December 18/25, 2000

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Microsoft's C# Challenge: Overcoming Developer Reluctance

By Alan Radding

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icrosoft has long sought a Java killer. Its latest effort is C#, a Javalike programming language based on C intended for use with Microsoft's .Net platform. C# eliminates some of the problems that have bothered developers working with C and C++. For example, it handles automatic garbage collection, a favorite Java feature.

A recent survey of North American developers conducted by Evans Data Corp. suggests clear developer interest in the new language, although tools and compilers for C# aren't yet widely available. Specifically, Evans found:

o 30% of developers are likely to try using Microsoft's C# in the next year.

o More than 65% of the developers who are inclined to try C# currently use Visual Basic more than one-half of the time. There was also some interest shown among those who use XML.

o Of those developers who use C and C++ almost exclusively, only 21% expressed interest in trying C#.

o Only 10% of the developers who are planning to try C# are heavy Java users.

"The application server vendors are all on Java 2 Enterprise Edition. They aren't supporting C#," which is a major obstacle to C# adoption, notes Evan Quinn, a VP at Hurwitz Group, a management-consulting firm. C# is primarily a Microsoft play offering object-oriented programming capabilities of Java mainly to Visual Basic developers, of which there are many.

Experienced object-oriented programmers already working with C++ or Java, however, have little interest in the language. "We would be concerned about platform independence with C#. We like Java for its cross-platform capabilities," says Darcy Jouan, principal engineer for Catapulse Inc., an application development management-tools vendor.

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Illustration by Timothy Cook

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