Code C# interactively with Jupyter notebooks.

Being able to quickly experiment with different syntaxes and programming concepts is a fast way to get comfortable with a language and a huge time saver. As a programming enthusiast, I often find myself exploring new languages and testing different approaches to solve problems. Recently, I needed a simple and fast way to test C# and F# syntaxes without having to create a full .NET project every time. That’s where Jupyter Lab and Docker entered the picture.

Having used Jupyter notebooks extensively in the Python and R data science world, I realized that integrating languages like C# and F# into that same environment would be incredibly powerful. So I set out to create a Docker image containing Jupyter Lab preconfigured with .NET 8 support, allowing me to easily create and run .NET code blocks in a notebook.

Thanks to this Docker image, I can now quickly spin up a Jupyter Lab environment with full .NET support, without having to create a C# project in Visual Studio or VS Code.

The Dockerfile

Here is the content I defined for the Dockerfile.

It is of course available in this dedicated GitHub repository.

# Use a base image with Jupyter Lab and .NET 8 support
FROM jupyter/base-notebook:latest

# Switch to the root user to install packages without sudo
USER root

# Install the .NET 8.0 SDK
RUN wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/20.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb && \
    dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb && \
    apt-get update && \
    apt-get install -y apt-transport-https && \
    apt-get update && \
    apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0

# Install the .NET interactive tools
RUN dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.dotnet-interactive

# Add the .NET interactive tools to the PATH
ENV PATH="${PATH}:~/.dotnet/tools"

# Install Jupyter notebooks for .NET
RUN dotnet interactive jupyter install

# Expose the Jupyter Lab port
EXPOSE 8888

# Start Jupyter Lab
CMD ["jupyter", "lab", "--ip=0.0.0.0", "--allow-root"]

Explanation of the different parts:

• FROM jupyter/base-notebook:latest: Base Jupyter Lab image with .NET 8 support.
• USER root: Switch to the root user for administration commands.
• RUN …: Install the .NET 8.0 SDK and the .NET interactive tools.
• ENV PATH: Add the .NET interactive tools to the PATH.
• RUN dotnet interactive jupyter install: Install Jupyter notebooks for .NET.
• EXPOSE 8888: Expose port 8888 for Jupyter Lab.
• CMD: Start Jupyter Lab.

If you are curious to try this Docker image yourself, you can find it on my dedicated GitHub repository. Feel free to test it and share your comments or suggestions for improvement.

Conclusion

In a world where speed and efficiency are essential, having tools that let you iterate quickly and test new ideas is a valuable asset for any developer. With this Docker image, I found a simple and effective way to do exactly that, and I hope it will also be useful to other programming enthusiasts in their learning and exploration journey.