the Other Players
- •Setting Up the Shot Demo Program
- •Setting Up the List Boxes
- •Using a Custom Event Handler
- •Writing the changeStatus() Method
- •Kicking the Ball
- •Designing Programs by Hand
- •Examining the Form by Hand Program
- •Adding Components in the Constructor
- •Responding to the Button Event
- •Building the Soccer Program
- •Setting Up the Variables
- •Examining the Constructor
- •Setting Up the Players
- •Setting Up the Opponents
- •Setting Up the Goalies
- •Responding to Player Clicks
- •Handling Good Shots
- •Handling Bad Shots
- •Setting a New Current Player
- •Handling the Passage of Time
- •Updating the Score
- •Summary
- •Chapter 9: File Handling: The Adventure Kit
- •Introducing the Adventure Kit
- •Viewing the Main Screen
- •Loading an Adventure
- •Playing an Adventure
- •Creating an Adventure
- •Reading and Writing Text Files
- •Exploring the File IO Program
- •Importing the IO Namespace
- •Writing to a Stream
- •Reading from a Stream
- •Creating Menus
- •Exploring the Menu Demo Program
- •Adding a MainMenu Object
- •Adding a Submenu
- •Setting Up the Properties of Menu Items
- •Writing Event Code for Menus
- •Using Dialog Boxes to Enhance Your Programs
- •Exploring the Dialog Demo Program
- •Adding Standard Dialogs to Your Form
- •Using the File Dialog Controls
- •Responding to File Dialog Events
- •Using the Font Dialog Control
- •Using the Color Dialog Control
- •Storing Entire Objects with Serialization
- •Exploring the Serialization Demo Program
- •Creating the Contact Class
- •Referencing the Serializable Namespace
- •Storing a Class
- •Retrieving a Class
- •Returning to the Adventure Kit Program
- •Examining the Room Class
- •Creating the Dungeon Class
- •Writing the Game Class
- •Writing the Editor Class
- •Writing the MainForm Class
- •Summary
- •Chapter 10: Chapter Basic XML: The Quiz Maker
- •Introducing the Quiz Maker Game
- •Taking a Quiz
- •Creating and Editing Quizzes
- •Investigating XML
- •Defining XML
- •Creating an XML Document in .NET
- •Creating an XML Schema for Your Language
- •Investigating the .NET View of XML
- •Exploring the XmlNode Class
- •Exploring the XmlDocument Class
- •Reading an Existing XML Document
- •Creating the XML Viewer Program
- •Writing New Values to an XML Document
- •Building the Document Structure
- •Adding an Element to the Document
- •Displaying the XML Code
- •Examining the Quizzer Program
- •Building the Main Form
- •Writing the Quiz Form
- •Writing the Editor Form
- •Summary
- •Overview
- •Introducing the SpyMaster Program
- •Creating a Simple Database
- •Accessing the Data Server
- •Accessing the Data in a Program
- •Using Queries to Modify Data Results
- •Limiting Data with the SELECT Statement
- •Using an Existing Database
- •Adding the Capability to Display Queries
- •Creating a Visual Query Builder
- •Working with Relational Databases
- •Improving Your Data with Normalization
- •Using a Join to Connect Two Tables
- •Creating a View
- •Referring to a View in a Program
- •Incorporating the Agent Specialty Attribute
- •Working with Other Databases
- •Creating a New Connection
- •Converting a Data Set to XML
- •Reading from XML to a Data Source
- •Creating the SpyMaster Database
- •Building the Main Form
- •Editing the Assignments
- •Editing the Specialties
- •Viewing the Agents
- •Editing the Agent Data
- •Summary
- •List of Figures
- •List of Tables
- •List of Sidebars
extract firstChar, restOfWord
if firstChar is a vowel,
pigWord = word + "way"
otherwise
pigWord = restOfWord + firstChar + "ay"
end if
end foreach loop
end while loop
This pseudocode is extremely useful because it provides a blueprint for finishing the program. Implementing the program simply requires fleshing out the pseudocode with C# code. Notice that I still use English−like phrases, such as user has not said "quit". As long as you have an idea how to translate the pseudocode into actual code, using a form of English is fine. However, you often find that you don’t know exactly how to proceed on a particular piece of your code. For example, how do you write code to determine whether a certain letter is a vowel? You can do this a number of ways, for example, by using the switch structure and a series of else if clauses. Later, I’ll show you another strategy that’s more compact. When a part of your algorithm is not ready to implement, you can apply the STAIR process again to that smaller piece of the problem until you are satisfied that you will be able to implement the algorithm.
Implementing and Refining
The implementation and refinement steps aren’t really a part of the program−planning process. The implementation is the actual code, which you will see in the next section. Refinement is an ongoing process, so I’ll show you how I had to refine the plan as I wrote the actual code.
Writing the Pig Latin Program
The STAIR process led to the development of some pseudocode. Now you have a solid plan, and you know which types of objects, variables, and code structures you will need. It will be relatively simple to translate this plan into a working program.
Setting Up the Variables
With the plan in place, it was easy to figure out a starting point. I did all the normal startup steps and created variables:
using System;
namespace PigLatin
{
///<summary>
///Pig Latin interpreter
///Demonstrate loops, string methods
///Andy Harris, 11/16/01
74
/// </summary> class Pig
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string pigWord = ""; string sentence = ""; string firstLetter; string restOfWord;
string vowels = "AEIOUaeiou"; int letterPos;
The program features several useful variables. The pigWord variable holds each word after it is converted to pig latin. The
sentence variable holds the entire original phrase as it comes from the user. The firstLetter variable is used to hold the (surprise!) first letter of each word. The restOfWord variable holds all the other letters in the word. The vowels variable is sneaky. I’ll use it to see whether the first letter is a vowel. I had a word variable listed in the algorithm, but it will be created in the section on breaking the sentence into words as part of a foreach structure. The foreach loop requires that you create a variable, so I’ll simply create word as part of that structure. Also, I didn’t know at first that I needed a letterPos variable, but I added it during refinement. I’ll show you how it was used in just a second.
Creating the Outside Loop
The STAIR analysis of this program makes it clear that the program requires two kinds of loops. First, you need a loop to ask for a phrase. That loop will occur every time the user is asked for a new phrase. If the user types quit, the program should exit.
while (sentence.ToLower() != "quit"){
Console.WriteLine("Please enter a sentence (or type \"quit\" to exit)");
sentence = Console.ReadLine();
The main loop is a simple while loop. It checks whether sentence is equal to "quit". As long as the sentence variable is anything but "quit", the program continues. Notice that sentence is initialized to the empty value (" "), which is not quit, so the loop is guaranteed to run at least one time. Also note that I use the ToLower() method to convert whatever the user enters into lowercase. This way, "QUIT", "qUit", and "Quit" will be read as quit and cause the program to exit. Add this kind of feature whenever you can.
I then ask the user for a sentence. The sentence variable gets a new value from the screen. Telling the user how to exit is very important. If you don’t tell users to type quit, they might never guess, and your program would effectively have no end. The sentry variable for this loop is sentence. It is properly initialized, the condition is well conceived, and it has a mechanism for changing the sentry so that the loop can exit. This appears to be a well designed loop.
Dividing the Phrase into Words
The Pig Latin program must act independently on each word in the sentence. You have seen a tool (the foreach loop with the String.Split() method) that performs exactly this function:
foreach (string word in sentence.Split())
This code sets up another loop, which will repeat one time for each word in the sentence. Each time through the loop, the variable word will contain the value of the current word.
75
Extracting the First Character
When you are trying to determine tools in an object−oriented language such as C#, start by examining the objects you have on hand. Because the Pig Latin program manipulates strings, it isn’t surprising that it uses a number of methods of the string object. I wanted to find a method that lets me extract a substring from a string, and I found it in the String.SubString() method:
firstLetter = word.Substring(0,1);
restOfWord = word.Substring(1, word.Length −1);
The string manipulation methods came in handy here. The first letter of the word is a substring of the word starting at character 0 and is one character long. Don’t forget, computers often begin counting at 0, so the front character of the string is character 0, not 1. For the rest of the word, you need another substring that starts at character 1 and is one less than the total number of words in the string. You can use the Length property to determine how long a string is.
Checking for a Vowel
You can use an if...else if structure to check for a vowel, but this can be tedious, especially if you want to check for uppercase and lowercase values. Instead, I employ the String.indexOf() method as a sneaky way to determine whether the word begins with a vowel:
letterPos = vowels.IndexOf(firstLetter); if (letterPos == −1)
{
//it's a consonant
pigWord = restOfWord + firstLetter + "ay";
}else {
//it's a vowel
pigWord = word + "way";
}// end if
Console.Write("{0} ", pigWord);
I check to see where firstLetter occurs within the vowels string. If firstLetter is not in vowels, the IndexOf() method returns a –1, and firstLetter is a consonant. If letterPos is anything but –1, firstLetter is a vowel. I then write out the new word to the console.
Adding Debugging Code
While I was working on the program, I made some mistakes in my logic. I added a few lines that explicitly pointed out the value of various variables so I could clearly see where my logic was flawed. When I had the program working correctly, I added comments to these code lines because if I ever come back to repair this program (say, to deal with blends like sh and th), I will probably want access to these debugging codes again:
//debugging code //Console.Write("{0}\t", word); //Console.Write("{0}\t", firstLetter); //Console.Write("{0}\t", restOfWord); //Console.Write("{0}\t", letterPos); //Console.WriteLine("{0}", pigWord);
76