[...]... to C# its support for asynchronous programming It has always been possible to use asynchronous APIs in C#, but in the past, this tended to involve convoluted code In C# 5.0, you can write asynchronous code that looks almost exactly like normal code, so instead of adding weight to the language, this new asynchronous programming supso instead of adding weight to the language, this new asynchronous programming. .. slightly anachronistic curiosity C# s Defining Features | 9 That said, C# 5.0 has a new feature that looks relatively specialized In fact, it has only one purpose However, it’s an important purpose Asynchronous Programming The most significant new feature in C# 5.0 is support for asynchronous programThe most significant new feature in C# 5.0 is support for asynchronous program ming .NET has always offered... (http://www.mono-project.com/) provides tools for building C# applications that run on Linux, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android Why C#? Although there are many ways you can use C#, other languages are always an option Why might you choose C# over them? It will depend on what you need to do, and what you like and dislike in a programming language I find that C# provides considerable power and flexibility, and works... Introducing C# Although C# s close connection with the runtime is one of its main defining features, it’s not the only one Visual Basic has a similar connection with the CLR, but C# is distinguished from Visual Basic by more than just syntax: it also has a somewhat different philosophy Generality Trumps Specialization C# favors general-purpose language features over specialized ones Over the years, MiC# favors... Introducing C# choice will not come down to language features It is more likely to be driven by the expertise you have in house If you have a development shop full of Ruby experts, choosing C# for your next web application might not be the most effective use of the available talent So not every project will use C# But since you’ve read this far, presumably you’re still considering using C# So what is C# like?... programming idioms a language offers, it also needs to provide full and convenient access to the underlying platform’s services C# is on very strong ground here, thanks to the NET Framework The NET Framework encompasses both the runtime and the libraries that C# programs use on Windows The runtime part is called the Common Language Runtime (usually abbreviated to CLR) because it supports not just C#, ... straightforward to use directly from C# Windows 8 introduces a new kind of API for writing full-screen applications optimized for tablet computers, an evolution of COM called WinRT, and—unlike interoperability with older native Windows APIs—using WinRT from C# feels very natural In summary, with C# we get a strong set of abstractions built into the language, a powIn summary, with C# we get a strong set of abstractions... and platform func tionality Why Not C#? To understand a language, it’s useful to compare it with alternatives, so it’s worth looking at some of the reasons you might choose some other language C# s nearest competitor is arguably Visual Basic (VB), another native NET language that offers most of the same benefits as C# The choice here is mostly a matter of syntax C# is part of the C family of languages,... it was no surprise that C# was one of the four languages to offer full support from the start for these applications (the others being C++, JavaScript, and Visual Basic) Although Microsoft invented C#, the language and its runtime are documented by the standards body ECMA, enabling anyone to implement C# This is not merely hypostandards body ECMA, enabling anyone to implement C# This is not merely hypo... for taking me on as an O’Reilly author back when I wrote my first book xx | Preface CHAPTER 1 Introducing C# The C# programming language (pronounced “see sharp”) can be used for many kinds of applications, including websites, desktop applications, games, phone apps, and command-line utilities C# has been center stage for Windows developers for about a decade now, so when Microsoft announced that Windows