Newbie C# developers have been working with the language for over a decade, yet as with every language, there are a lot of misconceptions. You’ll find that even .net development developers have some of these newbie misconceptions.
The most common misconceptions are:
C# is a Better Iteration of C++
C# did come out after C++, but you cannot look at C# as C++ 2. Instead, C# is a high-level language. When you use a high-level language, it’s often easier to write code in, but it’s also going to compile into Common Language Runtime.
C++ is a low-level language, so you can dig deeper into the hardware of the computer and interact with the hardware in different ways.
So, is C++ better than C#?
No. Both languages have their own purpose, and while similar, C# is considered easier to learn and can help with desktop and web applications as well.
C# is Only for Windows
A lot of programmers and others assume that since C# is from Microsoft, it will only run on Windows. This fallacy is wrong because C# is open source and allows you to use it on both Linux and Mac, as well as on Microsoft.
Since you can use C# on a variety of operating systems, it’s a versatile language that can be used alongside a wide range of applications.
C# is Just Like Java
Java is in high-demand, and it’s a very powerful programming language. Heavily reliant on OOP, Java is on par with C++ in power, but it is probably the closest language to C# in terms of syntax and functionality.
C# is not identical to Java, although it’s similar in nature. C# improves on Java in many ways by incorporating a few features and functions Java never implemented:
- Value types
- Operator overloads
- Unsigned integers
Java has been around for much longer, so you’ll find a lot of high-end applications still running based on Java. C# also doesn’t require nearly as much OOP purity that Java requires. You can and still need to use OOP to be able to build high-end, efficient apps, but you won’t be bound by the same level of strictness that makes Java a tedious language to learn.
C# is Slower Than C++
A lot of people boast about the speed of C++, and the language is very fast. C# is also fast, and in many cases, C# can become very close to C++ in speed. There will be a lot of times when libraries are similar with both languages and times when C++ will outpace C#.
Application specifics will determine which language is the optimal choice.
- C++ is often much faster when dealing with complex complications. You may be able to boost the speed of the application 200% to 500% by using C++ for these difficult calculations.
- C# and C++ have similar speeds when dealing with reading and writing to a disk, graphics development and other tasks where they share similar or a lot of the same libraries.
You also must consider the amount of development and resources that will need to go into writing code for C++ that is more optimized and efficient. Since C++ is a low-level language, you’ll need to write far more code to meet the same features of C#.
The time for development and to optimize the code often leads to C# being the optimal choice over C++.
C++ and C# Can’t Be Used Together
Fast development is the key defining feature of C#, and a lot of developers want to leverage these rapid development practices. But you may find times when C++ would be able to produce far better speeds than C# for critical tasks.
When you need to use more than one language, you can use both C# and C++ in a single project.
A lot of large corporations will implement C++ for key tasks that are going to be very intensive, and may cost the company significant processing power and energy costs. Facebook is known for compiling some of their code into C++ because even the slightest speed enhancement can be beneficial for the company and their users.
But you can use both high- and low-level languages together to be able to create a truly efficient, optimized application or web app.
