.NET Interactive and Polyglot Notebooks📒 - Multiple programming languages 💻
Tags: dotnet, programming, opensource, news
Published: 2023-09-20 05:00:35

Hey community! Today, I'm thrilled to unveil the .NET Interactive, your next stop for multilanguage development. If you're eager to harness the strengths of multiple programming languages in a single environment, you're in luck! Let's dive in!

## Unwrapping the World of .NET Interactive

.NET Interactive stands as a powerhouse tool, functioning as an engine and API for running and editing code interactively. It empowers developers to:

- **Execute Code and Witness Results in Real-Time**: A feature that eases the debugging and optimization process.
- **Evaluate Code to Provide Language Services**: Think autocomplete and diagnostics, a real game-changer for boosting development efficiency.
- **Share Data Across Various Languages and Remote Machines**: Promoting seamless collaboration and efficiency in large-scale projects.

## Polyglot Programming with Notebooks in Visual Studio Code

![PolyglotNotebooks](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/amnvhk7mdvn772tlgefi.png)
Polyglot programming is all about utilizing multiple programming languages to leverage the strengths each language brings to the table for different tasks. Visual Studio Code has rolled out **Polyglot Notebooks**, offering seamless integration of various languages, thus fostering a rich and diversified development experience.

## .NET Interactive vs Jupyter Notebook: Unveiling the Key Differences

### What is a Computational Notebook?

A "computational notebook" is a tool that blends formatted text and executable code, crafting documents with real-time executable examples. It's a representation of [literate programming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literate_programming), where a notebook houses "cells" capable of hosting both text and code.

### Highlighting the Differences with Jupyter Notebook

- **Language Interoperability**: While Jupyter Notebook primarily focuses on Python, .NET Interactive takes it a notch higher, allowing seamless integration of multiple languages like C#, F#, and PowerShell, fostering truly polyglot programming.

![environment](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/8px3tglalsrcpf75o1lw.png)
![language](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ak8r0njpk99h738xgcp1.png)

- **Integration with Visual Studio Code**: Unlike Jupyter Notebook, .NET Interactive is tightly knit with Visual Studio Code, particularly through the Polyglot Notebooks extension, promising a richer and more diversified development experience. Grab the Polyglot Notebooks extension [here](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-dotnettools.dotnet-interactive-vscode).
- **Customization and Extensibility**: .NET Interactive enables greater customization and extensibility, making it easier to craft complex object models and connect with various technologies, including SQL databases.

- **Magic Commands**: are special code commands that can be run in an interactive code submission. The magic command concept is familiar to Jupyter users. With a slight change in syntax to accommodate the .NET languages, they're also available in .NET Interactive.
- **Browser Connectivity**: Facilitates interaction with browsers, allowing HTML and JavaScript code execution through browser instances like Chromium.

## Noteworthy Advantages of Using .NET Interactive

1. **Facilitated Multilanguage Programming**: Smooth integration and execution of multiple programming languages in a single environment.
2. **Interactivity**: An environment that allows real-time code execution, fostering dynamic adjustments and instant feedback.
3. **Extensibility**: The ability to craft complex object models and establish connections with SQL databases and other technologies.

![SQL](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/xvxaykygpqqk9r1jlofo.png)


## Wrapping Up

.NET Interactive is here to revolutionize your programming journey, offering an environment that not only makes multilanguage programming feasible but also introduces a series of features promising to enhance efficiency and collaboration in software development projects. Get inspired and explore real examples [here](https://github.com/dotnet/interactive/tree/main/samples).

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I hope this explanation has been very helpful! Feel free to leave your comments and questions.

👋Until next time, community.