Beginner C#: Why learn C#?
Tags: beginners, tutorial, csharp, dotnet
Published: 2020-09-25 20:54:12

---
title: Beginner C#: Why learn C#?
published: true
description: Do you want to start coding but don't know which language to pick? Do you already know a programming language but want to pick up another one? Do you want to know if C# is for you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this post is for you. Here I will discuss what C# is and why it would be a great idea to learn it.
tags: beginner,tutorial,csharp,dotnet
cover_image: https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1601066846102/UinKSF2ke.jpeg
canonical_url: https://samwalpole.com/beginner-csharp-why-learn-csharp
---
Do you want to start coding but don't know which language to pick? Do you already know a programming language but want to pick up another one? Do you want to know if C# is for you?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this post is for you. Here I will discuss what C# is and why it would be a great idea to learn it.

## What is C#?
C# is a simple, modern, general purpose language that was first developed in 2000 by Microsoft and has been actively developed since - C# 8 was released in 2019. It can be used to develop almost any type of application over a wide range of devices. For example, it is a very popular choice for enterprise business applications, but is also used to make mobile apps and games ([Unity](https://unity.com/)  is a popular game engine that uses C#).

C# is also considered a type-safe, object-oriented programming language. If you don't know what those terms mean yet, that's ok, we'll discuss them more later in the series. For now, just know that type-safety provides a way of preventing some common errors before the program even runs, making the whole development experience much easier. A brief description of object oriented programming can be found at the start of [this blog post](https://samwalpole.com/learn-the-solid-principles-for-object-oriented-programming). 

## Why learn C#?
### 1. Easy to learn
C# is a high-level language, which means a lot of the technical difficulties of interacting with computer hardware are taken care of automatically. This leaves you to only have to focus on the specific problem you are trying to solve. Compare this to something like C, where you have to deal with allocating memory and freeing up system resources yourself. C# handles this all for you.

I would say that the syntax is fairly natural and easy to read. It also uses braces and semicolons to clearly separate each block and statement of code respectively. In my opinion this makes for easier reading (although some people argue they are unnecessary syntax).

There is also a huge developer community that uses C#, meaning that there are so many resources on the internet to help you learn C# and get answers to any questions you may have.

### 2. Good job prospects
If you're learning to code to get a job as a developer, then C# is an excellent choice. It is an incredibly popular programming language for enterprise applications, so there are plenty of jobs for C# developers.

 In my own experience, I started off my coding journey learning JavaScript, but once I started job searching I realised that all the companies near me wanted C# developers, so I quickly switched to learning that.

### 3. Wide range of uses
One of the reasons that C# is so popular is because it uses the [.NET framework](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/). This framework makes it easy to quickly build stable and secure applications, that can work on a range of different devices. For example, knowing C# allows you to utilise:  [ASP.NET](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/apps/aspnet) for web apps,  [Xamarin](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/apps/xamarin) for mobile apps,  [WPF](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/apps/desktop) for Windows desktop apps, and  [Unity](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/apps/gaming) for cross-platform games.


![.NET platform](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1601064733048/ElsB3WLVq.png)

Because all of these types of application use the same underlying framework, it is simple to design your code in such a way that lets you reuse some of the same code for different types of app. For example, imagine you had a eCommerce website and a mobile app. If you wrote these apps in using the .NET framework, you could easily share bits of the underlying code between the two apps, making them quicker and easier to maintain.

## Conclusion
C# is a great all-round language for doing pretty much anything. It's easy to learn and there is plenty of demand for C# developers. Hopefully that convinces you that C# is a language that you should add to your repertoire, or to start your coding journey with! 

This post is the first of a series of beginner C# tutorials, so please make sure you follow this blog and subscribe to my newsletter so that you won't miss out. If you found this post helpful, please like it and share it. You can also find me on  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/dr_sam_walpole). If you want, you can also  [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/samwalpole) ! 😊

---
This post is part of a beginner C# series. I will update this section with links to each post when each new post is published.

1. [Why learn C#?](https://samwalpole.com/beginner-csharp-why-learn-csharp) 
2. [Getting Started](https://samwalpole.com/beginner-csharp-getting-started) 
3. [Variables and Basic Data Types](https://samwalpole.com/beginner-csharp-variables-and-basic-data-types) 
4. [Working with Strings](https://samwalpole.com/beginner-csharp-working-with-strings)