Migrating to C#
© Jose Aniceto
Overview
Go to the Microsoft's website and it is hard not to notice the .Net logo splattered all over the site. Without doubt, Microsoft is aggressively promoting and selling the .Net platform. It wouldn't even come as a surprise to know that Windows XP already has some of the .Net strategy implemented. As mentioned in a previous article (An Overview of C#), Microsoft's .Net strategy will bring desktop computing to newer heights. New applications will be .Net ready as more and more people come together through the Internet.
With newer strategies come newer tools. Together with the release of the .Net strategy comes a new programming language called C#. According to Microsoft, it will revolutionize application development. C# promises the raw programming power similar to C and C++ and yet delivers ease of use similar to Visual Basic. The intent of developing C# is to be used as a rapid application development (RAD) tool for the .Net platform.
Java promised the world of being able to write an application only once and be able to run it on different hardware and computing environment. It does not matter whether you have a Macintosh or a Unix computer, Java will run on both operating systems. The only catch of course is that the target platform must have a Java Virtual Machine running.
The prospect of being able to develop an application and run on different environment is very appealing to the corporate world. The benefit is perceived, as bringing the cost down of maintaining IT systems and in today's economic difficulties, it is very much a welcomed solution. The ability not to worry about conflicting DLL files, backward compatibility issues and system upgrades are some of the issues the Java platform is trying to address.
It is now time for a wake up call for Microsoft. Realizing the issues that the Java platform was trying to solve and planned to address the same issues, but solving it using the Microsoft way. The .Net strategy attempts to solve existing problems. In February 2002, Microsoft released Visual Studio.Net, a new development tool that would enable software developers to develop solutions and systems that would run on .Net.
Prior to the Visual Studio release, C# was released to the public a year earlier through the .Net Software Development Kit (SDK). The early release gave developers a taste of what is to come. The acceptance of the new language was incredible. To get a feel of how the industry is moving towards C#, just look at the local bookstore. There are more than a dozen of books on C# on display. Even most notable C/C++ writers, such as Herbert Schildt and Jesse Liberty, have books on C#.
