Deep-dive into .NET Core primitives: deps.json, runtimeconfig.json, and dll's

I learned to program with gcc, C++, and vim. When I started working with C# and .NET, clicking the “Start” button in Visual Studio was magical, but also dissatisfying. Dissatisfying – not because I want to write a Makefile – but because I didn’t know what “Start” did. So, I started to dig. In this post, I’ll show the most primitive tools used in .NET Core, and manually create a .NET Core app without the help of Visual Studio. If you’re new to .NET Core and want to peek under the hood, this is a good post for you. If you’re already a .NET Core developer and wonder what *.deps.json or *.runtimeconfig.json files are all about, I’ll cover those, too.