When I think back to the days when I first dipped my toes into programming, it’s almost surreal how far I’ve come. I was 17, just a junior in high school, and I vividly remember sitting at my desk with my ancient laptop, looking up tutorials on YouTube and Googling “how to start coding.” Like most people who hadn’t touched a line of code before, I had this preconceived notion that programming was impossibly hard, reserved for math prodigies and computer geniuses. But my journey—starting with C# as my first language—taught me otherwise. It was challenging, sure, but it was also surprisingly fun and incredibly rewarding. Now, six years later, I’m 23, a college student studying computer science, and I’m deep into advanced topics like async programming and performance optimization, still with C# as my favorite language.
How I Chose C#
When I started learning to code, I didn’t stumble upon C# randomly. I had a friend in my math class who was a budding game developer. He swore by C# because it’s the backbone of Unity, a popular game engine. I wasn’t particularly interested in game development at the time—I just wanted to learn coding basics—but he sold me on C# by telling me it’s “like Python but better organized” and that it’s beginner-friendly yet powerful enough for serious projects. Looking back, I think starting with C# was one of the best decisions I could have made. It’s syntactically clean and logical, so I wasn’t overwhelmed by complex syntax right out of the gate, but it’s also strongly typed, which taught me good habits early on.
Early Struggles and Breakthroughs
When I wrote my first program—a simple “Hello, World!” script—I felt like a wizard casting my first spell. It’s a cliché, but there’s something magical about seeing your code actually run and do something. But, of course, the honeymoon phase didn’t last forever. My first real challenge was understanding loops and conditionals. For some reason, wrapping my head around “if-else” statements and “for” loops took me a while. Once I did get it, though, a whole new world opened up. I started experimenting with small programs—a basic calculator, a “guess the number” game, and even a program that managed a simple inventory system.
The first book that truly helped me was "C# 5.0 in a Nutshell" by Joseph Albahari and Ben Albahari (premiered in 2012). This book was a lifesaver. It explained core concepts in a way that didn’t make me feel stupid, and I appreciated the clean examples. It also had excellent sections on LINQ (Language Integrated Query), which became one of my favorite features of C#.
Books That Shaped My Early Learning
As I progressed, I realized that tutorials weren’t enough. I needed structure, and that’s where books came in. Over the years, I’ve read quite a few, but here are the ones that made the most impact on me early on:
- "Head First C#: A Brain-Friendly Guide" by Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene (premiered in 2013)
- This book is incredibly engaging. It uses a conversational tone and visual aids that made learning fun rather than dry. I remember the exercises being particularly memorable—stuff like building a simple card game or a picture viewer app.
- "Pro C# 5.0 and the .NET 4.5 Framework" by Andrew Troelsen and Philip Japikse (premiered in 2012)
- This was my go-to book for diving deeper into the .NET ecosystem. It covered more advanced topics like threading and database integration, which became invaluable as I tackled larger projects.
- "The C# Player’s Guide" by RB Whitaker (first edition released in 2012, now we are at the 5th edition)
- This book struck a great balance between beginner and intermediate content. It’s well-structured, and the examples are clear and concise. I particularly liked the chapters on object-oriented programming.
- "Programming C# 5.0: Building Windows 8, Web, and Desktop Applications for the .NET 4.5 Framework" by Ian Griffiths (premiered in 2012)
- While this one focused on building applications, it also introduced me to WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), which became my first taste of UI design.
Fast Forward: Advanced Topics and Current Studies
Fast forward to today, and I’m diving into some pretty advanced topics. Currently, I’m obsessed with async programming and performance optimization. The modern world runs on concurrency—whether it’s responsive UIs or scalable web applications—and C#'s async/await functionality is incredibly powerful for that. But it’s also tricky to get right. Debugging async code, avoiding deadlocks, and optimizing thread usage are skills I’m still honing.
The book that’s been guiding me through this is "Concurrency in C# Cookbook" by Stephen Cleary (second edition released in 2019). This book is phenomenal. It’s packed with practical examples that help you understand complex topics like task scheduling, asynchronous streams, and parallel programming. What I appreciate most is how the author balances theory and practice, ensuring you understand why things work the way they do.
I’m also exploring performance tuning using "Pro .NET Memory Management" by Konrad Kokosa. Memory management is an underrated skill, but understanding how the garbage collector works and how to write memory-efficient code has made my applications faster and more reliable.
Another area I’m looking into is domain-driven design (DDD). "Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software" by Eric Evans and "Implementing Domain-Driven Design" by Vaughn Vernon (it was published in 2013 but if you read it, you'll pretty quickly find out why it it still sells great at Amazon: it contains knowledge that shapes or re-shapes your way of thinking about program structure) have been instrumental in teaching me how to design software that’s both robust and maintainable.
Reflecting on My Projects
One of my favorite projects this year has been developing a scalable REST API for a mock e-commerce platform. Using C#, I implemented features like authentication, inventory management, and order processing. I’ve used modern tools like ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework Core, and Docker. Debugging issues like database bottlenecks and thread contention has been both challenging and rewarding.
Another project I’m working on is a real-time chat application. It’s my first time using SignalR, a library for adding real-time web functionality to applications. The project has taught me a lot about websockets, state management, and optimizing message delivery.
Looking Back and Looking Forward
If I could go back in time and talk to my 17-year-old self, I’d tell him not to worry so much about failing or being “smart enough” for programming. I’d also tell him to embrace frustration because it’s part of the process. Every bug you solve makes you a better programmer.
C# turned out to be the perfect first language for me. It struck the right balance between being beginner-friendly and powerful. Six years in, it’s still my go-to language, and I’m still learning new things every day. Programming is one of those fields where you’re never truly done learning, and honestly, that’s one of the things I love most about it.
So, to anyone just starting out, here’s my advice: pick a language that excites you, don’t be afraid to experiment, and find resources that match your learning style. And if you’re considering C#, I’ll be the first to say it’s a fantastic choice. Whether you want to build games, web apps, or even machine learning models, C# has you covered.
Keep at it, Guys; It is worth it!
/G. Stilson
