Stash

Alright, so I am reading 'C# Complete' and a co-worker, who thinks he knows everything about programming because he took Visual Basic classes in 2002, but never applies what he learns, sees me reading. He told me that I should be reading C++ books not C# books. He says that reading C# will not get me anywhere because C++ is better. Now from what I read and hear from my other friends outside of work, C# is just a newer version of C++ or close to it and I should be fine reading it.

So, which is it C# or C++ ? or does it really matter?

skuinders

C# is a Microsoft language, C++ is not. thats enough for me.

EDIT: but if you want to make Windows apps then C# may be preferable.

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Stash

So, I need to get a book for C++ also, now for software to learn on I was able to obtain VS.NET 2003 could I use that for both C++ and C#?

OpenLoop

Applications developped with C# for the .NET framework might (in the near future) be run on other operating systems. In fact, a simple C# or VB.NET application can be run on linux using mono. (see www.go-mono.com)

skuinders

yes sir. I use Bloodshed Dev-C++ for C and C++ development on Windows at work.

I don't think this will ever happen on a large scale. people developing for *nix or cross-platform just wont use .NET - Microsoft would have it no other way

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Dameon

C# syntax is not obfuscated like C++, there's a rather extensive class library that makes development much faster, and because of Mono can run on just about any platform unmodified. Sure, you take a rather large performance hit, but do you worry about memory leaks? Do you have to deal with headers? It depends on what you are programming. If you need something written in a short amount of time that just works, C# is a good bet. If you need the speed and have the time to invest, go with C++.

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OpenLoop

The more poeple know about .NET the more they realize its potential. Its not just a Microsoft thing, its more like simplifying a programmer's life and making the software development world more uniform and better organized.

You migth argue that java and its platform can do this already. However, the advantage of .NET is the language flexibility. Java platform runs programs developped by the java language only where .NET can run programs developed by any of the growing list of .NET-aware languages.

Maybe .NET doesn't have a bright future in Linux, but it is sure gaining momentum in the Windows development field over MFC, Win32, and STL.

Infinite Recursion

You can't go wrong with either, C++ is everywhere... and C# is gaining ground.

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Cerulean

Erm.. Muine (Gnome music player) is written is C#, as is Beagle (Gnome desktop search), and Beagle is a pretty darn big program. Give mono a little credit, and give C# some too ;-)

Dameon

Once I'm back on linux I might try some of my larger binaries to see how well they work with Mono. At this point, Mono is certainly a capable development platform for C# and VB -- it delivers the multi-platform goodness that MS promised us. I'd like to get Visual Studio to compile with the mcs compiler

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