How Powerful Is C#?

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ORIGIN

In the Mid-90s, Java was the most in-demand programming language. The reason was, it solved most of the problems developers had with programming languages at the time. One of the companies seduced by Java was Microsoft which immediately started the development of a Java development platform for its programmers.

But then they realized something. Having their development platform based on a language licensed by a competitor is not the greatest idea. That's how in 1999, Anders Heljsberg who was initially hired to work on the Java tooling, was now tasked with developing the language which was to become the "spearhead" of the company. "COOL"(C-like Object Oriented Language) was its original name but due to trademark reasons was later renamed C#.

Where is C# used?

C# is a general-purpose, muti-paradigm, increased-level programming language. The fact that it is multi-purpose simply means it can be used to do almost anything. However, there are areas where it shines most which are:

1 - Desktop App Development

.NET is the default development ecosystem to build Windows applications since it was developed by Microsoft themselves. That's why it uses C# as its primary language. It is optimized for Windows and comes with all the functions you will need to build applications. This means less coding is required and it encourages code reuse, thereby enhancing the development process. Now, with the release of .NET Core, you can develop cross-platform applications using C#. Some of the biggest names in tech were built using C#/ .NET including Mozilla Firefox, Adobe Photoshop, Visual Studio, etc...

2 - Game Development

"C# is the scripting language used in the Unity Game Engine"

C# together with C++ are hands down the best languages to learn for game development. C# is the scripting language used in the Unity Game Engine. Unity also happens to be the most popular game engine out there. It is robust, powerful, and extremely reliable. No surprise big games like Pokemon Go, Beat Saber, and Hearthstone were developed using Unity. Plus, getting started has never been easier. The amount of Unity tutorials and courses out there is abundant.

But if you don't want to use a game engine, you can also use C# to develop your custom game engine. Just be aware this is very difficult and it is not advised for beginners.

3 - Back-end Web Development

Stack Overflow was developed using ASP.NET in the back-end

ASP.NET is the framework used to do back-end development in C#. It is beloved by most backend developers and it is justified:

• It is one of the fastest frameworks available

• It reduces the amount of code needed to create features thereby saving you a lot of time and effort.

• It is the best framework for building real-time web apps. For example, Squidex and OrchardCore were developed with ASP.NET

• The release of ASP.NET Core has seen a massive improvement in the overall efficiency and speed of the framework. Thus, making it a top choice for start-ups looking to create a powerful and reliable back-end code base.

StackOverflow, Dell.com, and Costco.com, for example, were all developed using ASP.NET.

4 - Cross-Platform Mobile Development

Xamarin is the preferred framework to use when it comes to developing Cross-platform mobile apps using the C# language. The intentions of Microsoft with Xamarin were very clear. "TAKE OVER THE MOBILE DEV MARKET". But all these dreams were crushed as the framework never took off. Yet, some of you may still find Xamarin very interesting. And there are a multitude of rationales for this;

• It uses the .NET Base Class Library which is extremely Robust

• It provides facilities for directly invoking Objective-C, Java, C, and C++ libraries. Giving you the power to use a wide array of third-party code.

• Even though the apps are cross-platform, they perform like Native applications.

So, if you want to create your start-up or become a hobbyist mobile app developer, you might to take a look at Xamarin. Beware though. Due to the Unpopularity of the framework, the developer community is very small. This implies finding solutions to your problems will be quite difficult.

5 - Machine Learning

Due to the release of various Machine and AI technologies like Chat GPT, many developers have decided to start exploring these technologies because it is seen as the next big thing. If that's your case, C# has got you covered.

ML.NET is the library used to create Machine Learning code using C#. Yes, it is not very popular, but all the developers who have tried it say it is Amazing!

• It supports Python integration using Nimbus.ML

• It also supports AutoML and TensorFlow integrations.

• ML.NET lets you re-use all the knowledge, skills, code, and libraries you already have as a .NET developer. So, you can easily integrate machine learning into your web, mobile, desktop, games, and IoT apps.

• Has good documentation.

• As with Xamarin, the developer community is quite small so you will have a difficult time trying to solve problems you encounter.

Advantages Of C#

Here are some of the perks of learning the C# programming language

• Its General Purpose nature means with one language you can accomplish almost anything. In other words, you don't have to learn any other language which will save you a lot of time and money.

• Cross-Platform Support: Using one of the Frameworks mentioned above, you can write code for one platform e.g. Windows, and it will be able to run on macOS and Linux as well.

• In other languages like C, memory management is left up to the developer which is very inconvenient. In C#, this is done automatically. Thanks to its automatic Garbage collector.

• C# is object-oriented in nature. This implies that you will use concepts like objects and classes to structure your programs for better readability and easy maintenance.

• C# is maintained and developed by Microsoft, which regularly puts out new releases that update features to the language.

• It is well-documented and there are tons of tutorials available out there to help you get started.

• The fact that it has been around for so long means that it has been thoroughly tested and almost all its bugs have been fixed making it very secure.

Disadvantages of C#

• C# is not as performant as C or C++. This is because C# needs to be compiled into an intermediate language before being executed. Don't be scared though. C# is still a lot faster than most other programming languages. You won't notice the difference in speed most of the time. It will only start to be noticeable when working on large applications like Game engines. And today, C# will be a better language to start with than C++ and C.

• When compared to other languages like Python and PHP, C# doesn't appear to be the easiest language to learn. However, its learning curve is similar to most other programming languages out there and it is much easier to learn than languages like C or C++. Mainly due to its simplified syntax.

• It is a compiled language meaning every time you make changes, the code needs to be recompiled. No matter how small the change might be. This can become very frustrating at some point. However, this is only a disadvantage if you are a very impatient person. This is because compilation doesn't really take long. Also, compiled languages are faster than interpreted languages.

A programming language is considered topnotch when it’s easy to learn, performs well, and can be used for any type of task, application, or platform.

C# ticks almost all these cases and I believe will be a great addition to your arsenal. Even though it is quite similar to Java, the two languages have grown very far apart with C# clearly becoming the superior one.

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