The Lagoon TechMy little blog in Cyberspace.

I’ve programmed in C#.Net for a while now, and I have grown to like it (even over VB.Net). While I do not believe in dismissing other programming languages (e.g., VB.Net) just because people “don’t like them”, I do prefer C#.Net over VB.Net for my new projects I work on.

Please note that these “pros” and “cons” of C# are my own opinions and do *not* necessarily reflect the average C# programmer out there.

Pros to using C#

1. Learning C# will help you later on if you decide to learn harder programming languages (e.g., C or C++). The programming style of C# is very similar to other C languages.
2. Since people usually see C# > VB.Net, you should have an easier time finding a C# job, instead of a VB.Net one.
3. Most online examples for .Net languages are in C#.
4. If you are looking to work with other programmers (commercial or open source), then knowing C# will be a benefit to you.  This is because many programmers out there pretty much have coded (and still do code) in some kind of C language.
5. The C# language is less verbose (not as wordy) in comparison to the BASIC language. This is more the programmer’s preference than anything else.

VB.Net Verbose Code Example:   Dim  calculations  As  Decimal

C#.Net Non-Verbose Code Example: decimal  calculations;

Obviously the C# code example has much less to type. You may not think this is a big deal, but if you have 1,000 (+) lines of code to write, you will then understand why a less verbose language is faster to write in.

Cons to using C#

1. C# would not be the best programming language for newcomers to start programming with (C# is a more complicated syntax).  I would rather start them out on VB.Net, and later on introduce them to C#.Net.
2. In C#, you have to use semi-colons [ ; ] at the end of each line of code you write. You get used to it after a while, but it is an extra step that you do not have in VB.Net (and many other languages).
3. The C# language is case-sensitive.  You can have the variables dateofbirth, dateOfBirth, and DateOfBirth all at the same time. This can overtime cause confusion, if you are not careful.
4. C# is not the same as VB.Net in capabilities (they are practically the same, but not necessarily 1:1 on every detail).  In other words, if you try to convert a C#.Net project to a VB.Net project (or vice versa) you may encounter difficulties. Please make sure to choose the programming language you really want to use to start with.
5. In C#, the switch clause requires a “break;” command every time you check for a value. The case clause in VB.Net does not require this (less to type in VB.Net). Please note that the switch clause in C# is not exactly the same thing as the case clause in VB.Net.  There are differences.
6. C# uses curly-brackets { }  that define the beginning and the end of things like functions, for each statements, if statements, etc. Curly-brackets can become messy unless you are careful to not confuse them with other curly-brackets that are for something else in your code. There is software out there than can highlight curly-brackets for you while you are coding, so you have less of a chance of becoming confused.

So in the end, which programming language do I recommend for you to use? Well if you are new to programming on the computer, I would first start out on VB.Net. Later on, you can move to C#.Net.

If you already have gotten your feet wet with programming, I would go ahead and start learning C#.Net. In the end, you have to make up your own mind. 🙂

Remember the more programming languages you learn, the more valuable you will be to other people who need your programming skills. Also please remember that VB.Net is not evil (regardless of what people may say). It is ok to go ahead and write software in VB.Net if you want to (or need to).