We can't start talking about C # without knowing the C language. C is the most human programming language that a computer can understand. Its name comes from evolving a previous language, called B, which was created at Bell Laboratories, originally developed by Dennis Ritchie, between 1969 and 1972. Its main characteristic is the efficiency of the code, and it is used to create operating systems, applications, and even games.

Now we are ready to know everything about  C #. Let's go there!





What is C #?

C # (read C Sharp ) is an evolution that Microsoft made of this language, taking the best of the C and C ++ languages and adding functionalities, taking from other languages, such as java some of its evolved syntaxes. It oriented it to objects for its entire NET platform (both Framework and Core), and over time it adapted the code creation facilities that another of its most popular languages ​​had, Visual Basic, making it as versatile and easy to learn as this one, without losing an iota of the original C power. In the .NET Core version, its compiler has been completely rebuilt, making applications 600% faster.

What are the characteristics of the C # programming language?

It has not lost the original power of C, that is, you can access the kernel of operating systems at a low level, work with memory pointers (many developers have a real panic about pointers), and interact with physical elements of the devices, such as graphics cards or USB ports, for example. In fact, it has never been so easy to work with files, natively supporting XML files.

In addition, as we have commented previously, C # is a language designed for use in .NET, whose objective of this platform is to create applications simply. Therefore, this language is used to design applications on this platform.

It is emphasized on this since this language was designed expressly for the .NET platform, so the characteristics of .NET will be those of this programming language :

  • Simplicity: C # removes a lot of unnecessary elements. NET. For example, few useful elements such as macros, multiple inheritances, or an operator's need other than the period are not included.
  • Modernity: C # Automatically and intuitively incorporates into its language elements that have been proven over the years to be very useful for application development.
  • Security: It incorporates a mechanism to ensure that access to data types is carried out correctly, thus avoiding that they generate errors that are difficult to detect.
  • Unified type systems: All the data we obtain when programming C # is saved in a base to be used again later.
  • Extensibility - You can add basic data types, operators, and modifiers when programming.
  • Versionable: It is continuously updated and improved, allowing the creation of type versions without being afraid that, with the incorporation of new members, they will cause errors that are difficult to detect.
  • Compatible: C # maintains a syntax very similar to C, C ++, Java, and many other programming languages, to facilitate the programmer's work.
  • Efficient: despite the restrictions that C # has in all code, you can bypass these restrictions by using objects through pointers.



How to use c #?

Microsoft makes available, to the entire global community of programmers, its development platforms, such as Visual Studio Code, with a free license (Freeware: you do not pay to use it), multiplatform (for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS), under the environment. NET Core; and also Visual Studio (paid), in its 2017/2019 versions, for Windows and Mac OS, under the .NET Framework environment. The difference between both environments is the final recipient of the applications, the latter being only for Windows, while the former for the 3 mentioned platforms.

To work with C # it is advisable to use Microsoft Visual Studio since it has been specially developed for it and supports the load and work with the same language.

 Therefore, we download Microsoft Visual Studio and run the program. It can ask you to install some essential libraries for the program to function correctly, which we can download for free from Microsoft.

Once the program is executed, you can create a C # type document and you can now write in this code.