Is it possible to run classic ASP.NET on a different IDE? I am having trouble with Visual Studio because it runs very slow on my PC. If there are any other options?
Visual Studio Code is a lightweight IDE you could use and has good integration with .Net
https://code.visualstudio.com
It has the added advantage that it runs on Linux and Mac as well.
I haven't used it much myself, but it's highly extensible and very easy to use. It features intellisense, good integration with nuget package management, git, etc..
I need to setup a c# ide (free) on his laptop, do I need to download the sdk or does windows 7 come with a c# compiler? (it's been a while setting something up from scratch)
You can try Visual C# 2010 Express, it's a free version of Visual Studio for C# development, and IMHO more than enough for someone learning that you don't really need the full VS2010 package.
Download Visual C# 2010 Express edition. It's free, you can find further information here: http://www.microsoft.com/express/Windows/
Just use Microsoft Visual Studio Express.
http://www.microsoft.com/express/
The Microsoft Web Platform Installer can be used to install Visual Studio Express, and also easily install many of the other MS tools like WebMatrix.
The Microsoft Web Platform Installer
3.0 (Web PI) is a free tool that makes getting the latest components of the
Microsoft Web Platform, including
Internet Information Services (IIS),
SQL Server Express, .NET Framework and
Visual Web Developer easy.
Similarly Linqpad is a great tool for playing around and dynamic prototyping. I can't advocate it enough.
... LINQPad is more than just a LINQ
tool: it's an ergonomic C#/VB
scratchpad that instantly executes any
C#/VB expression, statement block or
program with rich output formatting –
the ultimate in dynamic development.
Put an end to those hundreds of Visual
Studio Console projects cluttering
your source folder!
Look for the free version of Visual Studio 2008. Not sure if there is one for 2010. It's at the Microsoft site. http://www.microsoft.com/express/downloads/#2008-Visual-CS
Framework is sufficient, IIRC.
I am looking for a tool that would allow me to use LINQ and build a .Net app rapidly.
If you must have an open-source .NET IDE, you have two choices that I'm aware of: MonoDevelop and SharpDevelop. However, there are also free versions of Visual Studio.
If you need open source IDEs
Check :
SharpDevelop
CSharp Studio
MonoDevelop
xacc
The tool is called Visual Studio. There's even a free version. Another tool might be hiring a developer that builds .NET applications rapidly.
I would like to develop Mono application for Win/Linux/Mac in C# on Windows. Is there any really good (Visual Studio comparable) IDE for that? The best would be if I could manage Visual C# Express to compile solutions using the Mono compiler.
I've found a #develop IDE, which looks very cool and has many features that Express edition of the Visual Studio hasn't (like plugins for TortoiseSVN, NUnit, etc). Hovewer the 3.* versions dropped support for Mono, so you are no longer able to compile solutions using the Mono compiler.
There is also a MonoDevelop. I've tried it and it sucks. Not comparable to Visual Studio at all. No WinForms designer, + tons of other missing features. I would just like if they would drop the development of MonoDevelop and build a plugin for #develop instead.
Is there any other good enough IDE, or is it possible to make the Visual C# Express or #develop compile the solutions with Mono compiler?
EDIT: Delphi Prism looks cool, but it isn't C#.
You can always develop your applications using Visual Studio Express Edition (since you don't want to pay for the Mono Tools). Monodevelop will support compilation of Visual Studio solutions now, so just develop in VS, and recompile occasionally in Monodevelop to guarantee support.
Since Mono now supports Windows Forms, you can develop a Windows Forms application entirely in Visual Studio, and just deploy it using Mono. Since C# compiles to IL, it doesn't matter which IDE you use to develop - you can still run it on Mono.
How about Mono Tools for Visual Studio?
Note that it's a commercial plugin.
Whilst SharpDevelop 3.2 does not support mono out of the box but if you download the source code for SharpDevelop you can find a code sample that contained the original code for mono support. If you build that sample then mono support will be re-enabled in SharpDevelop.
A decision was made to remove mono support from the main SharpDevelop application since only support for compiling with mono was provided and MonoDevelop can now run on Windows. Note that mono support in SharpDevelop does not provide any integrated debugging with mono's debugger and there is no GTK# designer compared with MonoDevelop.
You can use Mono Tools for Visual Studio. However, it's a paid product.
I think your best bet will be to do development with VS C# Express, and then use a virtual machine--such as VMWare, Virtual PC, VirtualBox, etc.--to access Linux (which is the primary platform for MonoDevelop, and on which it works really well, comparably to VS.)
There are even a number of downloads available that are primed for doing exactly this. You could even use a Live CD, and just reboot your machine to get into Linux (which can usually access Windows partitions with no problems.)
Is it possible to use C# for free? Which tools would you use?
For fun/studying: I'm pretty sure you can, but still, the tools question remains.
For programs you wish to sell?
The tools I'm looking for:
IDE (as complete as possible: debugging, refactoring, libraries, IntelliSense etc.) - also, if it's not included in the IDE, compiler.
Unit Testing,
Documenting (extracting comments as with JavaDoc),
Deploying.
Other suggestions for nice free tools are also welcome.
Note that IMO, Visual Studio Express is NOT offering all these tools.
IDEs:
Visual Studio 2017 Community. It has a subset of Professional Edition's features, but all that you have mentioned. You may want to Compare Visual Studio 2017 Editions. High school and university students are eligible for free licence of VS Professional from Dreamspark.
Sharp Develop
Mono Develop
standalone compiler:
csc.exe, vbc.exe and msbuild.exe are a part of .NET Framework. Windows SDK tools is also free. Or you can use compiler from Mono project.
Unit Testing:
NUnit, mbUnit, xUnit and many, many others.
Documenting: (extracting comments JavaDoc-style)
GhostDoc - not for Express Edition
Deploying:
NAnt, Cruse Control .NET
While OP says:
Visual Studio Express is NOT offering all this tools as claimed!
What doesn't C# Express provide that you want?
serious deploying, unit testing, documenting
Yet, IMO you can do that with Visual Studio Express.
Deployment
Visual Studio Deployment projects are certainly missing from Visual Studio Express, but frankly that's not much of an omission. The whole feature is half baked, good enough to tick off a feature list, good enough for toy deployments but, arguably, not really up to the rigors of the real world.
Windows Installer XML (WiX) is an open source toolkit from Microsoft for creating installers. The installer for Microsoft Office 2007 was reportedly built with WiX, so it's reasonable to believe that it can handle any smaller case.
Another installation tool is the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, perhaps easier to understand than WiX, but also not using with the MSI technology built into Windows and therefore harder to manage in the Enterprise case.
Unit Testing
The Microsoft testing framework is MSTest, and while it's up to the task, it's not the leader of the pack. In fact, if you google around for reactions to MSTest, you'll find many who think it a ripoff of NUnit.
There was a time that you could integrate any of the test tools into Visual Studio Express, using Test Driven.Net, though that no longer works.
What does work is to use the external runner programs for your unit testing tool - all of the major unit testing frameworks come with them. When using VS Express myself, I tend to have the test runner hanging around in the background; rerunning tests then just involves a task switch.
NUnit is the grandaddy of the .NET testing frameworks, and it works very well. There are others around though, such as mbUnit and xUnit.
Documentation
No version of Visual Studio has a good story for documentation. In fact, they all have the same story - a compiler switch to generate XML files based on the documentation comments.
To convert those XML files into real documentation, you need other tools. NDoc used to be the standard, but that project is unfortunately now dead (quite a sad tale). Sandcastle (another Microsoft Open Source project) is likely to become the new gold standard, but the tool isn't yet as mature and easy to use as we would like. DocU is a new release in this field, might be worth followup.
Conclusions
As you can see, there are good ways to achieve the goals you want, even using Visual Studio Express. In fact, there are only two things you'll gain from moving up to a paid version of Visual Studio.
You'll get MSTest, if you want it.
You'll be able install extensions/plugins like TestDriven.NET and Resharper.
For someone getting started, I don't think the value proposition is there. Start with the free tools and spend money when you have enough experience to spend it well.
IDE (as complete as possible, debugging, refactoring, libraries, intellisense, ...) => Sharpdevelop (#develop) an Open Source IDE for .Net with support for multiple languages.
If not in IDE, compiler
=> As mentioned by Jozef
Unit Testing => Sharpdevelop, NUnit integrated inside
Documenting (extracting comments eg, cf javadoc) => Sharpdevelop, SandCastle and SHFB integrated
Deploying => Sharpdevelop, WIX integrated.
Check out all the features for Shardevelop at SharpDevelop Features
Its free to create programs and sell. For fun you can develop some more features inside it :)
You can download Visual Studio Express. It includes all that you are asking for. Here is the linky :)
Good luck!
http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/
Visual C# express edition
Visual C# express edition
Nunit
SandCastle
Don't know , I'll let someone else answer that.
Look at Visual C# Express for your IDE and compiler, NDoc for your documentation, MbUnit or NUnit for unit testing, and I believe C# Express will handle deployment as well.
Visual Studio 2008 Express, (or Visual C# 2008 Express, if you don't want to use other languages) is a good choice. It's free.
Non-Microsoft, try SharpDevelop
Edit: if you are a student, and your university is MSDN AA certificated, you can get Visual Studio 2008 Professional for free. Yes, free.
http://www.microsoft.com/express/vcsharp/
https://www.dreamspark.com/Products/ProductList.aspx (if you're a student:)
Also look at WiX for deploying - this allows you to create MSI files.