CS355 Topics

CS355 - Business App Development Resources

    ~Download / Install

  • Azure for Students - Signup

    Sign up for a free account with Microsoft's popular Azure cloud computing service. Use your Thomas email and receive $100 in credits, good for up to 12 months.

  • Git for Windows Download

    Download the Git source control program's installer for Windows. NOTE: The installer download will begin immediately. Run the installer, hit Next on all screens to accept the default settings, then hit Finish.

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2022: Download

    Download the Visual Studio 2022 installer for Windows or Mac from Azure Dev Tools for Teaching (NOTE: login required).

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2022: Install

    Walks you through installing Visual Studio 2022 for developing programs and applications in C#, C++, and/or ASP.NET MVC.

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2022: Register

    Walks you through registering your copy of Visual Studio 2022. Be sure to have your Product Key handy!

  • SQL Server 2019: Download

    Walks you through the process of downloading SQL Server 2019 Standard for free from Azure Dev Tools for Teaching.

  • SQL Server 2019: Install

    Tutorial from TechDirectArchive that guides you through the process of installing SQL Server. NOTE: the tutorial assumes you've already downloaded the SQL Server 2019 Developer installer from Azure Tools for Education.

  • SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) Download

    Download the SQL Server Management Studio tool to manage your local or Azure-based SQL Server databases.

    • ~Reference

  • HTML & CSS Code Samples (Duckett)

    HTML & CSS examples from Jon Duckett's book HTML & CSS: Design and Build Websites. To view the HTML and CSS behind each web page, right-click on the page and choose View Page Source.

  • Pro ASP.NET Core 6: Source Code

    The source code for all examples from the book Pro ASP.NET Core 6 by Adam Freeman. Includes all examples from the early chapters, as well as a build-up of the SportsStore application.

    • Analysis & Design

  • Entity-Relationship (ER) Diagram Tutorial

    Tutorial that describes how to create an entity-relationship (ER) diagram to design a database. Describes the components of an ER diagram, as well as the symbols for different notation schemes. Provides a full example in crow's feet notation.

  • Entity-Relationship Diagrams (Visual Paradigm)

    Tutorial on entity-relationship (ER) diagrams using crow's foot notation to design a relational database schema. Walks through the entire design process - from listing entities in the Requirements stage to building the logical and physical models.

    • C#

  • C# for Absolute Beginners - Channel 9 (MSDN)

    Free online training videos from Microsoft that introduce the C# programming language. Lectures cover everything in the the CS225 C#.NET Programming course, plus a few other things that would be in an advanced course (e.g. LINQ)

  • C# Fundamentals - BlackWasp Tutorials

    Multi-part series of tutorials from BlackWasp that help you through the basics of C# syntax and concepts. Covers a broad range of introductory topics, including variables, operators, assignment, decisions, loops, and methods.

  • C# String Class Reference - MSDN

    Official API reference for C#'s String class and its many methods. Includes short examples with each method.

  • C#: Class Properties - BlackWasp Tutorials

    Tutorial by BlackWasp on using properties in your C# classes, allowing access to their private data members. Properties are simple, but essential parts of data-driven applications.

  • C#: Converting Strings to Numbers - BlackWasp Tutorials

    BlackWasp tutorial demonstrating how to convert strings into numeric data types in your C# programs. Covers the Convert.To, as well as the Parse command with and without the use of number styles.

  • C#: Dictionary Examples (Dot Net Perls)

    Dot Net Perls tutorial and examples of C#'s Dictionary collections class. Discusses some more advanced features, including using the TryGetValue() method with out parameters; creating key-value pairs using a list initializer; and using the var keyword.

  • C#: Dot Net Perls

    A C# reference and tutorial site that is a bit...out there. However, the site provides many, many EXCELLENT examples with clear, to-the-point explanations. Covers other programming languages, as well.

  • C#: Object-Oriented Programming - BlackWasp Tutorials

    Multi-part series of tutorials from BlackWasp on using object-oriented principles and techniques in C#. Covers objects, classes, interfaces, inheritance, polymorphism, delegates, and event handling.

    • CSS

  • A Complete Guide to CSS Media Queries

    Comprehensive tutorial from CSS-Tricks that explains CSS media queries, including plenty of examples.

  • Bootstrap 4 Tutorial - W3Schools

    W3Schools tutorial and reference on Bootstrap 4, one of the most popular Web frameworks for developing mobile-friendly websites using responsive design. Requires basic knowledge of HTML and CSS.

  • CSS Tutorial & Reference - W3Schools

    Tutorial and reference website for all things related to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Each page includes a "try-me-out" section so that you can experiment with different styles on web page fragments.

  • CSS/HTML Standard Colors

    W3schools list of colors supported by all major browsers. Includes color names, hex codes, and swatches.

  • Font Awesome: Free Icons

    Searchable gallery of all free Font Awesome icons

  • Learn CSS Layout

    Step-by-step tutorial that walks you through the fundamentals of using CSS and HTML for web page layouts. Assumes you have working knowledge of HTML and basic CSS.

    • Databases

  • Azure: Controlling and Granting SQL Database Access

    Discusses how to give people and applications access to your Azure SQL database, including the use of administrative accounts, groups and roles, server logins, and database users . Also discusses (with examples) how to grant limited user permissions using built-in stored procedures, as well as security policies and restrictions that govern which users can perform sensitive operations.

  • Azure: Design your first Azure SQL database

    Microsoft tutorial on setting up a SQL Server database server in your Azure account, as well as designing a database using SQL Server 2016 Management Studio. NOTE: Your Azure for Students license lets you set up one database per region (e.g., Eastern U.S., Southern U.S., Western Europe). You can still set up multiple databases in your account, as long as you choose a unique region for each instance.

  • Creating SQL Logins and SQL Users on your Azure SQL Database

    MSDN blog post tutorial on how to create logins and users for an Azure SQL Server and Database. Also shows you how to assign specific database roles to users. NOTE: the tutorial was written for an Azure database, but the same SQL commands, roles, and stored procedures apply to local SQL Server databases, as well.

  • How to Generate Database Scripts With Data In SQL Server

    Brief tutorial from Nutty About Hosting showing you how to use SQL Server Management Studio to generate SQL script with a database's schema AND data.

  • Securing Your Azure SQL Database

    Tutorial on securing your Azure SQL database at different levels: firewall settings; secure connection strings; user management; encrypting connections; and auditing database activity.

  • Using SQL Server Management Studio (SMSS): Quick Start

    Brief Microsoft tutorial on connecting to and querying Azure-based SQL Server DBMS instances. The same techniques and commands apply to local databases.

    • Git

  • Git: GitHub for Visual Studio Documentation

    Tutorials on using the GitHub for Visual Studio Extension from the project's official GitHub account. Helps you set up the extension; push repositories to your GitHub account; committing changes, and making pull requests to owners of another repository to "pull" your changes into their original repository for consideration.

  • Git: Setting Up and Using GitHub in Visual Studio

    Tutorial showing you how to install and configure the GitHub Extension for Visual Studio 2017. Walks you though setting up local and remote git repositories, committing code changes, and pushing those changes to your GitHub account. NOTE: feel free to choose any project type...it doesn't have to be an ASP.NET application.

  • Git: Working with GitHub Fork in Visual Studio

    Tutorial showing you how to fork other developers' GitHub projects to your own GitHub repository. Also shows you how to clone your fork to your local machine; create upstream remotes; pull updates from the original project; push your local changes to your remote fork; and create pull requests to the original project.

  • Using Git with Visual Studio

    Tutorial on how to use version control with Git inside of Visual Studio. Learn about creating, cloning, and syncing repositories; workflows and branching; pushing and pulling commits; and merging changes and viewing version histories.

    • HTML

  • HTML Tutorial & Reference - W3Schools

    Tutorial and reference website for all things HTML. Each page includes a "try-me-out" section so that you can experiment with different tags and settings.

  • Intro to HTML & CSS @ Khan Academy

    Series of tutorials from Khan Academy on building web pages with HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Covers basic and advanced HTML markup, as well as CSS for styling text, creating page layouts, and choosing specific parts of a web page based on relationships.

  • Learn to Code HTML & CSS

    Free, online version of the Learn to Code HTML & CSS book covering the fundamentals of web page design. Includes chapters on the box model; positioning content; typography; backgrounds; gradients; lists; forms; tables; and best practices.

    • JavaScript

  • JavaScript Tutorial & Reference - W3Schools

    Home page for the W3Schools JavaScript tutorial and reference site.

  • jQuery Tutorial & Reference - W3Schools

    W3Schools tutorial and reference site for jQuery, a very popular JavaScript framework that greatly simplifies UI development across browsers and platforms.

    • SQL

  • Intro to SQL @ Khan Academy

    Self-paced course that introduces basic SQL queries, queries with Booleans and criteria, joins, and table modification. Provides examples and tests your knowledge of SQL and databases.

  • SQL Tutorial &: Reference - W3Schools

    Less of a SQL tutorial and more examples and reference. Covers SQL syntax and table design, with references for specific DBMS. Best of all, you can practice writing SQL queries online with the Northwind database.

    • Visual Studio

  • Visual Studio: Changing the Default Projects Save Location

    Quick reference page showing you how to change the default folder location in which Visual Studio saves your projects.

  • Visual Studio: Cleaning Your Projects

    Tutorial explaining how to clean your Visual Studio projects prior to submitting them to Moodle.

  • Visual Studio: Getting Started

    Quick introduction and tour of the main parts of Visual Studio: the code editor; Solution Explorer; Properties window, toolbars and menus; Team Explorer, and the Output window.

  • Visual Studio: Personalizing the IDE

    Links to reference pages on how to personalize your Visual Studio interface: change fonts and colors; customizing menus and toolbars; and customizing window layouts.

  • Visual Studio: Solutions and Projects

    Introduction tutorials on solutions and projects in Visual Studio. Helpful sections include creating solutions and projects; and adding and removing items from projects;

  • Visual Studio: Submitting Your C# and C++ Projects

    Quick help page explaining how to submit your C# and C++ projects from Visual Studio.