Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

C#

58.1K
45.3K
+ 1
2.1K
C++

17.3K
9.3K
+ 1
849
Swift

20.3K
13.4K
+ 1
1.3K

C# vs C++ vs Swift: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the key differences between C#, C++, and Swift. Each of these programming languages has its own unique features and purposes, making them suitable for different types of projects and development scenarios. Understanding these differences will help developers make informed decisions about which language to use for their specific needs.

1. Syntax:

C# has a syntax similar to Java and C++, with a strong emphasis on object-oriented programming. It uses curly braces to define blocks of code and has a structured approach.

C++, on the other hand, supports a combination of procedural, object-oriented, and generic programming paradigms. It requires explicit memory management and provides low-level control over hardware resources.

Swift, developed by Apple, has a modern and concise syntax. It combines features from various languages, making it easy to read and write. It also provides memory management through automatic reference counting.

2. Platform Compatibility:

C# is primarily used for developing applications on the Microsoft .NET framework and is mainly limited to Windows-based systems. However, with the introduction of .NET Core, it has expanded its reach to Linux and macOS platforms.

C++ is highly portable and can run on various operating systems, such as Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is often used in system-level programming and embedded systems.

Swift was initially designed to develop applications for Apple's macOS and iOS platforms. However, with the release of Swift Package Manager, it has become more versatile and can be used to build cross-platform applications on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Linux.

3. Memory Management:

C# utilizes automatic memory management through a garbage collector. This relieves developers from manual memory deallocation and reduces the risk of memory leaks.

C++ provides direct control over memory management and requires explicit allocation and deallocation of memory using operators like "new" and "delete." While this level of control offers better performance, it also increases the risk of memory-related issues.

Swift combines automatic reference counting (ARC) with optional value types. ARC automatically manages memory for class instances, while value types are automatically handled by the compiler, reducing the need for manual memory management.

4. Performance:

C# is a high-level language that offers a balance between performance and productivity. It provides features like just-in-time (JIT) compilation and optimized code generation, making it suitable for various applications.

C++ is known for its performance and is often used in scenarios where efficiency is crucial, such as game development, system programming, and resource-constrained environments.

Swift is designed to be fast and efficient, leveraging modern compiler optimizations. Its emphasis on value semantics and low-level control allows for high-performance execution.

5. Community and Ecosystem:

C# has a large and active developer community, with extensive documentation, libraries, and frameworks available. It is widely used in enterprise software development and has a mature ecosystem.

C++ has been around for several decades and has a vast ecosystem of libraries and frameworks. It is supported by a strong community of developers and is often used in performance-critical applications.

Swift, being a relatively young language, has a smaller but growing community. It benefits from Apple's support and has robust documentation and a steadily expanding ecosystem.

6. Target Applications:

C# is commonly used for developing Windows desktop applications, web applications using ASP.NET, and games using Unity game engine. It is also popular in enterprise software development.

C++ is widely used in various domains, such as game development, embedded systems, system-level programming, and performance-critical applications.

Swift is primarily used for developing applications on Apple platforms, including macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. It is widely adopted for building mobile applications and has gained popularity in the iOS development community.

In summary, C#, C++, and Swift offer distinct features and target different types of applications and platforms. C# provides a structured, object-oriented approach primarily for Windows development, while C++ offers low-level control and performance for various domains. Swift, on the other hand, is focused on Apple platforms, providing a modern syntax and ease of use.

Advice on C#, C++, and Swift
Youcef Benamare
Needs advice
on
C langC langC++C++
and
C#C#

include include int main(){ char name[10], pasword[10]; printf("enter you user name :"); gets(name); printf("enter your pasword : "); gets(pasword); printf("your name : %s \n your password : %s \n", name, pasword); if ( name != "youcef") { printf("name undefined\n"); } else { printf("finde name"); }

}

his not working

See more
Replies (2)
Richard Rios
Senior Software Engineer · | 5 upvotes · 154.1K views
Recommends
on
C langC lang

You will want to do a few things here. First, replace gets with fgets. Then, you're going to want to use strcmp from string.h to compare the input with the desired result. The code listed below has been updated with a working example with the previously mentioned recommendations. This isn't perfect and there are other ways to accomplish the same task. Explore other options that are available when you have a chance and see if you can improve on this example.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

int main()
{ 
    char name[10], 
    pasword[10]; 

    printf("enter you user name :"); 

    // Use fgets as gets is insecure and can easily lead to buffer overflow exploits
    fgets(name, sizeof(char) * sizeof(name), stdin);

    // Remove \n from fgets stdin read with null character so as to not have to include
    // in strcmp later.
    name[strlen(name) - 1] = '\0';

    printf("enter your pasword : "); 
    fgets(pasword, sizeof(char) * sizeof(pasword), stdin);

    printf("your name : %s \n your password : %s \n", name, pasword);

    // If strcmp result > 0 || < 0 it's not a match
    if (strcmp(name, "youcef") != 0) 
    { 
        printf("name undefined\n"); 
    } 
    else 
    { 
        printf("finde name"); 
    }
}
See more
Recommends
on
C langC lang

Dear, Yusuf You can't use if statement to compare two strings, but you can use strcmp() function which means string compare The behavior of strcmp function is: If (string1 < string2)? Then: return a negative value. If (string1 > string2)? Then: return a positive value.

If(string1 == string2)? Then: return (0).

So, you can modify this statment to: if(strcmp(name,"Yousef") != 0) printf("name undefined\n");

else printf("find name");

But, In this case there is one logic problem that (strcmp) function don't ignore the letter case. For example: If you input name : yousef

The first letter here (y) is small, but in the comparing statement above is capital, So the result will be "name undefined", but in fact "yousef" = "Yousef".

To solve this problem you should use stracasecmp() function. This function ignore the letter case while comparing. The code will be: if(strcasecmp(name,"Yousef") != 0) printf("name undefined\n");

else printf("find name");

Attention: Include string libreary after using these functions to skip any problem may be found.

include

may Allah bless you ^_^

See more
Needs advice
on
C++C++JavaScriptJavaScript
and
PythonPython

Hello, I am interested in learning how to program. I am a beginner, and many articles saying I should go with Python if I am new to programming. I considered Lua a long time ago, but for my career, I believe major programming languages should be better for me. I'm considering Python at this moment, but if you have other tools I should use, let me know.

See more
Replies (3)
Pat Fitzner
Recommends
on
PythonPython

Although Lua is a very simple,efficient, elegant and welcoming language, Python is extremely versatile. Therefore, if you want to get into programming without a defined direction, Python is the way to go. It has a lot of libraries, the ability to do anything and it is closer to other languages than Lua is (yeah I know about Lua and C, but from a learner's point of view, it makes sense). Additionally, Python will be a marketable skill, but I for one have not yet seen job offers for Lua devs.

See more
Recommends
on
C langC langC++C++C#C#JavaJava

The language you choose is also dependant on the type of career / area of programming you wish to focus on: Web Based and mobile applicaitons I would lean towards Java, PC Applications I tend to like C#, Embedded industry C, C++

See more
anas mattar
Technical Lead at DPO International · | 2 upvotes · 222.5K views
Recommends

my advice , you should answer me for this question, what do you like to work: web base or mobile native or cross platform. if you like web base you should choose PHP or ASP.net or Node.js or if you like mobile native you should decide Android or IOS platform and else if you like cross platfrom you should learn Flutter with dart language. thanks

See more
Needs advice
on
C#C#F#F#
and
KotlinKotlin

Hi there. I want to expand my coding toolset. So I want to learn a second backend language besides Kotlin. Kotlin is fantastic. I love it in every aspect, and I think I can never return to Java. And also why should I? It is 100% interoperable with java and can co-exist in every project.

So my question here is. Which language do you think will bring me more joy? I think F#; it is more like Kotlin. Then C# (it's more or like 100% java). But, let's say I learn F#. Is it 100% interoperable like Kotlin? can they live side by side? Can I, then, apply to .NET jr jobs after a while, for example, or is C# the holy cow? I would like to learn .Net.

If it is the worst and only C# is acceptable, then which language should I learn? Dart? Go?

See more
Replies (3)
Recommends
on
C#C#

animefanx1,

First let's get your questions sorted: Which language do you think will bring me more joy?

This you will have to decide for yourself, I am a long time C# developer and have seen it grow into a very compelling platform. The language and I'd compare it more to Kotlin than Java (by a long margin). More on .NET in a bit.

say I learn F#. Is it 100% interoperable like Kotlin?

You can have 100% interop with a caveat, your F# libraries have to implement certain guidance in order to be referenced from C#. Some (dare I say most) of the differences between F# and C# are predicated on language constructs that are not available in C#. For instance F# functions that return Unit.

can they live side by side?

Yes.

Can I, then, apply to .NET jr jobs after a while, for example, or is C# the holy cow?

I don't know if I take your meaning, but let me say this: Learning either C# or F# will likely force you to understand concepts such as garbage collection, primitive types, etc. which apply to all .NET languages, thus a lot of the effort you put into .NET is bound to pay off regardless of your choice.

If it is the worst and only C# is acceptable, then which language should I learn? Dart? Go? You can't go wrong with any of these and I venture to say whether you select C#, F#, Dart or Go as your next adventure, your willingness to learn will take you to try other languages, some which mey not even exist yet!

PS1: .NET is an end to end environment now. With the introduction of Blazor and Razor pages one does not need JavaScript or other browser scripting languages, it even interops with JavaScript. PS2. Microsoft is working on unifying .NET. Soon there will be only one version: .NET 5! Caveat: Some features such as WinForms will still be specific to the windows environment but all of those are likely things you don't need in Mac or Linux

See more
Recommends
on
C#C#KotlinKotlin

Exceptional decision to go with Kotlin. For the other story, go full with C#. "is C# the holy cow? Yes it is.". Specially now when netCore is crossplatform and you can build asp.net core applications on Windows, Linux and macOS via Visual Studio Code which is also multiplatform. Nothing will beat C# in the near future. Also, at the end of 2021 Microsoft will release Net 6.0 which will include MAUI.

"For those new to .NET MAUI (standing for .NET Multi-platform App UI), Microsoft says it's "the evolution of Xamarin.Forms extended from mobile to desktop scenarios with UI controls rebuilt from the ground up for performance and extensibility."

So, C# all the way sire!

See more
Recommends
on
GolangGolang

I think you can learn go instead C#. C# is cool, but Golang also cool. It can run on any OS without specific software. C# can run on linux too but it's only the .NET Core as I know. But golang is flexible. So try it and decide what do you think about Golang

See more
Needs advice
on
C#C#JavaScriptJavaScript
and
ReactReact

Hi Everyone,

I have some experience working with JavaScript and React and will now try to learn C# - could you please share some similarities and differences between JS and C# and what rookie mistakes I should watch out for when learning C#?

Also, any tips & good practices are greatly appreciated :)

Thank you

See more
Replies (4)
Pavel Kalugin
Software Engineer at Paralect · | 9 upvotes · 214.8K views

If you want to learn C# to write some backend code you can also check out Node.js which is basically JavaScript running outside the browser. You can create any kind of web servers, APIs, scrapers, automation scripts, etc using all the same JavaScript.

A good entry to Node is Express.js. It is the most common web framework for Node. It's well documented and there are a lot of educational materials for it.

See more
Hameed Moshood
Recommends
on
C#C#

C# is .net framework of a programming language specially different from the programming languages you're used to. If you learn C# you will be experienceed in coding with VIsual Basic .net and also creating web development using ASP and this ASP also include JavaScript function.... I urge you to learn it

See more
Kudos Beluga
Recommends
on
F#F#Node.jsNode.js

I prefer functional programming because it produces less buggy code (thus I recommend F#), and is simply better to learn this paradigm earlier on in your coding career rather than later. It can also do most stuff C# can do, namely code with .NET core. If you're going to learn .NET then you should learn Node.js+Express first though before doing web development with C#/F#

See more
Ross M.
System Architect at MomentFactory · | 2 upvotes · 196.7K views
Recommends
on
C#C#JavaScriptJavaScript

I think you can manage to find something about this topic. it's pretty popular one. ex: https://www.educba.com/c-sharp-vs-js/

Something I don't see discussed enough over the internet is the performance difference. I don't think you should worry about this. 95% of the time you won't notice the difference on your day to day projets. You will know what you need in terms of performance when you get there.

See more
Needs advice
on
C#C#DjangoDjango
and
PythonPython

Hi all, I have been working on the development and automation of construction software using C# and Python. Recently I have started working on Django python web framework and basic frontend for web development. I am really confused to choose between C# and Python to move forward in my career. Seeking your advice on these technologies and their future market value from a career perspective. Thanks,

See more
Replies (3)
ALESSIO SALTARIN
Distinguished IT Architect at IBM · | 10 upvotes · 219.8K views
Recommends
on
C#C#DjangoDjangoPythonPython

In my opinion, a modern developer should have deep knowledge about Object Oriented (OOP) and Functional Programming (FP). The programming language is something that must come later. Any good programmer should be able to switch from one programming language to another easily, if they follow OOP and FP. There are languages, though, that must absolutely be in the portfolio of a modern developer: Java, C#, Python and JavaScript. But be prepared to know also Scala, Kotlin, Swift, Go, Ruby, Rust and TypeScript.

See more
Recommends
on
DjangoDjango

It depends on your preferred career path, if you want to work in start-up/scale-up environments, you probably want to go with a language like Django for the rapid development (fast to production). On the other hand, C# or Java would be better for building long term and large scaled applications, although, Django could certainly achieve this as well. I also want to second that it won't hurt to know both languages, pick your technologies wisely according to the use case, don't stick to a single technology stack. :)

See more
Carlos Iglesias
Recommends

C# and Python are both great languages. With great communities, libraries, frameworks, opportunities. I think it will be the same in a near future.

It’s matter of your likes, and your next jobs.

Dot net core is a little faster on performance. Python more popular with dynamic types. Probably the most lovable language.

See more
Needs advice
on
C++C++JavaScriptJavaScript
and
PythonPython

Hi, I'm just starting to learn code, and I stumbled upon this website. I think I should learn JavaScript, Python, and C++ to begin with. I'm a quick learner so I am only worried about what would be more useful. Suppose my goal is to build an online clothing store or something. Then what languages would be best? I need advice. Please help me out. I'm 13 and just beginning and it's hard to understand when people use technical terms so please keep it simple. Thanks a lot.

See more
Replies (8)
Taimoor Mirza
Associate Software Engineer at Intech Process Automation · | 21 upvotes · 250.6K views
Recommends
on
PythonPython

Go with Python. It's syntax is really simple and less verbose compare to others. You can use Python for basically anything like web dev, task automation, data science, data engineering, cybersecurity etc. At initial level, it's more important to get an understanding of programming fundamentals. Once you get conformable with coding in general, then you can explore other languages.

See more

I would worry less about languages when you're first starting out. If you want to build an online store, then javascript is a great language that is used all over the web! Get comfortable with your first language, learn some computer science concepts and how to build things the right way, and then just work towards a goal and learn as you go!

https://www.w3schools.com/ is a great resource and it's completely free, everything you need to know to build a website is on that page if you have the drive to learn it. Best of luck to you!

Here's a neat roadmap too, in case you find yourself lost on what to learn next https://roadmap.sh/frontend

See more
Recommends
on
JavaScriptJavaScript

I recommend JavaScript to build your first website, for both FrontEnd and BackEnd , even tho I am a BIG fan of C++ it is not well suited yet to create websites, and Python would be just as good for the BackEnd as JavaScript but having everything written in only one language will make your learning curve way easier, so it is easy to recommend JavaScript.

See more
Mukesh Gurpude
Recommends
on
JavaScriptJavaScriptPythonPython

Python is an easy and beginner-friendly language. As you've mentioned about Online Clothing store, you'll need to deal with the website part and you'll need Javascript to make the site accessible and functional. Javascript will be more easy to learn if you learn Python first, so you can just start with Python.

See more
Recommends
on
FlaskFlaskPythonPython

Hello Rachel, as a fellow programmer, I am glad that you are planning on expanding your coding knowledge and skills.

I recommend learning python first as it has a very simple syntax (syntax is how your code looks and how simple it is to type) and is also very user-friendly. Once you get to know how to code in python, you can use this thing called Flask.

Flask is what you call a "web application framework" or a WAF, it basically is a tool used to develop websites and other similar things. You don't have to worry much about it's difficulty because it is based on python. You will still have to learn how to use Flask though as it could be a bit complicating in first glance.

If you are looking for simpler ways for making website without having to learn a lot of programming, you can learn HTML and CSS. These 2 will help you in making a basic and functional website. The catch is, from a career perspective, HTML won't get you far, as literally every programmer knows it. So it is best to use programming languages.

I hope this gave you a clear understanding of the ways in which you can build websites. Wishing you the best of luck!

See more
Recommends
on
JavaScriptJavaScript

I have worked with all these a ton. I make ecommerce and enterprise apps now. The only one of these you need is JavaScript. You can use JS on the backend as Node.js in AWS Lambda. You will need HTML and CSS skills, as well as a database. I recommend MongoDB. Please forget about C++ until you built your first company. Python fits the same purpose as Node.js but is currently popular in the Data Science community so skip it until you have a LOT of customers.

See more
John Akhilomen
Recommends
on
JavaScriptJavaScriptPythonPython

Since you're new, I'd recommend Javascript and Python. With Javascript, just learn React and Node. And with Python, learn Django. With JavaScript, Node, React, Python, and Django; you can accomplish quite a lot for both frontend and backend.

See more
Recommends
on
WordPressWordPress

Hi, When saying that "Suppose my goal is to build an online clothing store or something", I would go for a ready to use platform like Wordpress. it will give you a fast jump into the online world. By using WP you'll have to catch on with PHP\JQuery Goodluck.. Ping me when store is ready, I might buy something....

See more
Needs advice
on
JavaScriptJavaScriptReactReact
and
SwiftSwift

Hey guys, I learned the basics (OOP, data structures & some algorithms) with Python, but now I want to learn iOS development. I am considering to learn Swift, but I am afraid how the native mobile development will die out because of the cross-platform frameworks and reviews. My idea is to learn web development first and then learn React Native, and after all of that, finally Swift. What do you think about this roadmap? Should I just learn Swift first due to the pros of the native apps?

See more
Replies (7)
Recommends
on
SwiftSwift

Native apps are not going to die. Especially not Swift because now Swift can be used to develop cross platform macOS and iOS apps due to the new macs having M1 chips.

See more
Recommends
on
SwiftSwift

I would suggest to bet more on Swift! I have developed act in React and Javascript in the past and played around with Swift a little... the performances of native code vs Javascript are way too slow compared to swift native app!

Now even more than ever M1 chip will give a boost, but if it gives a boost to JS it will give a boost also to native apps. I would seriously consider Swift more than Javascript, React or even Electron!

See more
Recommends
on
SwiftSwift

If asking about employment opportunities, native will never die out. There will always be opportunity for work in native mobile applications. There are also many advantages of using native over cross platform such as always having access to the latest APIs and developer libraries that may not be available to cross-platform without some native development involved or can wait until someone develops a bridge for you.

If you are asking about what you should develop with first? It really depends. React-Native is great for building proto-types or basic MVP application that doesn't require any of the latest and greatest features Apple has to offer at the moment. But if you're asking what to learn? I would say native will always give you a larger advantage as it will give you a good foundation in mobile development and provide you access to the latest native libraries. It is also a useful skill that can give you an edge in cross-platform mobile like react-native because you will most definitely encounter a situation where you will have to go down to the to native side to extend functionality or utilize APIs that are not yet out of the box.

See more

The decision comes down to your goals and needs.

If you want to be able to create any kind of iOS app, simple or complex, learn Swift. It's indispensable if you're building specialised apps like video editing, augmented reality, machine learning or anything that uses iOS-specific APIs such as App Clips.

But if you just want to create apps that make HTTP requests and display static content such as text or basic video and music, React Native would do just fine, and you can publish the same code to Android. This is a no-brainer choice if you're on a low budget.

And if you know both, you can use both in the same app. You can add React Native screens or components inside a Swift app.

See more
Noel Broda
Founder, CEO, CTO at NoFilter · | 4 upvotes · 83.2K views

"Should I just learn Swift first due to the pros of the native apps?". React Native builds Native Apps. Technologies like ionic does NOT build native apps, but React Native does it.

Learning Swift seems to be a really bad idea from my point of view. Learning JavaScript is all what you need. Why? Because then Frontend, Backend, and Mobile Dev, is simple, because it's all JavaScript.

See more
Carlos Iglesias
Recommends

Mobile Native Development Apps will never die. Cross Plataform like React Native only exists to save time and costs for startups mainly, which is extraordinary, and indispensable often of course. But when the App get popular enough, it will probably will move to Native Development. Several improvements.

See more
Recommends
on
JavaScriptJavaScriptReactReact

Less than 20% of the market is IOS, the rest is Android. Any developer must produce for Android and maybe support IOS. If you prototype on IOS you have to restart again for Android. React and JavaScript will run on IOS.

See more
Needs advice
on
C#C#
and
GolangGolang

I need some advice to choose a language for back-end development. Right now, my REST APIs were created by using Flask/Django, and I'd like to create a more reliable and more efficient API with static typing. On the one hand, Go is young, very light, and syntax like Python's, but C# has a large number of libs and more built-in methods. Which is the best solution today?

See more
Replies (10)
Recommends
on
C#C#GolangGolang

It depends.

From times to times I asked or was asked that same question. Technology aside, it's important to consider the skills and expertise that the dev team has. Whether you use language A,B or C or framework X,Y and Z, if your team has a strong background and experience with something make it count too.

See more
Recommends
on
GolangGolang
at

I would recommend Go simply because as you mentioned, it's super light. No need to bring in the whole .NET suite to get a simple REST API up and running. Even if your API is a bit complex, Go should be able to handle it.

See more
Bob Bass
President & Full Stack Enginee at Narro, LLC · | 5 upvotes · 284.9K views
Recommends
on
Node.jsNode.jsTypeScriptTypeScript

I started out with C# and .NET and I loved it. In my opinion, it was the perfect way to start learning the fundamentals of software development however I always felt like I was at a disadvantage when I was doing .NET development. Granted, .NET Core is now open-source and cross-platform, but I moved to Node.js simply because it is incredibly popular. I never thought I'd learn to love JavaScript it the way I did with C#, but I learned to love it pretty quickly, especially once I started using TypeScript. You get all of the benefits of C# and JavaScript all in one. If you've built a REST API with Python/Flask/Django, you'll be able to learn Node.js/Express/TypeScript well enough to migrate your API very fast and it's incredibly easy to host for free on any number of services.

I'm new to Go, I've got very little experience but the 'feel' of Go, isn't like Python in my opinion. Go has a pretty steep learning curve, much steeper than C# in my opinion. So if you are willing to consider Node/Express/TypeScript, I think you may really like it. If you're picking between Go and C#, I'd go for C# as of today, but once I am more comfortable with Go (which I anticipate being a slow process) I may change my mind.

At this moment in time, in late 2020- Node/Express/TypeScript feels like the obvious choice to me as a former C# developer.

See more
Vadim Bauer
Recommends
on
PythonPython

The best language for you is the one that you know best!

Its a bit of a guess, but from your question and the difficulties you have with Python it seems to me the problem you describe is the manifestation of a bad design/architecture/code quality. These are not the problems of a language itself!

The experience you gained over the past years with your current programming language will outmatch any benefits of another language that you start from zero.

Because in the end of the day languages aren't all that different when it comes to fullfil the same task, it's more the tools, framework and ecosystem for a particular problem that make a difference.

I worked with Java, C#, Go and recently in Phyton, and I would choose Phyton over Go for WebApps, even I like compiled languages more. Go is a very simple language, I would even say maybe too simple. I can't stand all those go boilerplate if err checks, the broken filesystem, the date/time mess and many more things that aren't actually relevant for business application at all. Go has its advantages but not for WebApps.

Keep the lang and improve your skills and architecture you will benifit more from it than from a new language.

See more
Recommends
on
GolangGolang

I recommend Go for backend. It's younger than C# doesn't mean it's not mature. It's already mature enough to be run on production. You can see there are already many companies in the world adopting Go as their backend business logic or tooling. I can name a few like Github, Shopify, uber, twitch, and many more. It's easier learning curve, low entry barrier, better performance than C#, better memory consumption than C#, since there's no VM/runtime needed. It's suitable for large scale system and large codebase for readibility and long maintainability. It's simpler than C# since no class, inheritance(this can cause hard to maintain software), exception, etc. You can still implement OO way in Go without those feature. Simple file structure, only main files and package files. It compiles to single binary and easy to deploy and work around it, unlike C# who compiled to IL and you need to wrap all those IL files to be run inside separated web server(even .Net/.Net Core platform provide built-in web server). For libs, don't worry, there are many open source libs you will found on Github and already adopted by many companies. Go is employed in personal, startup, even corporate level.

See more
Recommends
on
GolangGolang
Go now, C# later

I suggest Go because it has a simple and clean ecosystem. The language is simple. You don’t need complex configs or installs either. You’ll be up and running very quickly. It doesn’t have as much as .NET but its standard library is more than sufficient for RESTful APIs. Concurrency is much, much easier too.

C# I’d definitely recommend later on. The .NET framework, especially core, is extremely powerful and there’s little you can’t build with it. Go won’t take you long to be productive with.

See more
Carlos Iglesias
Recommends

The database your are going to connect and the needed libraries could decide. Because both are awesome languages.

See more
Ted Elliott
Recommends
on
fastapifastapipydanticpydantic

If you want to stick with python you may want to consider Fastapi. It uses Pydantic to give you strongly typed models and validation. It generates openapi docs for you out of the box. They have good documentation as well and they claim it is really fast.

See more
Recommends
on
C#C#

I have some systems on production using both languages. I tend to use golang if the API is small or medium size, but if I am going to build a large system definitively I use c#(asp netcore).

See more
Alexander Krylkov
Sofrware Architect at Air Astana · | 1 upvotes · 284.9K views
Recommends
on
C#C#

I would recommend C#, particularly Simplify.Web web-framework. C# is easy to start with (especially .NET Core). Simplify.Web is also easy to start with, no extra setup required for simple API, but on the other hand you have power of C# and full control over your API with ability to extend.

See more
Decisions about C#, C++, and Swift
Ismael Ghanim
Senior Mobile Engineer at Homecoming · | 5 upvotes · 76.5K views

We chose React Native over native Android and iOS development because of React Native's cross-platform capabilities. React Native has really matured over the years, developing a native feel, with simple and intuitive APIs. The community is also huge, filling in any gaps in the default APIs. These are also the reasons why we didn't choose other hybrid mobile tools. Largely, other hybrid mobile tools don't have the same mobile feel and close connection to the underlying mobile APIs.

At a larger scale, the control that native development offers beats React Native's simplicity. However, at this early stage, it's worth the trade-off. Maintaining two mobile teams and two mobile apps, as we iterate the product rapidly would not be practical. Plus, there is always the escape hatch of native modules if more control is needed.

See more
Gabor Galazzo

As a startup, we need the maximum flexibility and the ability to reach our customers in a more suitable way. So a hybrid application approach is the best because it allows you to develop a cross-platform application in a unique codebase. The choice behind Ionic is Angular, I think that angular is the best framework to develop a complex application that needs a lot of service interaction, its modularity forces you (the developer) to write the code in the correct way, so it can be maintainable and reusable.

See more
Lucas Litton
Founder & CEO at Macombey · | 7 upvotes · 205.7K views

Expo was a tool Macombey really wanted to utilize from the beginning. I have been working with React Native since 2016 and originally I had to use simulators in Xcode, install pods on top of node packages, configure certificates, and more abundant objectives that take time away from actual development. As a development studio, we have to move quick and get projects to our clients and partners in a matter of months.

Expo made this easy for us. We now have a mobile app for clients to download and test their project on, there is no need to install pods or configure Xcode, and development is super fast and reliable now.

See more
Alexandre Desroches
Founder & Developper at Finance D · | 71 upvotes · 376.4K views

I had a goal to create the simplest accounting software for Mac and Windows to help small businesses in Canada.

This led me to a long 2 years of exploration of the best language that could provide these features:

  • Great overall productivity
  • International wide-spread usage for long-term sustainability and easy to find documentation
  • Versatility for creating websites and desktop softwares
  • Enjoyable developper experience
  • Ability to create good looking modern UIs
  • Job openings with this language

I tried Python, Java, C# and C++ without finding what I was looking for.

When I discovered Javascript, I really knew it was the right language to use. Thinking of this today makes me realize even more how great a decision this has been to learn, use and master Javascript. It has been a fun, challenging and productive road on which I am still satisfied.

Obviously, when I refer to Javascript, it is not without implying the vast ecosystem around it. For me, JS is a whole universe in which almost every imaginable tools exist. It's awesome - for real. Thanks to all the contributors which have made it possible.

To be even clearer about how intense I am with Javascript, let's just say that my first passion was music. Until, I find coding with Javascript! Yep, I know!

So in conclusion, I chose Javascript because it is versatile, enjoyable, widely used, productive for both desktop softwares and websites with ability to create modern great looking user interfaces (assuming HTML and CSS are involved) and finally there are job openings.

See more

Python has become the most popular language for machine learning right now since almost all machine learning tools provide service for this language, and it is really to use since it has many build-in objects like Hashtable. In C, you need to implement everything by yourself.

C++ is one of the most popular programming languages in graphics. It has many fancy libraries like eigen to help us process matrix. I have many previous projects about graphics based on C++ and this time, we also need to deal with graphics since we need to analyze movements of the human body. C++ has much more advantages than Java. C++ uses only compiler, whereas Java uses compiler and interpreter in both. C++ supports both operator overloading and method overloading whereas Java only supports method overloading. C++ supports manual object management with the help of new and delete keywords whereas Java has built-in automatic garbage collection.

See more
Ing. Alvaro Rodríguez Scelza
Software Systems Engineer at Ripio · | 12 upvotes · 382K views

I was considering focusing on learning RoR and looking for a work that uses those techs.

After some investigation, I decided to stay with C# .NET:

  • It is more requested on job positions (7 to 1 in my personal searches average).

  • It's been around for longer.

  • it has better documentation and community.

  • One of Ruby advantages (its amazing community gems, that allows to quickly build parts of your systems by merely putting together third party components) gets quite complicated to use and maintain in huge applications, where building and reusing your own components may become a better approach.

  • Rail's front end support is starting to waver.

  • C# .NET code is far easier to understand, debug and maintain. Although certainly not easier to learn from scratch.

  • Though Rails has an excellent programming speed, C# tends to get the upper hand in long term projects.

I would avise to stick to rails when building small projects, and switching to C# for more long term ones.

Opinions are welcome!

See more
Andrew Carpenter
Chief Software Architect at Xelex Digital, LLC · | 16 upvotes · 428K views

In 2015 as Xelex Digital was paving a new technology path, moving from ASP.NET web services and web applications, we knew that we wanted to move to a more modular decoupled base of applications centered around REST APIs.

To that end we spent several months studying API design patterns and decided to use our own adaptation of CRUD, specifically a SCRUD pattern that elevates query params to a more central role via the Search action.

Once we nailed down the API design pattern it was time to decide what language(s) our new APIs would be built upon. Our team has always been driven by the right tool for the job rather than what we know best. That said, in balancing practicality we chose to focus on 3 options that our team had deep experience with and knew the pros and cons of.

For us it came down to C#, JavaScript, and Ruby. At the time we owned our infrastructure, racks in cages, that were all loaded with Windows. We were also at a point that we were using that infrastructure to it's fullest and could not afford additional servers running Linux. That's a long way of saying we decided against Ruby as it doesn't play nice on Windows.

That left us with two options. We went a very unconventional route for deciding between the two. We built MVP APIs on both. The interfaces were identical and interchangeable. What we found was easily quantifiable differences.

We were able to iterate on our Node based APIs much more rapidly than we were our C# APIs. For us this was owed to the community coupled with the extremely dynamic nature of JS. There were tradeoffs we considered, latency was (acceptably) higher on requests to our Node APIs. No strong types to protect us from ourselves, but we've rarely found that to be an issue.

As such we decided to commit resources to our Node APIs and push it out as the core brain of our new system. We haven't looked back since. It has consistently met our needs, scaling with us, getting better with time as continually pour into and expand our capabilities.

See more
Noel Broda
Founder, CEO, CTO at NoFilter · | 5 upvotes · 248.6K views

1 code deploys for both: Android and iOS. There is a huge community behind React Native. And one of the best things is Expo. Expo uses React Native to make everything even more and more simple. Awesome technologies. Some other important thing is that while using React Native, you are reusing all JavaScript knowledge you have in your team. You can move easily a frontend dev to develop mobile applications.

A huge PRO of Expo, is that it includes a full building process. You run 1 line in the terminal, and 10 minutes after you have 2 builds done. Double check EAS Expo.

See more
Erik Ralston
Chief Architect at LiveTiles · | 14 upvotes · 587K views

C# and .Net were obvious choices for us at LiveTiles given our investment in the Microsoft ecosystem. It enabled us to harness of the .Net framework to build ASP.Net MVC, WebAPI, and Serverless applications very easily. Coupled with the high productivity of Visual Studio, it's the native tongue of Microsoft technology.

See more
Russtopia Labs
Sr. Doodad Imagineer at Russtopia Labs · | 0 upvote · 218K views

As a personal research project I wanted to add post-quantum crypto KEM (key encapsulation) algorithms and new symmetric crypto session algorithms to openssh. I found the openssh code and its channel/context management extremely complex.

Concurrently, I was learning Go. It occurred to me that Go's excellent standard library, including crypto libraries, plus its much safer memory model and string/buffer handling would be better suited to a secure remote shell solution. So I started from scratch, writing a clean-room Go-based solution, without regard for ssh compatibility. Interactive and token-based login, secure copy and tunnels.

Of course, it needs a proper security audit for side channel attacks, protocol vulnerabilities and so on -- but I was impressed by how much simpler a client-server application with crypto and complex terminal handling was in Go.

$ sloc openssh-portable 
  Languages  Files    Code  Comment  Blank   Total  CodeLns
      Total    502  112982    14327  15705  143014   100.0%
          C    389  105938    13349  14416  133703    93.5%
      Shell     92    6118      937   1129    8184     5.7%
       Make     16     468       37    131     636     0.4%
        AWK      1     363        0      7     370     0.3%
        C++      3      79        4     18     101     0.1%
       Conf      1      16        0      4      20     0.0%
$ sloc xs
  Languages  Files  Code  Comment  Blank  Total  CodeLns
      Total     34  3658     1231    655   5544   100.0%
         Go     19  3230     1199    507   4936    89.0%
   Markdown      2   181        0     76    257     4.6%
       Make      7   148        4     50    202     3.6%
       YAML      1    39        0      5     44     0.8%
       Text      1    30        0      7     37     0.7%
     Modula      1    16        0      2     18     0.3%
      Shell      3    14       28      8     50     0.9%

https://gogs.blitter.com/RLabs/xs

See more
Manage your open source components, licenses, and vulnerabilities
Learn More
Pros of C#
Pros of C++
Pros of Swift
  • 351
    Cool syntax
  • 293
    Great lambda support
  • 265
    Great generics support
  • 211
    Language integrated query (linq)
  • 180
    Extension methods
  • 94
    Automatic garbage collection
  • 89
    Properties with get/set methods
  • 84
    Backed by microsoft
  • 71
    Automatic memory management
  • 61
    Amaizing Crossplatform Support
  • 46
    High performance
  • 43
    LINQ
  • 38
    Beautiful
  • 35
    Great ecosystem of community packages with Nuget
  • 27
    Vibrant developer community
  • 24
    Great readability
  • 21
    Dead-simple asynchronous programming with async/await
  • 19
    Visual Studio - Great IDE
  • 17
    Open source
  • 16
    Productive
  • 15
    Strongly typed by default, dynamic typing when needed
  • 15
    Object oriented programming paradigm
  • 12
    Easy separation of config/application code
  • 11
    Great community
  • 10
    OOPS simplified with great syntax
  • 9
    Operator overloading
  • 9
    Cool
  • 8
    Good language to teach OO concepts
  • 8
    High-performance
  • 8
    Events management using delegates
  • 7
    Unity
  • 7
    Linq expressions
  • 6
    Conditional compilation
  • 6
    Coherent language backed by an extensive CLR
  • 5
    Top level code
  • 5
    Organized and clean
  • 5
    Comprehensive platform libraries
  • 4
    Concise syntax, productivity designed
  • 3
    Lovely
  • 2
    Statically typed
  • 1
    Far more sleek and sphisticated than other languages
  • 1
    Simple and Readable
  • 1
    Sophisticated overall
  • 1
    Interfaces
  • 0
    Interfaces
  • 202
    Performance
  • 107
    Control over memory allocation
  • 98
    Cross-platform
  • 97
    Fast
  • 84
    Object oriented
  • 58
    Industry standard
  • 47
    Smart pointers
  • 37
    Templates
  • 16
    Gui toolkits
  • 16
    Raii
  • 13
    Generic programming
  • 13
    Control
  • 13
    Flexibility
  • 11
    Metaprogramming
  • 9
    Hardcore
  • 5
    Many large libraries
  • 5
    Simple
  • 5
    Full-fledged containers/collections API
  • 4
    Large number of Libraries
  • 4
    Performant multi-paradigm language
  • 3
    Way too complicated
  • 1
    Close to Reality
  • 1
    Plenty of useful features
  • 259
    Ios
  • 180
    Elegant
  • 126
    Not Objective-C
  • 107
    Backed by apple
  • 93
    Type inference
  • 61
    Generics
  • 54
    Playgrounds
  • 49
    Semicolon free
  • 38
    OSX
  • 36
    Tuples offer compound variables
  • 24
    Clean Syntax
  • 24
    Easy to learn
  • 22
    Open Source
  • 21
    Beautiful Code
  • 20
    Functional
  • 12
    Dynamic
  • 12
    Linux
  • 11
    Protocol-oriented programming
  • 10
    Promotes safe, readable code
  • 9
    No S-l-o-w JVM
  • 8
    Explicit optionals
  • 7
    Storyboard designer
  • 6
    Optionals
  • 6
    Type safety
  • 5
    Super addicting language, great people, open, elegant
  • 5
    Best UI concept
  • 4
    Its friendly
  • 4
    Highly Readable codes
  • 4
    Fail-safe
  • 4
    Powerful
  • 4
    Faster and looks better
  • 4
    Swift is faster than Objective-C
  • 4
    Feels like a better C++
  • 3
    Easy to learn and work
  • 3
    Much more fun
  • 3
    Protocol extensions
  • 3
    Native
  • 3
    Its fun and damn fast
  • 3
    Strong Type safety
  • 3
    Easy to Maintain
  • 2
    Protocol as type
  • 2
    All Cons C# and Java Swift Already has
  • 2
    Esay
  • 2
    MacOS
  • 2
    Type Safe
  • 2
    Protocol oriented programming
  • 1
    Can interface with C easily
  • 1
    Actually don't have to own a mac
  • 1
    Free from Memory Leak
  • 1
    Swift is easier to understand for non-iOS developers.
  • 1
    Numbers with underbar
  • 1
    Optional chain
  • 1
    Great for Multi-Threaded Programming
  • 1
    Runs Python 8 times faster
  • 1
    Objec

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of C#
Cons of C++
Cons of Swift
  • 15
    Poor x-platform GUI support
  • 8
    Closed source
  • 7
    Fast and secure
  • 7
    Requires DllImportAttribute for getting stuff from unma
  • 8
    Slow compilation
  • 8
    Unsafe
  • 6
    Over-complicated
  • 6
    Fragile ABI
  • 5
    No standard/mainstream dependency management
  • 4
    Templates mess with compilation units
  • 3
    Too low level for most tasks
  • 1
    Compile time features are a mess
  • 1
    Template metaprogramming is insane
  • 1
    Segfaults
  • 1
    Unreal engine
  • 6
    Must own a mac
  • 2
    Memory leaks are not uncommon
  • 1
    Very irritatingly picky about things that’s
  • 1
    Complicated process for exporting modules
  • 1
    Its classes compile to roughly 300 lines of assembly
  • 1
    Is a lot more effort than lua to make simple functions
  • 0
    Overly complex options makes it easy to create bad code

Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

What is C#?

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

What is C++?

C++ compiles directly to a machine's native code, allowing it to be one of the fastest languages in the world, if optimized.

What is Swift?

Writing code is interactive and fun, the syntax is concise yet expressive, and apps run lightning-fast. Swift is ready for your next iOS and OS X project — or for addition into your current app — because Swift code works side-by-side with Objective-C.

Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

What companies use C#?
What companies use C++?
What companies use Swift?

Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

What tools integrate with C#?
What tools integrate with C++?
What tools integrate with Swift?

Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions

Blog Posts

May 6 2020 at 6:34AM

Pinterest

JavaScriptC++Varnish+6
5
3490
Oct 24 2019 at 7:43PM

AppSignal

JavaScriptNode.jsJava+8
5
995
GitHubPythonNode.js+47
55
72816
GitHubSlackNGINX+15
28
21106
What are some alternatives to C#, C++, and Swift?
C lang
Python
Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.
JavaScript
JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.
Node.js
Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.
HTML5
HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.
See all alternatives