C# was my first programming language. It’s hard to believe that not too long ago, I was learning to program on my own with a C# console application. Now I’m a Software Engineer with 6 years of experience and have reaped the benefits that learning C# has given me. In this article, I want to share why I believe C# is the best programming language and why you should pick C# as your first programming language.
1. It’s a good programming language for getting a job
Do you want to get a programming job quickly? C# is a foolproof way of getting job opportunities. C# programming can solve most business solutions efficiently. .NET (a framework closely tied to C# programming) job opportunities have been around for years and doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
Furthermore, many companies utilize Microsoft’s services in some shape or form. Therefore C# is the default language is the language the businesses gravitate towards. If many businesses prefer C#, that means lots of C# job opportunities.
2. C# is in demand
C# is 20 years old. There was demand then and there is still demand today. Lots of openings C# positions indicate a large demand for C# developers. Microsoft has been dominating the Software industry for years and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.
3. Maintains features of advanced languages while keeping the complex parts hidden
C# makes optimizing code very intuitive. For instance, while other programming may require manual memory management, C# does it in a way that is easy for both beginners and experienced developers.
The using statement in C# is most commonly used to manage memory. It calls the Dispose method to release the object after the block has been executed. Doing this in another language such as C++ would require additional lines of codes such as a destructor (!).
Another classic method of C# is Async/Await keywords, which allows your code to run on multiple threads while keeping your code readable.
3. C# is simple and easy to use
As a developer, you’ll probably spend the majority of the time reading code. That is why readability is so important for a programming language.
One of the main reasons I gravitated towards C# was that it was easy to read. As I was learning C#, I didn’t find the syntax to be overwhelming and I was able to focus on the concepts of programming. The code should be readable enough to understand the developer’s intent and C# does a really good job of that.
Furthermore, C# is really good at containing complexity. You can use advanced features such as using and async/await features mentioned above for years without understanding what’s happening under the hood. I find that quite fascinating.
4. C# is a flexible multipurpose language
While C# in combination with .NET, was primarily known for desktop applications development, C# is now also used for:
Web Applications/Web Services (.NET Core)
Game development (Unity)
Cloud applications (Azure)
Console applications
Browser (Blazor)
Machine Learning (ML.NET)
Whatever you’re interested in, Microsoft has an infrastructure for it and any of these platforms can be written in C#.
5. C# is a well documented language
If you’ve ever worked with C# and wanted to understand more about a topic, chances are there is an entire page for it with short descriptions and easy-to-understand code examples (think of it like W3Schools, but for C# made by Microsoft).
If you’re interested in getting started with C#, the official csharp documentation from Microsoft is where you want to be. It has tons of examples and articles written by a very large and active community of developers.
6. C# is open-sourced and backed by Microsoft
In 2003 Microsoft first released C# and .NET Framework with Visual Studio as closed-sourced products. It wasn’t until 4 years later that Microsoft decided to make .NET and Visual Studio open-sourced.
Being open-sourced (backed by Microsoft), all developers can provide a feedback and keep growing C# to meet developers’ needs.
7. C# is good for web development
When you search for courses to learn programming online, you’ll often see courses in web development. That’s because web development allows you to learn both front end and back end technologies.
Both client side and server side code can be written in C# .NET. Whenever the page refreshes it is being rendered by code written on the server. This means that your code can’t be modified on the browser by malicious users. Many government websites still use ASP.NET to secure their web applications.
8. C# has an massive collection of libraries
Nuget allows project developers to package their libraries, making it simple for other developers to add to their project. If a library has dependencies on other libraries, Nuget will automatically install those libraries. This convenient feature alone allows you to gain access to tons of libraries to increase your productivity.
Conclusion
I hope I’ve helped you better understand the impact that C# has on the Software development industry and why it is still one of the most popular languages. On top of that, C# caters to developers and will continue to receive updates.
Investing time to learn C# may be the best decision you can make for your career in 2022.
-Bao