What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

Google · 2011-03-31 13:50:28

I think the subject says it all-- I have been considering C++ versus C# and wondering which would be best these days.

ngoonee · 2011-03-31 14:46:53

Best how? If your question is technical in nature then please modify it, its too vague. If its political/philosophical in nature (as is normally the first impression for things related to mono) then this goes to Off-Topic.

Yob · 2011-03-31 14:52:19

You probably know that C# is executed by virtual machine called Common Language Runtime. This fact makes him in my opinion more similar to Java than C++ (besides much more C++ like syntax). This is why C# is often used in other purposes than C++. I think that you have to tell us what do you want to write? Desktop applications? Server-side? C# seems for many people like an improved Java, but you have to remember that C# is a bit younger. Being honest I prefer C++ for desktop apps and Java JEE for web applications.

Last edited by Yob (2011-03-31 14:55:49)

Google · 2011-03-31 15:06:03

I mean these days you can see a lot of talk like, "C# is getting closer to C++." If you look at TIOBE's language rankings you can see the amount of code wrote in C# is getting close to C++.

I wonder how the market takes this-- which language is more profitable? Which is better on a resume these days?

As for Mono-- I wouldn't even consider it without it. I think it's important to work on many platforms and I hardly develop on Windows.

Last edited by Google (2011-03-31 15:07:43)

drcouzelis · 2011-03-31 16:14:22

Google wrote:

I have been considering C++ versus C# and wondering which would be best these days.

I think C++ and C# have very different purposes.

I might choose C++ to write an operating system kernel or a graphics library. It would be almost impossible to do it in C#.

I might choose C# if I wanted to write a GUI application for Windows. It might take longer to write the same application using C++.

Maybe you want to have more experience for your resume and decided to choose between C++ and C#. It depends on what type of programming field you'd like to apply for, but I don't see why you couldn't get a basic knowledge of both. As for me, I use C++ at my current job and am considering applying for a job that would require C#.

Here is a nice graphical way to compare different programming languages: http://blog.gmarceau.qc.ca/2009/05/spee … ty-of.html One side of the graph is speed and the other side is amount of code. As you can see, C# requires a little less code and can be a little bit slower than C++.

C# is very Windows centric. If you want a GUI on Linux then you can use C# bindings for GTK. A native GUI is being made for Mono which uses code from Wine, a solution which, in my opinion, is yucky.

As for me, I can write software using C++ but I choose not to, because I'm not working on anything at the moment that needs to be compiled or needs the most optimization. Instead, for fast application development I'm using Python. (#6 on the TIOBE list)

Google · 2011-03-31 16:39:33

The Windows-centric nature of C# has put me off for quite a long time. I had hoped Mono would make things better-- I can see now things are improving but still lacking.

I am not opposed to learning all of the languages-- at least to some degree of familiarity. I know it isn't possible to be 'fluent' in all of them. Fluency takes a lot of time and experience. I am starting to go between C++ and Java, or both-- it seems Java is still a better choice over C# at least if you enjoy using/working on Linux and want to port things around easily. I am still torn between these 3 languages and there is no doubt all 3 dominate the market.

There's no doubt these languages have different uses. C++ has its uses and a huge code base, and C#/Java have their use. I think a better 'competition' would be between C# and Java? It's kind of depressing there are so many languages and so little time.

I love using other languages as well-- the other day I was messing with Perl and the Tk. I made a graphical chat program for kicks. I will have to play with Python some time.

Grinch · 2011-03-31 17:37:37

Well, TIOBE is in my opinion a very dubious benchmark since the 'data' seems so fuzzy:

'The ratings are based on the number of skilled engineers world-wide, courses and third party vendors. The popular search engines Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Wikipedia, YouTube and Baidu are used to calculate the ratings.'

It just seems that it's very much a matter of their 'interpretation' rather than hard data.

Still, I have no doubt that of the code written today, Java and C# are at the top given that most code today is written in the enterprise sector, where rapid development is the key factor. On the desktop though, I'd say there's very little Java, C# presence.

My personal preference is c/c++ with python, but as always it's very much a matter of what you feel comfortable with. I played a bit with Go aswell, and I kind of like it, given it's nature of making it easier to do concurrent programming (cpu's will hold more and more cores as time goes on) and the fact that Google is behind it I think it may be a big player in 2-3 years or so.

s0lign0c · 2011-03-31 18:10:36

hi,
I go to work two month in a company next week, and when i was talk to my boss i was surprise because they used full windows product.
I think that is a reason that people work in C# en used .NET.
They don't want to listen about Open source or other solution.

I've try C# with mono and indeed there is similar to java, with the same long word for method.
example for write to stdout in C#:
int i1 = 1, i2 = 2;
Console.WriteLine("i1={0}, i2={0}", i1, i2);

Cloudef · 2011-03-31 18:52:20

My personal opinion of C#? I hate it.
On related subject, I don't like Java really either, but there are few exceptions that manages to pull of clean and nice product with java.

My favorite? C
Does not have fancy stuff so instead of making ineffective code, you focus on designing effective code.

However, I agree that each of them has their own uses and depending on project, I would do things on language what would fit best.

essence-of-foo · 2011-04-01 21:06:45

I've looked into C# several times but gave it up because it always seemed like a Java clone to me and that's boring. But maybe this appeals to many programmers who are used to Java. Microsoft probably only chose "C#" as the name, because it sounded cooler than Java#

And by the way: There is a similar language developed by the GNOME poject called Vala: http://live.gnome.org/Vala It compiles into native binaries and is also usable on Windows. So if you like the general syntax of C# but worry about the political consequences, Vala is a good alternative.

My personal opinion on Mono is that it's good to have it. If there is a great Application running on .NET, Linux will also be able to host it.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-03-31 13:50:28

What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#2 2011-03-31 14:46:53

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#3 2011-03-31 14:52:19

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#4 2011-03-31 15:06:03

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#5 2011-03-31 16:14:22

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#6 2011-03-31 16:39:33

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#7 2011-03-31 17:37:37

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#8 2011-03-31 18:10:36

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#9 2011-03-31 18:52:20

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

#10 2011-04-01 21:06:45

Re: What are your thoughts on C# and mono?

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