C Sharp
C# is a popular, general-purpose programming language developed for the Microsoft .NET Framework. C# is fully object oriented and is enjoying continuous improvement by Microsoft. C# programs are portable across all recent Microsoft operating systems since Windows 98 (but only partially on 98). C# programs consist of .exe or .dll files, each containing Common Intermediate Language (CIL) instructions, a manifest (table of contents), metadata, and (possibly) encapsulated resources such as images or audio.
To execute, C# program require the installation of the .NET Framework's Common Language Runtime (CLR), a virtual machine that hides any operating system details. Microsoft's .NET CLR is available both for Windows client computers and Microsoft web servers.
An independent version of the CLR (not developed by Microsoft) is available as a result of the open source Mono Project[1]; it provides software to develop and run .NET applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix.
Many consider C# to be Microsoft's reaction to the popularity of the Java programming language and Java platform[2].
In C# 3.0, Microsoft has added the 'var' keyword, which allows type inference[3]. For instance, one might declare:
var fooString = "Hello, World!";
when in previous versions, one might have to write:
string fooString = "Hello, World!";
References
- ↑ Mono Project, sponsored by Novell.
- ↑ Mark Johnson, C#: A language alternative or just J--?, JavaWorld.com
- ↑ Sahil Malik, A Preview of What's New in C# 3.0, developer.com