3 ms·
Let me say something about the prejudice (mostly my own). For most the late 80s-early 2000s, I was not a huge fan of Microsoft mostly because of their predator
by wenc 9y ago
Let me say something about the prejudice (mostly my own).
For most the late 80s-early 2000s, I was not a huge fan of Microsoft mostly because of their predatory practices and the shoddy quality of their software. But they had a few products that I thought were legitimately good, and Visual Studio (and the C# language) was one of them. Part of my admiration of it was partly because of Anders Heijlsberg, its architect.
I started my programming life with Borland tools (Turbo Pascal), and then later Delphi. Anders architected all of these tools. They are long in the tooth now but at the time, these tools were fairly well regarded because they reflected flair and good taste. When Anders created C#, I managed to look at it without being clouded by my Microsoft prejudice, because I knew who was behind it.
I started writing C# code a couple of years ago when I started working for a large enterprise. Even as a Linux/UNIX guy, I am able to say that C# is a truly elegant language that is fun to work with, and I would pick it over Java or Scala any day. I don't like its Windows centricity (Windows is still not my favorite platform), but outside of that, it is truly a well-architected language.
Silicon Valley types would do well to put aside their prejudices of the C# language and evaluate it based on its own merits.
- Clubber 9y agoYes, I am in the same boat. I started my PC career in DOS with Turbo Pascal then C++, then in Delphi/Oracle after college. I started C# full force around 2005 or so and have been using it ever since. Delphi was way ahead of it's time. PS: Commodore 64 was my first love.
- Xeronate 9y agoC# is a great language and I love using it (especially compared to Java), but right now the Microsoft stack is prohibitively expensive compared to the common stacks for java, ruby, and python. .NET Core is a great step in the right direction, but it is going to be a long time before parity with other ecosystems is reached and unfortunately enjoying writing the code is way less important than having the libraries I need to interact with modern web technology.
- alkonaut 9y agoWhat are you paying for with C#? Tooling including IDE is free, servers are typically free (unless you run IIS on windows) and databases are obviously the same as in any other stack. In an apples to apples comparison I can’t see .NET coming in more expensive than java. The only thing that might be more expensive on Linux is if you need a better IDE than vs code - you’ll have to pay for JetBrains Rider. But good java IDEs aren’t free either.
- jayd16 9y agoI'm pretty sure he meant windows, IIS and possibly the upgrade from headless to something with a gpu for windows ops.
- oaiey 9y agoDo not forget Anders Heijlsberg involvement in that little thing that TypeScript is :). I am also a big fan. To be fair, you should also mention Anders involvement in the thing that J++ was, and the Sun vs MS settlement.