C++ or C#

[HLA91]

Hi all

I started learning C# but I became annoyed at the need for the .NET enviroment on every machine the program was run on, so I switched to C++ and started learning that. I am hearing talk about C++ dying out and C# is better and is where all the jobs and money is , is that true and is C# better than C++ and are employers looking for C# instead of C++?

Many thanks

HLA91

[Ezzaral]

If you are just learning, why are you concerned with the need for the .NET environment? Learn to program before worrying about distribution issues. C++ is not dying out. There is still a lot of work available. Again, not an issue to be concerned with when you are just starting out. If you learn one of them and need to use the other, you can cross that bridge when you come to it.

[HLA91]

The reason I was woried about the .NET enviroment is that I wanted my programs to work on nearly all machines and I know a few of my freinds use Linux and I wanted to be able to send them the program to try out, thank you for telling me C++ is not dying as I am getting the hang of it now and would be a shame for me to change

Many thanks

HLA91

[scru]

They prolly say that because C# is just plain easier. There's also the draw of the .NET framwork (I know you think it's a pain in some light, true but...). I like having this massive library of functions for common/intermediate tasks at my direct disposal, plus easily using libraries from my collegue targeted for the same platform.

Even still I myself am thinking about looking into C++ now that I have a pretty solid C# foundation

[Narue]

>I started learning C# but I became annoyed at the need for the
>.NET enviroment on every machine the program was run on
C# has no such restriction. It's a standardized language that can run outside of the .NET framework[1]. However, you're going to find this annoyance everywhere you go (with any language) if you intend to write any kind of non-trivial program. Eventually you'll have to rely on platform-specific features that aren't portable or suffer abstractions like .NET or JVM.

>I am hearing talk about C++ dying out
To answer that I'll mention that FORTRAN is still in fairly widespread use, and it's a good 30 years older than C++ and vastly less popular. C++ isn't likely to die in your lifetime.

>and C# is better
"Better" is extremely subjective. If someone tries to tell you something is "better", ask them to prove it.

>and is where all the jobs and money is
It really depends on what you want to do and whom you want to work for. But I can safely say that a C# programmer will be more valuable if he knows C++ too.

>The reason I was woried about the .NET enviroment is that
>I wanted my programs to work on nearly all machines
That kind of portability is extremely difficult. You'd be much better off realizing that portability isn't being able to compile code everywhere, it's the ease with which you can convert non-portable code to a new platform.

>I know a few of my freinds use Linux
Mono is available on Linux, and allows you to use C#.

[1] Provided one writes a compiler for it first, as .NET and Mono are the only frameworks that support C# presently.

[maddog39]

The reason I was woried about the .NET enviroment is that I wanted my programs to work on nearly all machines and I know a few of my freinds use Linux and I wanted to be able to send them the program to try out, thank you for telling me C++ is not dying as I am getting the hang of it now and would be a shame for me to change

Many thanks

HLA91

C#.NET 1.1 on top of Mono is HUGE on linux these days. Many core applications in GNOME are written in it. So I'd say, lean C#. But if you want maximum cross-platformability (if thats even a word lol), I HIGHLY suggest you do NOT use WinForms. But instead use Gtk# for all your graphical applications. WinForms and linux (or any other paltform for that matter) never mix well.

[HLA91]

Thanks for your help guys I have moved to C++ now but I will always keep C# in mind lol and I for some strange reason find C++ easier looking back on C#