As this book is dedicated to C# and .NET, the main tool to use is Visual Studio. However, you can use several versions to follow the majority of the sections in this book.

I've used Visual Studio 2015 Ultimate Update 3, but you can also use the free Community Edition for more than 90% of its contents. Other available options are Visual Studio 2015 Express Edition, which is also free, and Visual Studio Code, which is also free and multiplatform.

Additionally, a basic installation of SQL Server Express 2014, which is free, is required together with the SQL Server Management Studio (version 2016 works equally well with the topics covered here).

For the NoSQL part, MongoDB is also required in its basic installation.

To debug websites, it's good to have Chrome Canary or Firefox Developer Edition, for they have extended capabilities for developers.

Other tools and utilities can be installed from the Extensions and Updates menu option, linked to the Tools menu in the different versions of Visual Studio.

Finally, in some cases, there are tools that you can download from the sites indicated in this book; although, they're not an absolute requirement for the full comprehension of this book's contents.