C/C++ questions - Page 2

zenox98 · 21 May 2007, 14:33

What about c#? Is this significantly different to c++?

Zetr0 · 21 May 2007, 14:54

@zenox98

the main difference between c# and c++ really comes down to portability and dare i say c# is a microsoft attempt of proprietising C and C++

Microsoft created it with Anders Hejlsberg the former Turbo Pascal and Delphi luminary who was the most prominent Borland staff also Jbuilder team worked together with him.

This language has been developed specifically with the .NET framework in mind, and as such is designated to be the .NET developer's language of choice. C#, was one of the first component oriented programming language. not that this means much toffee in todays world, i use c++ for when when i code in .net.

Honestly the rejects from borland and the blood-money from microsoft came together to create a barstardized frankenstien monster known as c#

I have used c#, you can almost feel the delphi-ness of it.... ( i dont like delphi, its a language made for the matter of it *and for those whom couldn`t cut it using 'C'*)

realistically c# is an M$ proprietry wich makes it a bastard to port IMO to any GCC or GNU platform. to combat this and swing megasofts corperate arms even tighter arround the clutches of computer-dom they released a lot of free platfom configurations.

man now did this post turn into a rant!

sorry about that....

zenox98 · 21 May 2007, 16:08

@Zetr0

The rant is fine

I did consider learning C# just because it was free with the XNA Game Studio, which I'm playing with. If I go the route of C++ at least I'll have a more thorough grounding then.

Thanx for the heads up!

ant512 · 22 May 2007, 00:58

C# is much closer to Java than C++. I'm pretty sure it's a published standard; it's been ported to Linux as part of Mono, so if you learn it you're not completely throwing yourself into Microsoft-only land. The major differences between C++ and C# are:

- Automatic garbage collection. Forget to free memory you allocate in C++ and you get memory leaks. Forget to do it in C# and the garbage collector will do it for you. Not that you can really do it because...
- C# hides memory access away from you. No pointers, no direct memory access, etc.
- Everything is an object (with the exception of a handful of primitives, such as the int, but they can be converted into objects by "boxing" them); you can't have functions floating around outside of objects as you can in C++.
- Single-inheritance only, to simplify things.
- No header files.
- No need to work out which files in your project need to include other files; this is all done for you.
- Strings are part of the language rather than being included by a standard library.

There are plenty of other differences, too.

All of this makes C# code much easier to write, but you gain this ease of use by trading in all of C++'s low-level power. There will be a learning curve regardless of whether you choose to start with C++ or C#. C++ will teach you more about how everything works, whilst C# will teach you tidier object-orientation techniques. You'll also be able to switch to Java without any real effort, as C# and Java are (in terms of basic syntax, philosophy and core language features) identical.

Thinking about it, there's probably as much similarity between C# and C++ as there is between C# and Javascript. Ignore the "C" in the name; it doesn't really signify any direct lineage. There's no way C# could possibly usurp C++, as the two are squarely aimed at different tasks. C# is designed for writing business applications - it's easy to code in but slow, runs in a VM and therefore is far too abstracted away from the hardware to replace C++. C++ provides much more access to the capabilities of the host computer and much greater control over every aspect of the application as it runs. I seriously doubt you'll see embedded systems being written in C# for a good few years yet.

eLowar · 22 May 2007, 01:04

It all comes down to personal preference and the nature of the projects you intend to tackle. I personally feel more comfortable having the ability to do things on a low level when I want to. And there are libraries and techniques for C++ that hide much of the more problematic aspects of the language, i.e. smart pointers for a sort of garbage collection.

IFW · 22 May 2007, 03:13

If you are interested in gaming as XNA suggests I recommend you learn something relevant, which is C/C++.

Zetr0 · 22 May 2007, 03:22

*whispers* (C++ and OpenGL: "if there was a god, it is how he/she would intend it!" )

22 May 2007, 00:58	#24
ant512 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: California Posts: 965	C# is much closer to Java than C++. I'm pretty sure it's a published standard; it's been ported to Linux as part of Mono, so if you learn it you're not completely throwing yourself into Microsoft-only land. The major differences between C++ and C# are: - Automatic garbage collection. Forget to free memory you allocate in C++ and you get memory leaks. Forget to do it in C# and the garbage collector will do it for you. Not that you can really do it because... - C# hides memory access away from you. No pointers, no direct memory access, etc. - Everything is an object (with the exception of a handful of primitives, such as the int, but they can be converted into objects by "boxing" them); you can't have functions floating around outside of objects as you can in C++. - Single-inheritance only, to simplify things. - No header files. - No need to work out which files in your project need to include other files; this is all done for you. - Strings are part of the language rather than being included by a standard library. There are plenty of other differences, too. All of this makes C# code much easier to write, but you gain this ease of use by trading in all of C++'s low-level power. There will be a learning curve regardless of whether you choose to start with C++ or C#. C++ will teach you more about how everything works, whilst C# will teach you tidier object-orientation techniques. You'll also be able to switch to Java without any real effort, as C# and Java are (in terms of basic syntax, philosophy and core language features) identical. Thinking about it, there's probably as much similarity between C# and C++ as there is between C# and Javascript. Ignore the "C" in the name; it doesn't really signify any direct lineage. There's no way C# could possibly usurp C++, as the two are squarely aimed at different tasks. C# is designed for writing business applications - it's easy to code in but slow, runs in a VM and therefore is far too abstracted away from the hardware to replace C++. C++ provides much more access to the capabilities of the host computer and much greater control over every aspect of the application as it runs. I seriously doubt you'll see embedded systems being written in C# for a good few years yet. Last edited by ant512; 22 May 2007 at 01:06.

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21 May 2007, 14:33	#21
zenox98 Joy Division Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Yorkshire Age: 60 Posts: 243	What about c#? Is this significantly different to c++?

21 May 2007, 14:54	#22
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	@zenox98 the main difference between c# and c++ really comes down to portability and dare i say c# is a microsoft attempt of proprietising C and C++ Microsoft created it with Anders Hejlsberg the former Turbo Pascal and Delphi luminary who was the most prominent Borland staff also Jbuilder team worked together with him. This language has been developed specifically with the .NET framework in mind, and as such is designated to be the .NET developer's language of choice. C#, was one of the first component oriented programming language. not that this means much toffee in todays world, i use c++ for when when i code in .net. Honestly the rejects from borland and the blood-money from microsoft came together to create a barstardized frankenstien monster known as c# I have used c#, you can almost feel the delphi-ness of it.... ( i dont like delphi, its a language made for the matter of it and for those whom couldn`t cut it using 'C') realistically c# is an M$ proprietry wich makes it a bastard to port IMO to any GCC or GNU platform. to combat this and swing megasofts corperate arms even tighter arround the clutches of computer-dom they released a lot of free platfom configurations. man now did this post turn into a rant! sorry about that....

21 May 2007, 16:08	#23
zenox98 Joy Division Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Yorkshire Age: 60 Posts: 243	@Zetr0 The rant is fine I did consider learning C# just because it was free with the XNA Game Studio, which I'm playing with. If I go the route of C++ at least I'll have a more thorough grounding then. Thanx for the heads up!

22 May 2007, 01:04	#25
eLowar Citizen of Elthesh Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: UK Posts: 949	It all comes down to personal preference and the nature of the projects you intend to tackle. I personally feel more comfortable having the ability to do things on a low level when I want to. And there are libraries and techniques for C++ that hide much of the more problematic aspects of the language, i.e. smart pointers for a sort of garbage collection.

22 May 2007, 03:13	#26
IFW Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: ... Age: 52 Posts: 1,838	If you are interested in gaming as XNA suggests I recommend you learn something relevant, which is C/C++.

22 May 2007, 03:22	#27
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	whispers (C++ and OpenGL: "if there was a god, it is how he/she would intend it!" )

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