Learn C# Development Environment

A beginner-friendly environment for learning C# programming on Ubuntu! Perfect for:

• 🐧 Learning C# on Linux
• ✨ Writing clean, professional code
• 🧪 Learning test-driven development
• 🛠️ Building command-line applications

What Makes This Special?

Think of this as your personal Ubuntu development environment that:

• 📦 Uses containers so everything works consistently
• 🔧 Comes with professional tools pre-configured
• 🧪 Includes testing tools from day one
• 📚 Has built-in documentation to help you learn

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS installed (recommended)
• Internet connection
• At least 4GB of free RAM
• 10GB of free disk space

Note: While Ubuntu 24.04 may work, we recommend using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS for the most stable experience.

This is a GitHub Template Repository

This repository is set up as a template, which means:

1. Don't clone it directly
2. Click the green "Use this template" button on GitHub
3. Choose "Create a new repository"
4. This creates your own copy with a fresh Git history

Getting Started

1. Create Your Repository

1. Go to https://github.com/MALATHON/csharp-devcontainer-template
2. Click "Use this template" → "Create a new repository"
3. Name your repository and create it
4. Note down your new repository's URL - you'll need it later!

2. Set Up Your Ubuntu System

First, we need to install the required tools on your Ubuntu 22.04 system:

# Update your system first
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install required packages
sudo apt install -y \
    apt-transport-https \
    ca-certificates \
    curl \
    gnupg \
    lsb-release

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

# Install VS Code
wget -q https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main"
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y code

IMPORTANT: After running these commands, you must log out of Ubuntu completely and log back in for Docker permissions to take effect.

3. First Time Setup

1. Open VS Code
2. Install the "Dev Containers" extension:

   code --install-extension ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers

4. Get Your Development Environment

# Clone your new repository (replace with your repository URL from step 1)
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPOSITORY-NAME.git
cd YOUR-REPOSITORY-NAME

# Open in VS Code
code .

5. Start Coding

1. When VS Code opens, click "Reopen in Container" when prompted
2. Wait for setup (first time takes about 5-10 minutes)
   • Watch the bottom right for progress
   • The container is installing development tools
3. Open Terminal in VS Code:
   • Press Ctrl+` or
   • Menu: View → Terminal
4. Create your first project:

   ./scripts/create-project.sh

6. What Just Happened?

• 🛠️ Created a C# environment with:
  • .NET 8.0 SDK
  • Testing tools (xUnit, FluentAssertions, Moq)
  • Code analysis tools
• 🔧 Configured a powerful terminal with:
  • Oh My Zsh + Powerlevel10k theme
  • Smart command completion
  • Development shortcuts
• 📝 Set up VS Code with:
  • C# language support
  • Debugging tools
  • Testing interface

7. Next Steps

1. Start the documentation server:

   mkdocs serve

2. Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser
3. Read these guides in order:
   • 📘 "Getting Started → What is a Dev Container?"
   • 🔰 "Getting Started → First Steps"
   • 🧪 "Development → Testing"

Continuous Integration

This template includes GitHub Actions for CI/CD:

• ✅ Automatically builds your code
• ✅ Runs all tests
• ✅ Checks for common issues
• ✅ Works on every push and pull request

The workflow will:

1. Set up .NET 8.0
2. Create a new project
3. Build the solution
4. Run all tests

You can see the status of your builds in the "Actions" tab of your repository.

Common Ubuntu Issues & Solutions

Note: These instructions are tested on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

Docker Permission Issues?

# Add yourself to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and log back in

Container Won't Start?

# Check Docker service
systemctl status docker

# Start Docker if needed
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

Performance Issues?

1. Check Docker resources:

   # Edit daemon.json
   sudo nano /etc/docker/daemon.json

   Add:

   {
     "default-memory": "4G",
     "default-cpus": "2"
   }

   Then:

   sudo systemctl restart docker

What's Actually Included

Development Tools

• ✅ .NET 8.0 SDK
• ✅ Testing framework (xUnit)
• ✅ Code analysis tools
• ✅ Git integration

Terminal Features

• ✅ Oh My Zsh with Powerlevel10k
• ✅ Smart command completion
• ✅ Development shortcuts
• ✅ Git integration

VS Code Extensions

• ✅ C# language support
• ✅ Debugging tools
• ✅ Test Explorer
• ✅ Git tools

Documentation

• ✅ Built-in docs server
• ✅ Code examples
• ✅ Testing guides
• ✅ Ubuntu-specific help

Remember: This environment is designed for learning C# on Ubuntu. While it might seem like a lot at first, we'll guide you through each part as you need it!

Terminal Tips

# Common commands you'll use:
dotnet run        # Run your program
dotnet test       # Run tests
dotnet build      # Build your code
code .            # Open current folder in VS Code

# Useful aliases (shortcuts):
d           # dotnet
dr          # dotnet run
dt          # dotnet test
g           # git
mk          # mkdocs serve