Maybe you can use Visual Studio to create a simple application, then close
VS and inspect the files that have been created with your favorite text
editor (source files, project files, resource files, etc.). Making sense out
of these files should not be too difficult and you can play and make changes
with your text editor, and compile with the command line compiler (csc.exe
for C#). But I would not start by trying to type everything from scratch in
a text editor.

Bruno

Frankie,

That does probably not help you in your goal. The program languages used are
all to create in fact DLL/Exe which contain CLI code, that will be
translated by the Net framework to the by the OS or whatever you name that
used code.

If you want to learn more about the framework than a book about the general
approach would help you better.

Probably will a search on google with text as "understanding the net
framework" bring you quicker by the goal that you did describe.

Just my thought,

Cor

Why not to download .NET SDK in this case?
You can use SDK Help, notepad and command line csc.exe to buld you app.
No using VS at all.

VS really doesn't do much. Whenever you create a new Window Form
application, VS add a new class deriving from Form to the project, adds a
Main method to this class to act as the entry point for the application and
that's it. When you add a button to the form, VS addds a private button
member variable to the class, instanciate it in the constructor, set its
properties and adds it to the Form's Controls collection. You can have a
look at the generated code and you'll see that there isn't much at all and
that nothing is mysterious.

If you are already confortable with C#, you should be able to do it
yourself without any problems. If you're not, i'd suggest using VS to
develop your first application to get used to the C# syntax and the .NET
Framwork. Once you'll be familiar with that, the code generated by VS will
no longer be a mystery for you and you'll be able to develop an application
without using VS with the eyes closed.

If you reallly insist on learning whithout VS, i think that i heard of a
book that taught how to create window form applications by hand. It might
be one of the Charles Petzold books. You could check it out in your local
book store.

For a general better understanding: Have a look at Sharp Develop
(http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/), a free (open source) IDE.
Even though this also supports the most of the Drag and Drop stuff, but
if it comes to include Interop Assemblies etc. then some manual steps
are required and you really start to understand, what's going on and
what's needed.

For only having a look at a Windows-Forms App, then simply fire up
notepad, type in everything manual, something like this:
class MyForm : Form
{
  static void Main(string[] args)
  {
    new MyForm().Show();
  }
}
And add some controls and functionality... there isn't really something
special in a Windows Forms, what is done with all the drag and drop stuff...

Markus

To add to all the great suggestions you have been given, give C# snippet
compiler a go :)

http://davidhayden.com/blog/dave/archive/2004/05/26/277.aspx

Ollie Riches

I would suggest still using Visual Studio, but avoiding the designers.
That way you don't need to worry about the *building* side of things,
and can concentrate on the language itself (and the libraries) - but
without leaning on the VS designer as a crutch.

Use the SDK.  That'll have your head buzzing for a few days while you get
the hang of things, but once you know how to code without VS.net you'll be
streets ahead of the competition when you start using an IDE.

Regards

John Timney (MVP)