Learning journey
A clearer learning flow.
The progression begins with C# and .NET 8 fundamentals, OOP, and LINQ, advances through web fundamentals and frontend with React or Blazor, moves into ASP.NET Core MVC and Web API, EF Core and SQL Server, and authentication with JWT and ASP.NET Core Identity, covers microservices with .NET Aspire and CQRS with MediatR, and finishes with Docker, Azure cloud deployment, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, xUnit testing, and a production-grade .NET full stack capstone hosted on Azure. [web:655]
Phase 01 — .NET Core
C# 12, .NET 8, OOP, LINQ & Design Patterns
C# 12 syntax — variables, data types, control flow, and methods; C# modern features — records, pattern matching, nullable reference types, primary constructors, and collection expressions; OOP in C# — encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, interfaces, and abstract classes; SOLID principles; async/await and Task-based asynchronous programming; generics and collections — List, Dictionary, IEnumerable, and LINQ query syntax and method syntax; design patterns — Repository, Factory, Strategy, Decorator, and CQRS; .NET 8 ecosystem — CLR, SDK, NuGet, .NET CLI, and project structure; and Git and GitHub for .NET developers. [web:659]
Phase 02 — Frontend
HTML/CSS, JavaScript, React & Blazor
HTML5 semantics and accessibility; CSS3 — Flexbox, Grid, responsive design, Bootstrap 5 and Tailwind CSS; JavaScript ES6+ — closures, promises, async/await, and fetch API; TypeScript fundamentals; React — functional components, hooks (useState, useEffect, useContext), React Router, Axios, and Redux Toolkit; Blazor WebAssembly and Blazor Server — components, data binding, event handling, and Blazor's unique C#-in-the-browser advantage; consuming ASP.NET Core Web APIs from both React and Blazor; and Inertia.js for .NET + React single-page application patterns. [web:656]
Phase 03 — ASP.NET Core Pro
ASP.NET Core MVC, Web API, Middleware & Identity
ASP.NET Core architecture — request pipeline, Kestrel web server, and host configuration; MVC pattern — controllers, actions, Razor views, model binding, and tag helpers; Web API — minimal APIs vs controller-based APIs, routing, versioning, and output formatting; dependency injection — service lifetimes (Singleton, Scoped, Transient) and captive dependency prevention; middleware pipeline — custom middleware, exception handling, and request logging; ASP.NET Core Identity — user management, roles, claims, and JWT token authentication; OAuth2 and OpenID Connect with Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD); and Swagger/OpenAPI integration. [web:654]
Phase 04 — Data & Architecture
EF Core, SQL Server, CQRS, MediatR & Microservices
Entity Framework Core — DbContext, migrations, Code-First approach, relationships (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many), eager vs lazy loading, and change tracker behaviour; SQL Server — schema design, T-SQL, indexes, stored procedures, and query optimisation; Dapper for performance-critical raw SQL; Clean Architecture — layers, domain-driven design basics, and dependency inversion; CQRS pattern with MediatR; background services with IHostedService and Worker Services; SignalR for real-time communication; Redis distributed caching; and .NET Aspire for microservices orchestration basics. [web:665]
Phase 05 — Testing, Azure & Capstone
xUnit, Docker, GitHub Actions, Azure & .NET Capstone
Unit and integration testing with xUnit and NUnit — test doubles, Moq, and WebApplicationFactory for API testing; code quality with SonarQube and .NET Analyzers; Docker — Dockerfile, multi-stage builds, and Docker Compose for .NET/SQL Server/Redis stack; CI/CD with GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps — build, test, and deploy pipelines; Azure deployment — Azure App Service, Azure SQL Database, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Key Vault, and Azure Container Apps; Application Insights for monitoring and diagnostics; Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate exam alignment; and a production-grade .NET full stack capstone deployed and live on Azure. [web:653]