C sharp ( programming language ) - wikipedia C sharp ( programming language ) The correct title of this article is C# ( programming language ). The substitution or omission of the # is due to technical restrictions. C# Paradigm Structured, imperative, object - oriented, event - driven, task - driven, functional, generic, reflective, concurrent Family Designed by Microsoft Developer Microsoft First appeared 2000 ; 17 years ago ( 2000 ) Stable release 7.0 / March 7, 2017 ; 6 months ago ( 2017 - 03 - 07 ) Typing discipline static, dynamic, strong, safe, nominative, partially inferred Platform Common Language Infrastructure License CLR : MIT / X11 Mono compiler : dual GPLv3 and MIT / X11 Libraries : LGPLv 2 DotGNU : dual GPL and LGPLv 2 Filename extensions. cs Website docs.microsoft.com/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/ Major implementations Visual C#,. NET Framework, Mono, DotGNU Dialects Cω, Spec #, Polyphonic C#, Enhanced C# Influenced by C++, Eiffel, Java, Modula - 3, Object Pascal, ML, VB, Icon, Haskell, Rust, J#, Cω, F#, J++ Influenced Chapel, Crystal, D, J#, Dart, F#, Hack, Java, Kotlin, Monkey, Nemerle, Oxygene, Rust, Swift, Vala C Sharp Programming at Wikibooks C# ( pronounced as see sharp ) is a multi-paradigm programming language encompassing strong typing, imperative, declarative, functional, generic, object - oriented ( class - based ), and component - oriented programming disciplines. It was developed by Microsoft within its. NET initiative and later approved as a standard by Ecma ( ECMA - 334 ) and ISO ( ISO / IEC 23270 : 2006 ). C# is one of the programming languages designed for the Common Language Infrastructure. C# is a general - purpose, object - oriented programming language. Its development team is led by Anders Hejlsberg. The most recent version is C# 7.0, which was released in 2017 along with Visual Studio 2017. Contents 1 Design goals 2 History 2.1 Name 2.2 Versions 2.3 New features 3 Syntax 4 Distinguishing features 4.1 Portability 4.2 Typing 4.3 Meta programming 4.4 Methods and functions 4.5 Property 4.6 Namespace 4.7 Memory access 4.8 Exception 4.9 Polymorphism 4.10 Functional programming 5 Common type system 5.1 Categories of data types 5.2 Boxing and unboxing 6 Libraries 7 Examples 8 Standardization and licensing 9 Implementations 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External links Design goals The ECMA standard lists these design goals for C# : The language is intended to be a simple, modern, general - purpose, object - oriented programming language. The language, and implementations thereof, should provide support for software engineering principles such as strong type checking, array bounds checking, detection of attempts to use uninitialized variables, and automatic garbage collection. Software robustness, durability, and programmer productivity are important. The language is intended for use in developing software components suitable for deployment in distributed environments. Portability is very important for source code and programmers, especially those already familiar with C and C++. Support for internationalization is very important. C# is intended to be suitable for writing applications for both hosted and embedded systems, ranging from the very large that use sophisticated operating systems, down to the very small having dedicated functions. Although C# applications are intended to be economical with regard to memory and processing power requirements, the language was not intended to compete directly on performance and size with C or assembly language. History During the development of the. NET Framework, the class libraries were originally written using a managed code compiler system called Simple Managed C ( SMC ). In January 1999, Anders Hejlsberg formed a team to build a new language at the time called Cool, which stood for `` C - like Object Oriented Language ''. Microsoft had considered keeping the name `` Cool '' as the final name of the language, but chose not to do so for trademark reasons. By the time the. NET project was publicly announced at the July 2000 Professional Developers Conference, the language had been renamed C#, and the class libraries and ASP.NET runtime had been ported to C#. C# 's principal designer and lead architect at Microsoft is Anders Hejlsberg, who was previously involved with the design of Turbo Pascal, Embarcadero Delphi ( formerly CodeGear Delphi, Inprise Delphi and Borland Delphi ), and Visual J++. In interviews and technical papers he has stated that flaws in most major programming languages ( e.g. C++, Java, Delphi, and Smalltalk ) drove the fundamentals of the Common Language Runtime ( CLR ), which, in turn, drove the design of the C# language itself. James Gosling, who created the Java programming language in 1994, and Bill Joy, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, the originator of Java, called C# an `` imitation '' of Java ; Gosling further said that `` ( C# is ) sort of Java with reliability, productivity and security deleted. '' Klaus Kreft and Angelika Langer ( authors of a C++ streams book ) stated in a blog post that `` Java and C# are almost identical programming languages. Boring repetition that lacks innovation, '' `` Hardly anybody will claim that Java or C# are revolutionary programming languages that changed the way we write programs, '' and `` C# borrowed a lot from Java - and vice versa. Now that C# supports boxing and unboxing, we 'll have a very similar feature in Java. '' In July 2000, Anders Hejlsberg said that C# is `` not a Java clone '' and is `` much closer to C + + '' in its design. Since the release of C# 2.0 in November 2005, the C# and Java languages have evolved on increasingly divergent trajectories, becoming somewhat less similar. One of the first major departures came with the addition of generics to both languages, with vastly different implementations. C# makes use of reification to provide `` first - class '' generic objects that can be used like any other class, with code generation performed at class - load time. Furthermore, C# has added several major features to accommodate functional - style programming, culminating in the LINQ extensions released with C# 3.0 and its supporting framework of lambda expressions, extension methods, and anonymous types. These features enable C# programmers to use functional programming techniques, such as closures, when it is advantageous to their application. The LINQ extensions and the functional imports help developers reduce the amount of `` boilerplate '' code that is included in common tasks like querying a database, parsing an xml file, or searching through a data structure, shifting the emphasis onto the actual program logic to help improve readability and maintainability. C# used to have a mascot called Andy ( named after Anders Hejlsberg ). It was retired on January 29, 2004. C# was originally submitted to the ISO subcommittee JTC 1 / SC 22 for review, under ISO / IEC 23270 : 2003, was withdrawn and was then approved under ISO / IEC 23270 : 2006. Name C - sharp musical note The name `` C sharp '' was inspired by musical notation where a sharp indicates that the written note should be made a semitone higher in pitch. This is similar to the language name of C++, where `` + + '' indicates that a variable should be incremented by 1. The sharp symbol also resembles a ligature of four `` + '' symbols ( in a two - by - two grid ), further implying that the language is an increment of C++. Due to technical limitations of display ( standard fonts, browsers, etc. ) and the fact that the sharp symbol ( U + 266F ♯ MUSIC SHARP SIGN ( HTML & # 9839 ; ) ) is not present on most keyboard layouts, the number sign ( U + 0023 # NUMBER SIGN ( HTML & # 35 ; ) ) was chosen to approximate the sharp symbol in the written name of the programming language. This convention is reflected in the ECMA - 334 C# Language Specification. However, when it is practical to do so ( for example, in advertising or in box art ), Microsoft uses the intended musical symbol. The `` sharp '' suffix has been used by a number of other. NET languages that are variants of existing languages, including J# ( a. NET language also designed by Microsoft that is derived from Java 1.1 ), A# ( from Ada ), and the functional programming language F#. The original implementation of Eiffel for. NET was called Eiffel #, a name retired since the full Eiffel language is now supported. The suffix has also been used for libraries, such as Gtk # ( a. NET wrapper for GTK+ and other GNOME libraries ) and Cocoa # ( a wrapper for Cocoa ). Versions Version Language specification Date. NET Framework Visual Studio ECMA ISO / IEC Microsoft C# 1.0 December 2002 April 2003 January 2002 January 2002. NET Framework 1.0 Visual Studio. NET 2002 C# 1.1 and 1.2 October 2003 April 2003. NET Framework 1.1 Visual Studio. NET 2003 C# 2.0 June 2006 September 2006 September 2005 November 2005. NET Framework 2.0 Visual Studio 2005 C# 3.0 None August 2007 November 2007. NET Framework 2.0 ( Except LINQ ). NET Framework 3.0 ( Except LINQ ). NET Framework 3.5 Visual Studio 2008 Visual Studio 2010 C# 4.0 April 2010 April 2010. NET Framework 4 Visual Studio 2010 C# 5.0 In Progress None June 2013 August 2012. NET Framework 4.5 Visual Studio 2012 Visual Studio 2013 C# 6.0 None Draft July 2015. NET Framework 4.6 Visual Studio 2015 C# 7.0 None March 2017. NET Framework 4.6. 2 Visual Studio 2017 New features C# 2.0 Generics Partial types Anonymous methods Iterators Nullable types Getter / setter separate accessibility Method group conversions ( delegates ) Co - and Contra - variance for delegates Static classes Delegate inference C# 3.0 Implicitly typed local variables Object and collection initializers Auto - Implemented properties Anonymous types Extension methods Query expressions Lambda expression Expression trees Partial methods C# 4.0 Dynamic binding Named and optional arguments Generic co - and contravariance Embedded interop types ( `` NoPIA '' ) C# 5.0 Asynchronous methods Caller info attributes C# 6.0 Compiler - as - a-service ( Roslyn ) Import of static type members into namespace Exception filters Await in catch / finally blocks Auto property initializers Default values for getter - only properties Expression - bodied members Null propagator ( null - conditional operator, succinct null checking ) String interpolation nameof operator Dictionary initializer C# 7.0 Out variables Pattern matching Tuples Deconstruction Local functions Digit separators Binary literals Ref returns and locals Generalized async return types Expression bodied constructors and finalizers Expression bodied getters and setters C# 7.1 Async main Default expressions Syntax Main article : C Sharp syntax See also : Syntax ( programming languages ) The core syntax of C# language is similar to that of other C - style languages such as C, C++ and Java. In particular : Semicolons are used to denote the end of a statement. Curly brackets are used to group statements. Statements are commonly grouped into methods ( functions ), methods into classes, and classes into namespaces. Variables are assigned using an equals sign, but compared using two consecutive equals signs. Square brackets are used with arrays, both to declare them and to get a value at a given index in one of them. Distinguishing features See also : Comparison of C Sharp and Java Some notable features of C# that distinguish it from C, C++, and Java where noted, are : Portability By design, C# is the programming language that most directly reflects the underlying Common Language Infrastructure ( CLI ). Most of its intrinsic types correspond to value - types implemented by the CLI framework. However, the language specification does not state the code generation requirements of the compiler : that is, it does not state that a C# compiler must target a Common Language Runtime, or generate Common Intermediate Language ( CIL ), or generate any other specific format. Theoretically, a C# compiler could generate machine code like traditional compilers of C++ or Fortran. Typing C# supports strongly typed implicit variable declarations with the keyword var, and implicitly typed arrays with the keyword new ( ) followed by a collection initializer. C# supports a strict Boolean data type, bool. Statements that take conditions, such as while and if, require an expression of a type that implements the true operator, such as the Boolean type. While C++ also has a Boolean type, it can be freely converted to and from integers, and expressions such as if ( a ) require only that a is convertible to bool, allowing a to be an int, or a pointer. C# disallows this `` integer meaning true or false '' approach, on the grounds that forcing programmers to use expressions that return exactly bool can prevent certain types of programming mistakes such as if ( a = b ) ( use of assignment = instead of equality = =, which while not an error in C or C++, will be caught by the compiler anyway ). C# is more type safe than C++. The only implicit conversions by default are those that are considered safe, such as widening of integers. This is enforced at compile - time, during JIT, and, in some cases, at runtime. No implicit conversions occur between Booleans and integers, nor between enumeration members and integers ( except for literal 0, which can be implicitly converted to any enumerated type ). Any user - defined conversion must be explicitly marked as explicit or implicit, unlike C++ copy constructors and conversion operators, which are both implicit by default. C# has explicit support for covariance and contravariance in generic types, unlike C++ which has some degree of support for contravariance simply through the semantics of return types on virtual methods. Enumeration members are placed in their own scope. The C# language does not allow for global variables or functions. All methods and members must be declared within classes. Static members of public classes can substitute for global variables and functions. Local variables can not shadow variables of the enclosing block, unlike C and C++. Meta programming Meta programming via C# attributes is part of the language. Many of these attributes duplicate the functionality of GCC 's and VisualC + + 's platform - dependent preprocessor directives. Methods and functions Like C++, and unlike Java, C# programmers must use the keyword virtual to allow methods to be overridden by subclasses. Extension methods in C# allow programmers to use static methods as if they were methods from a class 's method table, allowing programmers to add methods to an object that they feel should exist on that object and its derivatives. The type dynamic allows for run - time method binding, allowing for JavaScript - like method calls and run - time object composition. C# has support for strongly - typed function pointers via the keyword delegate. Like the Qt framework 's pseudo-C++ signal and slot, C# has semantics specifically surrounding publish - subscribe style events, though C# uses delegates to do so. C# offers Java - like synchronized method calls, via the attribute ( MethodImpl ( MethodImplOptions. Synchronized ) ), and has support for mutually - exclusive locks via the keyword lock. Property C# provides properties as syntactic sugar for a common pattern in which a pair of methods, accessor ( getter ) and mutator ( setter ) encapsulate operations on a single attribute of a class. No redundant method signatures for the getter / setter implementations need be written, and the property may be accessed using attribute syntax rather than more verbose method calls. Namespace AC # namespace provides the same level of code isolation as a Java package or a C++ namespace, with very similar rules and features to a package. Memory access In C#, memory address pointers can only be used within blocks specifically marked as unsafe, and programs with unsafe code need appropriate permissions to run. Most object access is done through safe object references, which always either point to a `` live '' object or have the well - defined null value ; it is impossible to obtain a reference to a `` dead '' object ( one that has been garbage collected ), or to a random block of memory. An unsafe pointer can point to an instance of a value - type, array, string, or a block of memory allocated on a stack. Code that is not marked as unsafe can still store and manipulate pointers through the System. IntPtr type, but it can not dereference them. Managed memory can not be explicitly freed ; instead, it is automatically garbage collected. Garbage collection addresses the problem of memory leaks by freeing the programmer of responsibility for releasing memory that is no longer needed. Exception Checked exceptions are not present in C# ( in contrast to Java ). This has been a conscious decision based on the issues of scalability and versionability. Polymorphism Unlike C++, C# does not support multiple inheritance, although a class can implement any number of interfaces. This was a design decision by the language 's lead architect to avoid complication and simplify architectural requirements throughout CLI. When implementing multiple interfaces that contain a method with the same signature, C# allows implementing each method depending on which interface that method is being called through, or, like Java, allows implementing the method once, and have that be the one invocation on a call through any of the class 's interfaces. However, unlike Java, C# supports operator overloading. Only the most commonly overloaded operators in C++ may be overloaded in C#. Functional programming Though primarily an imperative language, C# 2.0 offered limited support for functional programming through first - class functions and closures in the form of anonymous delegates. C# 3.0 expanded support for functional programming with the introduction of a lightweight syntax for lambda expressions, extension methods ( an affordance for modules ), and a list comprehension syntax in the form of a `` query comprehension '' language. Common type System. C# has a unified type system. This unified type system is called Common Type System ( CTS ). A unified type system implies that all types, including primitives such as integers, are subclasses of the System. Object class. For example, every type inherits a ToString ( ) method. Categories of data types CTS separates data types into two categories : Reference types Value types Instances of value types do not have referential identity nor referential comparison semantics - equality and inequality comparisons for value types compare the actual data values within the instances, unless the corresponding operators are overloaded. Value types are derived from System. ValueType, always have a default value, and can always be created and copied. Some other limitations on value types are that they can not derive from each other ( but can implement interfaces ) and can not have an explicit default ( parameterless ) constructor. Examples of value types are all primitive types, such as int ( a signed 32 - bit integer ), float ( a 32 - bit IEEE floating - point number ), char ( a 16 - bit Unicode code unit ), and System. DateTime ( identifies a specific point in time with nanosecond precision ). Other examples are enum ( enumerations ) and struct ( user defined structures ). In contrast, reference types have the notion of referential identity - each instance of a reference type is inherently distinct from every other instance, even if the data within both instances is the same. This is reflected in default equality and inequality comparisons for reference types, which test for referential rather than structural equality, unless the corresponding operators are overloaded ( such as the case for System. String ). In general, it is not always possible to create an instance of a reference type, nor to copy an existing instance, or perform a value comparison on two existing instances, though specific reference types can provide such services by exposing a public constructor or implementing a corresponding interface ( such as ICloneable or IComparable ). Examples of reference types are object ( the ultimate base class for all other C# classes ), System. String ( a string of Unicode characters ), and System. Array ( a base class for all C# arrays ). Both type categories are extensible with user - defined types. Boxing and unboxing Boxing is the operation of converting a value - type object into a value of a corresponding reference type. Boxing in C# is implicit. Unboxing is the operation of converting a value of a reference type ( previously boxed ) into a value of a value type. Unboxing in C# requires an explicit type cast. A boxed object of type T can only be unboxed to a T ( or a nullable T ). Example : int foo = 42 ; / / Value type. object bar = foo ; / / foo is boxed to bar. int foo2 = ( int ) bar ; / / Unboxed back to value type. Libraries The C# specification details a minimum set of types and class libraries that the compiler expects to have available. In practice, C# is most often used with some implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure ( CLI ), which is standardized as ECMA - 335 Common Language Infrastructure ( CLI ). Examples The following is a very simple C# program, a version of the classic `` Hello world '' example : using System ; class Program ( static void Main ( string ( ) args ) ( Console. WriteLine ( `` Hello, world ! '' ) ; ) ) What will display on the program is : Hello, world ! Each line has a purpose : using System ; The above line of code tells the compiler to use System as a candidate prefix for types used in the source code. In this case, when the compiler sees use of the Console type later in the source code, it tries to find a type named Console, first in the current assembly, followed by all referenced assemblies. In this case the compiler fails to find such a type, since the name of the type is actually System. Console. The compiler then attempts to find a type named System. Console by using the System prefix from the using statement, and this time it succeeds. The using statement allows the programmer to state all candidate prefixes to use during compilation instead of always using full type names. class Program Above is a class definition. Everything between the following pair of braces describes Program. static void Main ( string ( ) args ) This declares the class member method where the program begins execution. The. NET runtime calls the Main method. ( Note : Main may also be called from elsewhere, like any other method, e.g. from another method of Program. ) The static keyword makes the method accessible without an instance of Program. Each console application 's Main entry point must be declared static. Otherwise, the program would require an instance, but any instance would require a program. To avoid that irresolvable circular dependency, C# compilers processing console applications ( like that above ) report an error, if there is no static Main method. The void keyword declares that Main has no return value. Console. WriteLine ( `` Hello, world ! '' ) ; This line writes the output. Console is a static class in the System namespace. It provides an interface to the standard input, output, and error streams for console applications. The program calls the Console method WriteLine, which displays on the console a line with the argument, the string `` Hello, world ! ''. A GUI example : using System. Windows. Forms ; class Program ( static void Main ( string ( ) args ) ( MessageBox. Show ( `` Hello, World ! '' ) ; System. Console. WriteLine ( `` Is almost the same argument ! '' ) ; ) ) This example is similar to the previous example, except that it generates a dialog box that contains the message `` Hello, World ! '' instead of writing it to the console. Standardization and licensing In August 2001, Microsoft Corporation, Hewlett - Packard and Intel Corporation co-sponsored the submission of specifications for C# as well as the Common Language Infrastructure ( CLI ) to the standards organization Ecma International. In December 2001, ECMA released ECMA - 334 C# Language Specification. C# became an ISO standard in 2003 ( ISO / IEC 23270 : 2003 - Information technology -- Programming languages -- C# ). ECMA had previously adopted equivalent specifications as the 2nd edition of C#, in December 2002. In June 2005, ECMA approved edition 3 of the C# specification, and updated ECMA - 334. Additions included partial classes, anonymous methods, nullable types, and generics ( somewhat similar to C++ templates ). In July 2005, ECMA submitted to ISO / IEC JTC 1, via the latter 's Fast - Track process, the standards and related TRs. This process usually takes 6 -- 9 months. The C# language definition and the CLI are standardized under ISO and Ecma standards that provide reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing protection from patent claims. Microsoft has agreed not to sue open source developers for violating patents in non-profit projects for the part of the framework that is covered by the OSP. Microsoft has also agreed not to enforce patents relating to Novell products against Novell 's paying customers with the exception of a list of products that do not explicitly mention C#,. NET or Novell 's implementation of. NET ( The Mono Project ). However, Novell maintains that Mono does not infringe any Microsoft patents. Microsoft has also made a specific agreement not to enforce patent rights related to the Moonlight browser plugin, which depends on Mono, provided it is obtained through Novell. Implementations Microsoft is leading the development of the open - source reference C# compiler and set of tools, previously codenamed `` Roslyn ''. The compiler, which is entirely written in managed code ( C# ), has been opened up and functionality surfaced as APIs. It is thus enabling developers to create refactoring and diagnostics tools. While other implementations of C# exist, Visual C# is by far the one most commonly used. Other C# compilers, which often including an implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure and the. NET class libraries up to. NET 2.0 : The Mono project provides an open - source C# compiler, a complete open - source implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure including the required framework libraries as they appear in the ECMA specification, and a nearly complete implementation of the Microsoft proprietary. NET class libraries up to. NET 3.5. As of Mono 2.6, no plans exist to implement WPF ; WF is planned for a later release ; and there are only partial implementations of LINQ to SQL and WCF. The DotGNU project ( now discontinued ) also provided an open - source C# compiler, a nearly complete implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure including the required framework libraries as they appear in the ECMA specification, and subset of some of the remaining Microsoft proprietary. NET class libraries up to. NET 2.0 ( those not documented or included in the ECMA specification, but included in Microsoft 's standard. NET Framework distribution ). Microsoft 's Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure, codenamed `` Rotor '', provides a shared source implementation of the CLR runtime and a C# compiler licensed for educational and research use only, and a subset of the required Common Language Infrastructure framework libraries in the ECMA specification ( up to C# 2.0, and supported on Windows XP only ). See also C# topics C# syntax Comparison of C# and Java Comparison of C# and Visual Basic. NET. NET standard libraries List of. NET libraries and frameworks Computer programming portal IDEs Microsoft Visual Studio Microsoft Visual Studio Express MonoDevelop Morfik SharpDevelop Turbo C Sharp Rider Notes Jump up ^ for async Jump up ^ By convention, a number sign is used for the second character in normal text ; in artistic representations, sometimes a true sharp sign is used : C ♯. Jump up ^ The Microsoft C# 2.0 specification document only contains the new 2.0 features. For older features use the 1.2 specification above. ^ Jump up to : No ECMA or ISO / IEC specifications exist for C# 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, or 7.0. References Jump up ^ https://www.infoq.com/minibooks/emag-c-sharp-preview Jump up ^ Michaelis, Mark. ``. NET Framework - What 's New in C# 7.0 ''. MSDN Magazine. Microsoft. Retrieved 8 March 2017. Jump up ^ Torgersen, Mads ( October 27, 2008 ). `` New features in C# 4.0 ''. Microsoft. Retrieved October 28, 2008. Jump up ^ https://github.com/dotnet/coreclr/blob/master/LICENSE.TXT ^ Jump up to : Naugler, David ( May 2007 ). `` C# 2.0 for C++ and Java programmer : conference workshop ''. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges. 22 ( 5 ). Although C# has been strongly influenced by Java it has also been strongly influenced by C++ and is best viewed as a descendant of both C++ and Java. Jump up ^ Hamilton, Naomi ( October 1, 2008 ). `` The A-Z of Programming Languages : C# ''. Computerworld. Retrieved February 12, 2010. We all stand on the shoulders of giants here and every language builds on what went before it so we owe a lot to C, C++, Java, Delphi, all of these other things that came before us. ( Anders Hejlsberg ) Jump up ^ `` Chapel spec ( Acknowlegements ) '' ( PDF ). Cray Inc. 2015 - 10 - 01. Retrieved 2016 - 01 - 14. Jump up ^ Borenszweig, Ary. `` Crystal 0.18. 0 released ! ''. It 's heavily inspired by Ruby, and other languages ( like C#, Go and Python ). Jump up ^ `` Web Languages and VMs : Fast Code is Always in Fashion. ( V8, Dart ) - Google I / O 2013 ''. Google. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Jump up ^ Java 5.0 added several new language features ( the enhanced for loop, autoboxing, varargs and annotations ), after they were introduced in the similar ( and competing ) C# language ( 1 ) ( 2 ) Jump up ^ Cornelius, Barry ( December 1, 2005 ). `` Java 5 catches up with C# ''. University of Oxford Computing Services. Retrieved June 18, 2014. In my opinion, it is C# that has caused these radical changes to the Java language. ( Barry Cornelius ) Jump up ^ Lattner, Chris ( 2014 - 06 - 03 ). `` Chris Lattner 's Homepage ''. Chris Lattner. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 03. The Swift language is the product of tireless effort from a team of language experts, documentation gurus, compiler optimization ninjas, and an incredibly important internal dogfooding group who provided feedback to help refine and battle - test ideas. Of course, it also greatly benefited from the experiences hard - won by many other languages in the field, drawing ideas from Objective - C, Rust, Haskell, Ruby, Python, CLU, and far too many others to list. ^ Jump up to : C# Language Specification ( PDF ) ( 4th ed. ). Ecma International. June 2006. Retrieved January 26, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` New Features in C# 7.0 ''... NET Blog. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ Zander, Jason ( November 24, 2008 ). `` Couple of Historical Facts ''. Retrieved February 23, 2009. Jump up ^ Guthrie, Scott ( November 28, 2006 ). `` What language was ASP.Net originally written in ? ''. Retrieved February 21, 2008. Jump up ^ Hamilton, Naomi ( October 1, 2008 ). `` The A-Z of Programming Languages : C# ''. Computerworld. Retrieved October 1, 2008. Jump up ^ Wylie Wong ( 2002 ). `` Why Microsoft 's C# is n't ''. CNET : CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 28, 2014. Jump up ^ Bill Joy ( February 7, 2002 ). `` Microsoft 's blind spot ''. cnet.com. Retrieved January 12, 2010. Jump up ^ Klaus Kreft and Angelika Langer ( 2003 ). `` After Java and C# - what is next ? ''. Retrieved June 18, 2013. Jump up ^ Klaus Kreft and Angelika Langer ( July 3, 2003 ). `` After Java and C# - what is next ? ''. artima.com. Retrieved January 12, 2010. Jump up ^ Osborn, John ( August 1, 2000 ). `` Deep Inside C# : An Interview with Microsoft Chief Architect Anders Hejlsberg ''. O'Reilly Media. Retrieved November 14, 2009 Jump up ^ `` Generics ( C# Programming Guide ) ''. Microsoft. Retrieved March 21, 2011. Jump up ^ Don Box and Anders Hejlsberg ( February 2007 ). `` LINQ :. NET Language - Integrated Query ''. Microsoft. Retrieved March 21, 2011. Jump up ^ Mercer, Ian ( April 15, 2010 ). `` Why functional programming and LINQ is often better than procedural code ''. abodit.com. Retrieved March 21, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Andy Retires ''. Dan Fernandez 's Blog. Blogs.msdn.com. January 29, 2004. Retrieved October 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Technical committees - JTC 1 / SC 22 - Programming languages, their environments and system software interfaces ''. ISO. Retrieved October 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` ISO / IEC 23270 : 2003 - Information technology - C# Language Specification ''. Iso.org. August 23, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` ISO / IEC 23270 : 2006 - Information technology - Programming languages - C# ''. Iso.org. January 26, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012. Jump up ^ Kovacs, James ( September 7, 2007 ). `` C# /. NET History Lesson ''. Retrieved June 18, 2009. Jump up ^ Hejlsberg, Anders ( October 1, 2008 ). `` The A-Z of Programming Languages : C# ''. Computerworld. Jump up ^ `` Microsoft C# FAQ ''. Microsoft. Archived from the original on February 14, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Visual C#.net Standard '' ( JPEG ). Microsoft. September 4, 2003. Retrieved June 18, 2009. Jump up ^ `` F# FAQ ''. Microsoft Research. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009. Jump up ^ Simon, Raphael ; Stapf, Emmanuel ; Meyer, Bertrand ( June 2002 ). `` Full Eiffel on the. NET Framework ''. Microsoft. Retrieved June 18, 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` Using C# 3.0 from. NET 2.0 ''. Danielmoth.com. May 13, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Mono and Roslyn ''. Tirania Blog. Miguel de Icaza. Retrieved 9 April 2014. Work in progress for C# 5.0. ^ Jump up to : `` What 's new in the C# 2.0 Language and Compiler ''. Microsoft Developer Network. Microsoft. Retrieved 11 June 2014. ^ Jump up to : Hejlsberg, Anders ; Torgersen, Mads. `` Overview of C# 3.0 ''. Microsoft Developer Network. Microsoft. Retrieved 11 June 2014. Jump up ^ Ghosh, Wriju. `` C# 3.0 : Partial * Garbage Collection Methods ''. MSDN Blogs. Microsoft. Retrieved 11 June 2014. ^ Jump up to : Burrows, Chris. `` C# 4.0 - New C# Features in the. NET Framework 4 ''. Microsoft Developer Network. Microsoft. Retrieved 11 June 2014. Jump up ^ Hejlsberg, Anders. `` Future directions for C# and Visual Basic ''. C# lead architect. Microsoft. Retrieved September 21, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` An Introduction to New Features in C# 5.0 ''. MSDN Blogs. Microsoft. Retrieved 11 June 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Language feature implementation status ''. github. Microsoft. Retrieved 13 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` Language Feature Status ''. GitHub. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 05. Jump up ^ Visual Studio 2010 and. NET 4 Six - in - One. Wrox Press. 2010. ISBN 0470499486. Jump up ^ Venners, Bill ; Eckel, Bruce ( August 18, 2003 ). `` The Trouble with Checked Exceptions ''. Retrieved March 30, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Archer, Tom ( 2001 ). `` Part 2, Chapter 4 : The Type System ''. Inside C#. Redmond, Washington : Microsoft Press. ISBN 0 - 7356 - 1288 - 9. Jump up ^ Lippert, Eric ( March 19, 2009 ). `` Representation and Identity ''. Fabulous Adventures In Coding. Blogs.msdn.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Patent Pledge for Open Source Developers ''. Jump up ^ `` Patent Cooperation Agreement - Microsoft & Novell Interoperability Collaboration ''. Microsoft. November 2, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2009. Microsoft, on behalf of itself and its Subsidiaries ( collectively `` Microsoft '' ), hereby covenants not to sue Novell 's Customers and Novell 's Subsidiaries ' Customers for infringement under Covered Patents of Microsoft on account of such a Customer 's use of specific copies of a Covered Product as distributed by Novell or its Subsidiaries ( collectively `` Novell '' ) for which Novell has received Revenue ( directly or indirectly ) for such specific copies ; provided the foregoing covenant is limited to use by such Customer ( i ) of such specific copies that are authorized by Novell in consideration for such Revenue, and ( ii ) within the scope authorized by Novell in consideration for such Revenue. Jump up ^ `` Definitions ''. Microsoft. November 2, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2009. Jump up ^ Steinman, Justin ( November 7, 2006 ). `` Novell Answers Questions from the Community ''. Retrieved July 5, 2009. We maintain that Mono does not infringe any Microsoft patents. Jump up ^ `` Covenant to Downstream Recipients of Moonlight - Microsoft & Novell Interoperability Collaboration ''. Microsoft. September 28, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008. `` Downstream Recipient '' means an entity or individual that uses for its intended purpose a Moonlight Implementation obtained directly from Novell or through an Intermediate Recipient... Microsoft reserves the right to update ( including discontinue ) the foregoing covenant... `` Moonlight Implementation '' means only those specific portions of Moonlight 1.0 or Moonlight 1.1 that run only as a plug - in to a browser on a Personal Computer and are not licensed under GPLv3 or a Similar License. Jump up ^ https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn Jump up ^ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/articles/csharp/csharp Jump up ^ Watson, K et al., ( 2010 ). Beginning Visual C# 2010. Indianapolis, Indiana : Wiley. Jump up ^ `` Compatibility - Mono ''. Mono-project.com. December 19, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2012. Further reading Drayton, Peter ; Albahari, Ben ; Neward, Ted ( 2002 ). C# Language Pocket Reference. O'Reilly. ISBN 0 - 596 - 00429 - X. Petzold, Charles ( 2002 ). Programming Microsoft Windows with C#. Microsoft Press. ISBN 0 - 7356 - 1370 - 2. External links Wikibooks has a book on the topic of : C Sharp Programming C# Language Specification ( from MSDN ) C# Programming Guide ( MSDN ) Microsoft Visual Studio ISO C# Language Specification. C# 6 Features And Online C# Compiler C# Compiler Platform ( `` Roslyn '' ) source code List of Key features introduced in # CSharp ( 1.0 to 6.0 ) - an Infographic Common Language Infrastructure Architecture Application domain Code Access Security Common Intermediate Language ( CIL ) CIL instructions Common Type System ( CTS ) Platform Invocation Services ( P / Invoke ) Virtual Execution System ( VES ) Components Assembly Delegate Global Assembly Cache ( GAC ) Manifest Metadata Standard Libraries Kernel Profile Base Class Library ( BCL ) Runtime Infrastructure Library Compact Profile Network Library Reflection Library XML Library Extended Array Library Extended Numerics Library Parallel Library Vararg Library Implementations Microsoft. NET Framework. NET Compact Framework. NET Micro Framework Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure Other. NET Core Mono Portable.NET Languages Microsoft C# Visual Basic. NET C++ / CLI Managed F# J# JScript. NET PowerShell Other Axum A# Boo Cobra IronScheme IronLisp IronPython IronRuby Nemerle Oxygene Phalanger P # Scala Comparison C# and Java C# and Visual Basic. NET Java and. NET platforms Visual Basic and Visual Basic. NET Organizations. NET Foundation DotGNU Microsoft Xamarin Standards of Ecma International Application interfaces ANSI escape code Common Language Infrastructure Office Open XML OpenXPS File systems ( tape ) Advanced Intelligent Tape DDS DLT Super DLT Holographic Versatile Disc Linear Tape - Open ( Ultrium - 1 ) VXA File systems ( disk ) CD - ROM CD File System ( CDFS ) FAT FAT12 FAT16 FAT16B FD UDF Ultra Density Optical Universal Media Disc Graphics Universal 3D Programming languages C++ / CLI C# Eiffel JavaScript ( E4X, ECMAScript ) Radio link interfaces NFC UWB Other ECMA - 35 List of Ecma standards ( 1961 - Present ) ISO standards by standard number List of ISO standards / ISO romanizations / IEC standards 1 -- 9999 5 6 7 9 16 31 - 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 128 216 217 226 228 233 259 269 302 306 428 518 519 639 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 6 646 690 732 764 843 898 965 1000 1004 1007 1073 - 1 1413 1538 1745 2014 2015 2022 2047 2108 2145 2146 2240 2281 2709 2711 2788 2848 2852 3029 3103 3166 - 1 - 2 - 3 3297 3307 3602 3864 3901 3977 4031 4157 4217 4909 5218 5428 5775 5776 5800 5964 6166 6344 6346 6385 6425 6429 6438 6523 6709 7001 7002 7098 7185 7200 7498 7736 7810 7811 7812 7813 7816 8000 8178 8217 8571 8583 8601 8632 8652 8691 8807 8820 - 5 8859 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 8 - I - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 8879 9000 / 9001 9075 9126 9293 9241 9362 9407 9506 9529 9564 9594 9660 9897 9899 9945 9984 9985 9995 10000 -- 19999 10005 10006 10007 10116 10118 - 3 10160 10161 10165 10179 10206 10218 10303 - 11 - 21 - 22 - 28 - 238 10383 10487 10585 10589 10646 10664 10746 10861 10957 10962 10967 11073 11170 11179 11404 11544 11783 11784 11785 11801 11898 11940 ( - 2 ) 11941 11941 ( TR ) 11992 12006 12182 12207 12234 - 2 13211 - 1 - 2 13216 13250 13399 13406 - 2 13450 13485 13490 13567 13568 13584 13616 14000 14031 14224 14289 14396 14443 14496 - 2 - 3 - 6 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 14 - 17 - 20 14644 14649 14651 14698 14750 14764 14882 14971 15022 15189 15288 15291 15292 15398 15408 15444 - 3 15445 15438 15504 15511 15686 15693 15706 - 2 15707 15897 15919 15924 15926 15926 WIP 15930 16023 16262 16612 - 2 16750 16949 ( TS ) 17024 17025 17100 17203 17369 17442 17799 18000 18004 18014 18245 18629 18916 19005 19011 19092 ( - 1 - 2 ) 19114 19115 19125 19136 19439 19500 19501 19502 19503 19505 19506 19507 19508 19509 19510 19600 : 2014 19752 19757 19770 19775 - 1 19794 - 5 19831 20000 + 20000 20022 20121 20400 21000 21047 21500 21827 : 2002 22000 23270 23271 23360 24517 24613 24617 24707 25178 25964 26000 26300 26324 27000 series 27000 27001 : 2005 27001 : 2013 27002 27006 27729 28000 29110 29148 29199 - 2 29500 30170 31000 32000 38500 40500 42010 55000 80000 - 1 - 2 - 3 Category Programming languages Comparison Timeline History Assembly BASIC C++ C# COBOL Fortran Go Haskell Java JavaScript ( JS ) Kotlin Lisp Lua Objective - C Pascal Perl PHP Python Ruby Shell Smalltalk Swift Visual Basic. 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Category Lists Alphabetical Categorical Generational Non-English - based List of International Electrotechnical Commission standards IEC standards IEC 60027 IEC 60034 IEC 60038 IEC 60062 IEC 60063 IEC 60068 IEC 60112 IEC 60228 IEC 60269 IEC 60297 IEC 60309 IEC 60320 IEC 60364 IEC 60446 IEC 60559 IEC 60601 IEC 60870 IEC 60870 - 5 IEC 60870 - 6 IEC 60906 - 1 IEC 60908 IEC 60929 IEC 60958 AES3 S / PDIF IEC 61030 IEC 61131 IEC 61131 - 3 IEC 61158 IEC 61162 IEC 61334 IEC 61346 IEC 61355 IEC 61400 IEC 61499 IEC 61508 IEC 61511 IEC 61850 IEC 61883 IEC 61960 IEC 61968 IEC 61970 IEC 62014 - 4 IEC 62056 IEC 62061 IEC 62196 IEC 62262 IEC 62264 IEC 62304 IEC 62325 IEC 62351 IEC 62365 IEC 62366 IEC 62379 IEC 62386 IEC 62455 IEC 62680 IEC 62682 IEC 62700 ISO / IEC standards ISO / IEC 646 ISO / IEC 2022 ISO / IEC 4909 ISO / IEC 5218 ISO / IEC 6429 ISO / IEC 6523 ISO / IEC 7810 ISO / IEC 7811 ISO / IEC 7812 ISO / IEC 7813 ISO / IEC 7816 ISO / IEC 7942 ISO / IEC 8613 ISO / IEC 8632 ISO / IEC 8652 ISO / IEC 8859 ISO / IEC 9126 ISO / IEC 9293 ISO / IEC 9592 ISO / IEC 9593 ISO / IEC 9899 ISO / IEC 9945 ISO / IEC 9995 ISO / IEC 10021 ISO / IEC 10116 ISO / IEC 10165 ISO / IEC 10179 ISO / IEC 10646 ISO / IEC 10967 ISO / IEC 11172 ISO / IEC 11179 ISO / IEC 11404 ISO / IEC 11544 ISO / IEC 11801 ISO / IEC 12207 ISO / IEC 13250 ISO / IEC 13346 ISO / IEC 13522 - 5 ISO / IEC 13568 ISO / IEC 13818 ISO / IEC 14443 ISO / IEC 14496 ISO / IEC 14882 ISO / IEC 15288 ISO / IEC 15291 ISO / IEC 15408 ISO / IEC 15444 ISO / IEC 15445 ISO / IEC 15504 ISO / IEC 15511 ISO / IEC 15693 ISO / IEC 16262 ISO / IEC 17024 ISO / IEC 17025 ISO / IEC 18000 ISO / IEC 18004 ISO / IEC 18014 ISO / IEC 19752 ISO / IEC 19757 ISO / IEC 19770 ISO / IEC 19788 ISO / IEC 20000 ISO / IEC 21000 ISO / IEC 21827 ISO / IEC 23003 ISO / IEC 23270 ISO / IEC 23360 ISO / IEC 24707 ISO / IEC 24727 ISO / IEC 24744 ISO / IEC 26300 ISO / IEC 27000 ISO / IEC 27000 - series ISO / IEC 27002 ISO / IEC 27040 ISO / IEC 29119 ISO / IEC 33001 ISO / IEC 38500 ISO / IEC 42010 ISO / IEC 80000 Related International Electrotechnical Commission LCCN : sh2001001705 GND : 4616843 - 6 BNF : cb13614817q ( data ) NKC : ph137696 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=C_Sharp_(programming_language)&oldid=799473632 '' Categories : C Sharp programming language family. 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Question: what is the latest version of c#
Answer: C# 7.0