25 Apr The Difference between C# and C++
In the world of programming, there are numerous programming languages. All code which executes programmes must be syntactically correct and bug-free.However, it is important to note that C# is a different language from C++ and cannot be used interchangeably.
C++ as a programming language traces back to a long time ago when command line user interface was trendy as the typical user interface available for computers. C# is designed strictly to work with the .Net and it is optimized for the modern environment of the mouse-controlled and Windows user interface, internet and networks.
Bjarne Stroustrup wrote the C++ programming language, and it was developed by programmers to improve code quality as well make it possible for code to be reused. Although there are primary architects who helped to design the C# language, Anders Hejlsberg was the principal person who created the C# language. C# was designed strictly to be a particular object-oriented programming language.
So the question is…Does C# programming language have advantages over C++ (i.e. performance, speed, security etc)? Some people believe that C++ is an older / lower-level programming language to C#. Finding people that are skilled in C++ with it is much harder than for C#; hence why we focus on providing our graduates with skills in both C++ & C#. As for C#, this language has a number of benefits. For instance, you can more easily add functionality to your C# applications because of the vast number of libraries being written for C# (it is likely that someone else has likely already written that functionality and packaged it up into a library for you.). With C#, you can easily leverage off existing code, and add to it, rather than starting from scratch; However, one of the most important advantages of C# is part of the .NET Core platform. This is a platform that Microsoft has recently open sourced, and this platform allows you to write code that works on windows, Mac, android, etc.
So, C# is a higher level language that merges the high productivity of the raw power of C++ and Visual Basic; it is component oriented.
Why C# was created in the first place
C++ is known as a somewhat mid-level language that comprises of the features of both high and low-level languages. .Net has a managed environment that lets you give up a certain level of control; when you select your type object, the location for creating the type of object is implicit. This means that you cannot have the control over where your type of object is created, its address, or try to pin it down in a specified memory location. This is the underlying framework of C#.
Compilation
With Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation, the intermediate language code the C# changes to when compiled is converted to executable codes whereas C++ directly converts to assembly language code. In C++ language the memory assigned dynamically to the object heap is deleted explicitly.
Memory
C# manages its memory automatically with the help of its garbage collector, therefore lifting off the burden of memory management from the developer’s shoulders.
Switch Statement
Although the switch statement serves the same function in both C# and C++, it is more efficient in C# because the test variable can be a string, but not in C++ where you cannot use the string as a test variable. In C++, when the statement of a current case has any code, the fall through will occur to the next case because break statement is not given. However, in C#, fall through does not take place even if the break statement is not given.
Syntax
To run a program free from logical syntax, the end of the class definition in C# must have just a closing bracket, but in C++, it has not just a closing bracket, but also a semicolon.
When you think about access modifiers in these programming languages, C# has the internal, protected internal, protected, public and private, while C++ has the following access modifiers, private, protected and public. Notice that C++ doesn’t have the internal and internal protected access modifiers. It is no wonder that there is vast difference between C++ and C# because they are different programming languages and offer various abilities.
In conclusion C# is designed to work in a modern programming environment and C++ has continued to be used despite its history as being the older of the two languages. Each has its strengths and capabilities. They will both continue to be used as both are powerful languages in their own right.
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