This guide will show you how to write, compile, and run a C# program using 🗎 Notepad and Command Line (CLI) without using an IDE like Visual Studio.

Step 1: Check if .NET is Installed:

1. Open Command Prompt (Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter).
2. Type the following command and press Enter:
   

   dotnet --version

3. If you see a version number, .NET is installed. If not, download and install it from here:
   👉 Download .NET SDK

Step 2: Create a C# File Using Notepad

1. Open Notepad (Win + R, type notepad, and press Enter).

2. Copy and paste the following C# code:

   using System;
   
   class Program
   {
       static void Main()
       {
           Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
           Console.Write("Enter your name: ");
           string name = Console.ReadLine();
           Console.WriteLine("Hello, " + name + "!");
       }
   }
   

3. Click File > Save As...

4. Choose a folder (e.g., C:\Users\YourName\Documents\CSharpDemo\).

5. Set File name: Program.cs

6. Select Save as type: All Files (*.*)

7. Click Save.

Step 3: Open Command Prompt and Navigate to the Folder

1. Open Command Prompt (Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter).
2. Use the cd command to go to the folder where you saved the file:
   

   cd C:\Users\YourName\Documents\CSharpDemo

Step 4: Compile the C# Program Using .NET CLI

1. Run the following command to compile the program:

   dotnet new console --force

   This sets up the necessary .NET project files.

2. Now, compile the code:

   dotnet build

   If there are no errors, the program is successfully compiled!

Step 5: Run the C# Program

After compilation, run the program using:

dotnet run

Now, you should see this output in the terminal:

Hello, World! 
Enter your name: 

Enter your name, press Enter, and it will respond with:

Hello, [YourName]!

Step 6: Running C# Code Without dotnet CLI (Optional)

If you want to run C# without dotnet run, use the csc (C# compiler) command:

1. Compile the program using CSC (C# Compiler)

   csc Program.cs

   
   This creates an executable file (Program.exe).

2. Run the Executable

   Program.exe

3. This will execute the program without using dotnet run.