The Future Of C# At A Glance

C# is one of the top ten most popular programming languages. It’s been 16 years since Microsoft released C# in 2000 and is considered the foremostmost emerging programming language because of the maturity it has accrued. Today C# 7.0 is available as a part of Visual Studio 2017.


Figure 1 – StackOverflow Survey for Most Used Programming Languages

People always ask me, what is the future of C# and where can we go with it. This article will help you to find those answers!

OS Support

C# runs on all three big Operating systems including Windows, Mac, and Linux. It also supports all IDEs and editors with most famously used code generation and refactoring tools.

Open Source

With an introduction of .Net Core (Microsoft Cross Platform Framework), Microsoft has made C# partially open source with its implementation of Roslyn Compilers that can be reviewed and evolved by .Net Community members under Microsoft Copyright Claims. Now .Net Community is actively creating the Add ins for C# IDEs that is a good news for seasoned C# developers.

Game Development (Unity)

Unity is a powerful cross platform gaming engine used to develop 2D and 3D games. With its popular games, Unity has become one of the most used and leading game engines in the market. If you have the interest in game development and want to pursue your career as a game developer, there is a good news for you. Unity is depreciating Unity script in favor of C#!!


Figure 2 – Hitman Go, a game made with Unity3d and C#

Cross Platform Mobile Applications (Xamarin)

Google Android and Apple iOS are the major players in the mobile application market. Microsoft has also got its own mobile application platform for windows phone. But that does not mean that C# can only be used for developing Windows phone applications. Xamarin has got its renowned IDE (Xamarin Studio) that uses C# to build Native applications for all iOS, Android and Windows Phones. You write your code in C# and it compiles as a native application on these platforms.

Figure 3 – A cross platform map application, made with Xamarin and C#

Strong Web Application Frameworks (ASP.NET)

Microsoft has been building its web frameworks since C# was released. ASP.NET was first introduced in 2002 and is considered one of the best frameworks for building web applications. It can be integrated with your favorite client side technologies (e.g. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AngularJS, JQuery etc.) and backend APIs to build modern web applications. ASP.NET has got several templates including WebForm, MVC and ASP.Net Core. With its redesigned ASP.NET Core, Microsoft has opened new doors into the world of web applications that can be run on any server having .Net Core as a software framework.

Cloud (Azure)

Microsoft Azure is one of the leading best cloud solution providers out there in the market. C# can be used to build cloud solutions using the Visual studio for Microsoft Azure. Not only you can build cloud solutions but you can also manage and deploy them easily. You can also use the Microsoft Azure SQL that is an Azure based online SQL Server version.


Figure 4 – Microsoft Azure, Its more than just a cloud backup storage service!

Windows Client Applications (WPF, WinForm)

Windows Client applications are used in Microsoft Windows as executables. We all have used Skype, Microsoft Word, Mozilla Firefox, Avast Antivirus etc. All of these are examples of Windows Client Applications. Microsoft Visual Studio has got two major frameworks with C# including Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation for developing Windows Client Applications. C# can also be used to develop non UI console and WPF Browser based applications in this context.

Summary

In light of all the above points, we can conclude that C# is one of the best programming languages targeting every domain with its evolving nature and bright future. 

Tip

Just as C# has got a very bright future so too do  its developers. Increase your professional worth in the industry by becoming a Microsoft C# Certified Programmer. To prepare for C# Certification Exam, you must read The C# Programmer’s Study Guide (MCSD) book.


Figure 5 – A guidebook for preparing Microsoft C# Certification Exam 70-483