**Course Title:** Mastering C#: From Fundamentals to Advanced Programming **Section Title:** Introduction to C# and .NET Framework **Topic:** Install Visual Studio and write your first C# program to output 'Hello, World!'.(Lab topic) Welcome to this lab topic, where you will learn how to install Visual Studio, create a new C# project, and write your first C# program to output the classic "Hello, World!" message. This topic will help you understand the practical aspects of C# programming and prepare you for more advanced topics. **Objective:** By the end of this topic, you will be able to: * Install Visual Studio on your computer * Create a new C# project in Visual Studio * Write and run a simple C# program * Understand the basic structure of a C# program **Installing Visual Studio:** To develop C# applications, you need to have Visual Studio installed on your computer. Visual Studio is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that provides a comprehensive set of tools for coding, debugging, and testing C# applications. Here are the steps to install Visual Studio: 1. Go to the Visual Studio download page ([https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/)) 2. Click on the "Download" button for the Community edition (free) 3. Follow the installation instructions to install Visual Studio on your computer **Creating a New C# Project:** Once you have installed Visual Studio, you can create a new C# project. Here are the steps: 1. Open Visual Studio 2. Click on the "Create a new project" button on the start page 3. Select "Console App (.NET 7)" under the C# section 4. Choose a name for your project (e.g., "HelloWorld") 5. Click on the "Create" button to create the project **Writing Your First C# Program:** Here is a simple C# program that outputs the "Hello, World!" message: ```csharp using System; namespace HelloWorld { class Program { static void Main(string[] args) { Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!"); } } } ``` Let's break down this program: * The `using` directive imports the `System` namespace, which contains the `Console` class. * The `namespace` declaration defines the namespace for the program. * The `class` declaration defines the `Program` class. * The `Main` method is the entry point for the program. * The `Console.WriteLine` statement outputs the "Hello, World!" message to the console. **Running Your Program:** To run your program, click on the "Run" button or press F5. You should see the "Hello, World!" message in the console window. **Conclusion:** In this lab topic, you learned how to install Visual Studio, create a new C# project, and write your first C# program to output the "Hello, World!" message. You now have a basic understanding of the C# programming language and can start exploring more advanced topics. **Key Concepts:** * Visual Studio is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for C# programming. * To create a new C# project, select "Console App (.NET 7)" under the C# section. * The `using` directive imports namespaces. * The `namespace` declaration defines the namespace for the program. * The `class` declaration defines a class. * The `Main` method is the entry point for the program. **Practice:** Try modifying the program to output a different message, such as "Hello, Universe!". **Next Topic:** In the next topic, we will cover "Conditional statements: if, else, switch" from the Control Structures and Functions section. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to comment below.