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C#/.NET on MacOS

Prerequisites​

  • Homebrew
  • or Nix
  • Rider (or Visual Studio, Rider is recommended by the school, because it is compatible with Linux, and is accessible during exams)

Introduction​

.NET is a framework developed by Microsoft, which allows the development of applications in C#. .NET is available on MacOS, Linux, and Windows. It is the framework used by the school for the first year C# courses at EPITA, supervised by the assistants (ACDC).

Installation​

To install .NET, you have several options. You can install Rider, which will propose to install .NET during the first launch, or install it manually using the command line. Let's start by installing Rider.

Rider​

Rider is an IDE developed by JetBrains, which is compatible with .NET, C#, and Mono. It is available on MacOS, Linux, and Windows. To install it, simply go to the JetBrains website and download the macOS version.

tip

You can also install Rider through the JetBrains ToolBox, which will allow you to manage all of your JetBrains IDEs from a single application.

tip

If you are a student, you can obtain a free license for all of JetBrains IDEs by logging in with your student email here.

When you launch Rider for the first time, it will offer to install .NET. Accept this and allow the installation to proceed. Take note, it will only offer to install the latest version of .NET, which might not be compatible with certain projects or what the teaching assistants ask for. To install a specific version, you will need to use the command line.

Command line​

To install .NET with Homebrew or Nix, simply run the following command:

brew install dotnet # Installe la dernière version de .NET
brew install dotnet@7 # Installe la version 7 de .NET

You can search on search.nixos.org the exact name of the package to install. Be careful to take the package that contains dotnet-sdk and not dotnet-runtime.

Manual installation​

You can go to the official .NET website to download the desired version of .NET.

Usage​

Creating a project​

To create a project, click on New Solution in the Rider home window, then choose Console Application. Be careful to choose .NET/.NET Core and not .NET Framework.

Adding a NuGet package​

In the bottom bar of Rider, you will see a NuGet tab, click on it to open the NuGet package management window. You can then search for the desired package and install it.

You can also add a NuGet package by adding the following line to your .csproj file:

<ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="PACKAGE_NAME" Version="VERSION" />
</ItemGroup>

Sources​

-- Official .NET website -- Official Rider website