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Message:

An answer about the future of Java and CSharp

Posted by Matt Gerrans on December 04, 2001 at 8:58 PM

> I want to know that whether CSharp has got a future against Java or not . Will CSharp succeed and become popular in the market . Will there be jobs in CSharp .
> Can anybody help me out ...

Well, I'm sure Microsoft will give you a slightly different answer on that question than Sun would, although both are entirely impartial and objective on the matter. Maybe you could try the Psychic Hotline on this one, if you want an independent (and authoritative!) third party to chime in.

The .Net platform allows a plethora of languages, not just C#, which is great for flexible programmers who can learn quickly or already know many of the languages. However many programmers are one-trick ponies and for them, it can be difficult, because while you write in your prefered language, you may also have to deal with code written in others. I kind of like the language flexibility, myself; some languages are much better for some tasks than others.

I don't think there will be jobs for C# specifically, in the way that there are jobs the Java platform, rather I think there will be jobs for the .Net platform. Probably, for such jobs, knowing C# alone would not be enough, you would be beaten out by a candidate who also knows some VB, C++ (or its "managed" counterpart in .Net), etc. C# is a lot nicer than VB and will attract real programmers to the MS platform, but Java is also a nice language/platform that will continue to enjoy the support of a large community.

I think that C# will not kill Java or vice versa.

- mfg