What is the Future of C#
C# is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. C# is also the most versatile programming language among them all. You can build all kind of applications using C# including desktop, web, mobile, IoT, cloud, games, APIs, and libraries. Not only C# can be used to build Windows applications but we can build applications that target Linux, MacOS, iOs, and Android operating systems. On top of that, C# is one of the fastest evolving programming languages among all. With all that background, I can clearly say that the future of C# is bright.
With that said, let’s look at some of the C# language features.
C# is simple, clean, and modern.
C# is one of the easiest programming languages to learn. Most object-oriented programmers will find C# easy to learn and start writing code. C# syntaxes are getting cleaner with every new version and code in the latest version of C#, 9.0, is much cleaner than the previous versions.
C# language supports a majority of modern features you will find in any modern program language.
C# is safe, productive, and fast.
In recent versions, the focus of the language has been on writing safe and efficient code, giving developers more freedom, and writing less code; hence helping them become more productive. With the help of tools like Visual Studio and Visual Studio code and its features such as Intellisense and CodeLens, programmers are able to write code at a faster speed.
C# is open source.
C# is not just for Windows. C# is not just for Microsoft. C# language and the compiler are open source. While the language is managed by Microsoft, the open source community is actively involved in new language enhancements and features.
C# is language for all kinds of software applications.
C# language can be used to build all kinds of software applications targeting desktop, web, mobile, gaming consoles, TVs, Internet of things, and cloud applications.
C# provides WPF, Windows Forms, and UWP technologies to build Windows based desktop applications. ASP.NET is the platform to build web applications. Xamarin can be used to build native mobile apps that target Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms.
C# is cloud native programming language. This means, you can build cloud native apps using C# and .NET platform. Not only can C# be used to build Azure cloud applications, but it can be used to build and deploy applications on any cloud including AWS and Google cloud.
C# is a language for emerging technologies.
C#, as a language, can do a lot more. Today, you can build pretty much any kind of software using C# including data science, AI and machine learning, cloud, enterprise, and report-centric applications. You can also build emerging technology-based applications using C#. Some of the emerging technologies include cloud native, blockchain, mixed-reality, augmented and virtual reality, voice-enabled systems, intelligent chat bots, services and much more.
C# is evolving.
Since its early announcement in the year 2000, C# as a language has come a long way and the good thing is, C# is still fresh and evolving. Each year and each new version, more features are being added and more improvements are being made.
C# language versions and features.
Now, we have just seen some of the key features of C# language, let’s look at some of the language specific features and their release dates.
The following table summarizes C# language versions and features.
|
Version
|
Year
|
Key features introduced
|
|
1.0
|
Jan 2002
|
|
1.2
|
Oct 2003
|
Modern, object-oriented, type safe, automatic memory management, versioning control
|
|
2.0
|
Sept 2005
|
Generics, partial classes, anonymous types, iterators, nullable types, static classes, delegate interface
|
|
3.0
|
Aug 2007
|
Implicit types, object and collection initializers, auto-implemented properties, extension methods, query and lambda expressions, expression trees, partial methods.
|
|
4.0
|
April 2010
|
Dynamic binding, named and optional arguments, Generic covariance and Contravariance, Embedded interop types
|
|
5.0
|
June 2013
|
Async methods, Caller info Attributes
|
|
6.0
|
July 2015
|
Roslyn (compiler-as-a-service), exception filters, Await in catch/finally block, auto property initializer, string interpolation, nameof operator, dictionary initializer
|
|
7.0
|
2016
|
Tuples, pattern matching, record types, local functions, Async streams, out variables, deconstruction, digit separators, ref returns and locals, generalized async return types, expression bodied constructors and finalizers, expression bodies getters and setters, Throw as an expression
|
|
7.1
|
2017
|
Async main, default literal expressions, inferred tuple element names
|
|
7.2
|
2017
|
Reference semantics with value types, non-trailing named arguments, leading underscores in numeric literals, private protected access modifier
|
|
7.3
|
2018
|
Ref local re-assignments, stackalloc initializers, indexing movable fixed buffers, custom fixed statements, improved overload candidates, tuple comparison, attribute on backing fields.
|
|
C# 8.0
|
2019
|
Default interface methods, Nullable reference types, Pattern matching enhancements, Asynchronous streams / Asynchronous disposable, Using declarations, Enhancement of interpolated verbatim strings, Null-coalescing assignment, Static local functions, Indices and ranges, Unmanaged constructed types, Readonly-Member, Stackalloc in nested expressions. Disposable ref structs
|
|
C# 9.0
|
2020
|
Record types, Structural Equality & Referential Equality, Using Records and the With-expression, Target-typed new-expressions, Default in deconstruction, Relax ordering of ref and partial modifiers, Parameter null-checking, Skip locals init, Lambda discard parameters, Attributes on local functions, Native Ints, Function pointers
|
As you can see from the above table, C# as a programming language is not only advanced but it is evolving. As technology evolves, C# will evolve as well to support new emerging technologies.
Hence, the future of C# is very bright.
C# 8 and C# 9 Features
C# 8.0 is the latest public version of C# language while C# 9.0 is knocking the door and expected to be released in Nov 2020 with the release of .NET 5.0. C# 8 has the following new features,
- Default interface methods
- Nullable reference types
- Pattern matching enhancements
- Asynchronous streams / Asynchronous disposable
- Using declarations
- Enhancement of interpolated verbatim strings
- Null-coalescing assignment
- Static local functions
- Indices and ranges
- Unmanaged constructed types
- Readonly-Member
- Stackalloc in nested expressions
- Disposable ref structs
C# 9 is the next version that is expected to release soon. Some of the key features of C# 9 are record types, structural equality &referential equality, improvements in expression matching, default in deconstruction, relax ordering of ref and partial modifiers, parameter null-checking, skip locals init, lambda discard parameters, attributes on local functions, native Ints, and function pointers.
Watch this video to learn about new features in C# 9.0 and how to use them.
.NET 5
C# language is a part of .NET. The current version of .NET is .NET 5, which is just a single open source software development framework to build desktop, web, mobile, cloud, and IoT targeted software applications.
To learn more about what is new in .NET 5 and more, watch this video.
Summary
C# is one of the fastest evolving programming languages. Not only C# is simple, modern, and easy to write but it provides most of the modern programming features.
Unlike other programming language, C# is very versatile and supports a majority of emerging technologies including data science, AI and machine learning, cloud native, blockchain, mixed-reality, augmented and virtual reality, voice-enabled systems, intelligent chat bots, services and much more.
So, if you are a C# developer, there is nothing to worry about. C# has a very bright future.