mAdMaLuDaWg
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- Feb 15, 2003
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Originally posted by: kamper
There are lots of apps popping up in the linux community written entirely in c#. I even heard tell that mono implemented parts of asp.net 2.0 from spec before microsoft. I have my doubts about whether or not mono in general will ever be certifiably compatible with microsoft's .net but I bet they'll get pretty close and the skills will most definitely be transferrable between platforms.Originally posted by: mAdMaLuDaWg
C# is Windows Only (yes, there is mono but its not truely cross-platform as of yet and won't fully be without official support from MS). So when you learn C#, you are not going to be able to use it on any other platform.
I think learning something lower-level like c/c++ isn't too bad of an idea to start on because it'll force you to see some of the nasty stuff like pointers. Moving up to java is nice then, and learning c# after java is kinda cool because it gives you all kinds of insights into how a language is created. Basically c# is java with a bunch of syntactic sugar which generally encourages good programming habits, if a bit verbose. But almost all of it could be implemented in java with compiler tricks (or a preprocessor) without any vm modifications.
I don't think that the skills will ever get a chance to be transferrable. I doubt that many people will even think of building enterprise level apps for non-MS platforms with .NET regardless of the progress of third party interpreters for other platforms. Its the specification thats open while Microsoft control's .NET... people aren't and won't comfortable with that at all. Microsoft could put a stop to any third party initiative any time it wants... now if MS officially endorses making .NET truely cross-platform then I would agree.
I think everyone should learn about pointers... it helped me immensely to fully understand what memory/scope/variables was all about. I know you probally wouldn't use it in the real world but it gives you a very good foundation to build up on.
I know we are going way off topic on the OP's question... I hope he found a book. If not then just search on Amazon and read the reviews. Personally, I started out with a 21 days book for C++ but some people don't like those type of books. I'd also recommend hitting up a library or a Borders and checking out the first few chapters of a book to see if you are able to catch on.