C#
Anders Hejlsberg
Story
C# was developed by Microsoft and led by Anders Hejlsberg, a legendary language designer who previously created Turbo Pascal at Borland and was the chief architect of Delphi. The development of C# began in the late 1990s as part of Microsoft's ambitious .NET initiative, which aimed to create a comprehensive platform for building and running applications across different types of devices and services. The project was initially called 'Cool' (C-like Object Oriented Language) before being renamed to C#, with the '#' symbol representing four '+' signs arranged in a grid, suggesting C++++ or an evolution beyond C++. The first version of C# was released in 2000 alongside the .NET Framework 1.0, and it was designed to be a simple, modern, general-purpose, object-oriented language that could leverage the full power of the .NET Framework. Microsoft's motivation for creating C# was multifaceted: they wanted a language that combined the best features of Java and C++ while addressing their limitations, a language that was designed specifically for the .NET platform rather than adapted to it, and a language that could compete with Java which was gaining significant traction in enterprise development. There were also legal and strategic considerations, as Microsoft wanted a language they fully controlled without the licensing and legal complexities associated with Java. C# was designed with several key principles: simplicity (easier to learn and use than C++), type safety (catching errors at compile time), component-oriented (supporting properties, events, and attributes), and modern (incorporating the best ideas from contemporary language design). The language drew inspiration from many sources: C++ for its syntax and performance characteristics, Java for its simplicity and garbage collection, Delphi for its component model and RAD (Rapid Application Development) capabilities, and various other languages for specific features. The initial release of C# 1.0 included classes, structs, interfaces, events, properties, delegates, and other fundamental features. C# 2.0, released in 2005, added generics (a major addition that enabled type-safe collections and algorithms), nullable types, anonymous methods, and iterators. C# 3.0, released in 2007, introduced LINQ (Language Integrated Query), one of the most significant features ever added to the language, along with lambda expressions, extension methods, anonymous types, and automatic properties. LINQ revolutionized how developers work with data, providing a unified syntax for querying objects, databases, XML, and other data sources. C# 4.0 (2010) added dynamic typing for better interoperability with dynamic languages and COM, named and optional parameters, and covariance/contravariance for generics. C# 5.0 (2012) introduced async/await, which transformed asynchronous programming by making it as easy to write as synchronous code while maintaining the benefits of non-blocking operations. This feature has been widely praised and copied by other languages. C# 6.0 (2015) brought numerous quality-of-life improvements including null-conditional operators, string interpolation, and expression-bodied members. A major turning point came in 2016 with the release of .NET Core, a cross-platform, open-source reimplementation of .NET that could run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. This marked a significant shift in Microsoft's strategy, making C# and .NET truly cross-platform and open-source. The .NET Foundation was established to govern the open-source .NET ecosystem, with contributions from Microsoft and the community. C# 7.0 (2017) introduced tuples, pattern matching, local functions, and out variables. C# 8.0 (2019) added nullable reference types (a major safety feature), async streams, ranges and indices, and default interface methods. C# 9.0 (2020) brought records for immutable data types, init-only properties, and top-level statements. C# 10.0 (2021) added global usings, file-scoped namespaces, and record structs. C# 11.0 (2022) introduced raw string literals, required members, and list patterns. Each version has built upon the previous ones while maintaining backward compatibility, ensuring that existing code continues to work. Throughout its history, C# has been used to build countless applications across every domain. Microsoft uses C# extensively for its own products including Visual Studio, Azure services, and many Windows components. Stack Overflow, one of the world's largest developer communities, is built with C# and ASP.NET. Unity, the game engine used to create a huge percentage of mobile games and many PC/console games, uses C# as its scripting language, introducing millions of game developers to the language. Companies across industries including finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and technology use C# for their enterprise applications, web services, and internal tools. The language has been particularly successful in enterprise environments where its strong typing, excellent tooling, comprehensive frameworks, and Microsoft's enterprise support make it an attractive choice. C# has also found success in cloud computing, with Azure providing first-class support for .NET applications and many cloud-native applications being built with C# and ASP.NET Core. The evolution from .NET Framework to .NET Core to the unified .NET 5+ platform represents Microsoft's commitment to modernizing the platform while maintaining its strengths. The modern .NET platform is high-performance (often competing with or exceeding languages like Go and Node.js in benchmarks), cross-platform, open-source, and actively developed with regular releases. Anders Hejlsberg remains involved in C#'s development, though the language is now designed by a team at Microsoft with input from the community through the open design process on GitHub. C# continues to evolve with annual releases, each bringing new features, performance improvements, and enhanced developer productivity. The language's combination of power, productivity, safety, and versatility, backed by Microsoft's resources and a massive ecosystem, ensures its continued relevance and growth in modern software development.
Description
C# (pronounced 'C-sharp') is a modern, versatile, object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft as part of its .NET initiative. Released in 2000 as a cornerstone of the .NET Framework, C# was designed to combine the computational power and flexibility of C++ with the simplicity and productivity of modern languages like Java and Visual Basic. C# is a statically typed, strongly typed language that supports multiple programming paradigms including object-oriented, functional, imperative, declarative, component-oriented, and generic programming, making it exceptionally flexible for various types of software development. The language features automatic memory management through an efficient garbage collector, comprehensive type safety that catches errors at compile time, LINQ (Language Integrated Query) for querying data from various sources using a unified syntax, async/await for writing asynchronous code that's easy to read and maintain, properties and events as first-class language features, delegates and lambda expressions for functional programming, and extensive library support through the massive .NET ecosystem. C# includes powerful features like generics for type-safe reusable code, nullable reference types to eliminate null reference exceptions, pattern matching for expressive conditional logic, records for immutable data types, tuples for returning multiple values, extension methods for adding functionality to existing types, and attributes for declarative programming. The language provides excellent support for modern software development practices including dependency injection, unit testing, and design patterns. C# is widely used for developing Windows desktop applications with WPF or WinForms, web applications and APIs with ASP.NET and ASP.NET Core, mobile applications with Xamarin and .NET MAUI, game development with Unity (the world's most popular game engine), cloud services on Microsoft Azure, machine learning with ML.NET, and enterprise software across virtually every industry. With the introduction of .NET Core in 2016 and its evolution into .NET 5, 6, 7, and beyond, C# has become truly cross-platform, running efficiently on Windows, macOS, and Linux, while maintaining excellent performance and a unified development experience. The language comes with outstanding tooling through Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, and JetBrains Rider, providing intelligent code completion, powerful debugging, profiling, refactoring tools, and comprehensive testing frameworks. C# has a massive, active community, extensive documentation, countless learning resources, and a rich ecosystem of libraries and frameworks available through NuGet, the .NET package manager. The language continues to evolve rapidly with new versions released annually, adding modern features while maintaining backward compatibility and focusing on developer productivity, performance, and safety.
Use Cases
Microsoft™:
Windows applications, Azure services, and enterprise software.
Stack Overflow™:
Web application backend and API services.
Unity Technologies™:
Game development scripting and engine components.
Dell™:
Enterprise applications and internal business systems.