Why I write C#
I have been writing C# now for about 8 years and most of the questions I get is “Hey Dara, why do you write C#, why not JS or PHP?” Truth is well, I can write Alert(“Hello World); in JavaScript and whatever equivalent of that in other languages.
But yeah, I decided to stick with C# and the .NET Ecosystem as a whole backing for my career path. There are quite some sweet benefits to it.
And I am not saying other languages don’t have such benefits. I just love the C# (seeing sharp) perspective. LOL.
Why do I think C# is a good language to choose? There’s a lot.
1. I can write for all platforms — PC, Web, Mobile, Cloud.
2. There’s lots of community support
3. It’s enterprise grade (First Class Citizen)
4. It’s object oriented — means I can relate to it as I relate to the real world (Don’t mind me, I think too logically)
How long have I been writing C#? About 8 years now. Would I have chosen any other language if I had the chance? Maybe FORTRAN — Kidding Nah!
How did I learn C#? I learnt using books (which I never I finished a single book) and mostly videos.
Bob Tabor’s C# Absolute Beginner Series was such a blessing — https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/C-Fundamentals-for-Absolute-Beginners
What platforms/frameworks do I specifically write for? — Windows (WPF and UWP), Xamarin (.Forms), ASP.NET (Core and Framework), Azure (Functions, Bots, Logic Apps, Azure itself), Office 365.
What path can I choose? To be honest, I can only guide — it’s up to you to decide. But I’ll say there are many/all to pick from.
So, what I’ll do is give you a suggestion of the paths I know of and the mix of languages in a chart.
Now that I’ve talked on all the specs, was it easy learning C# or is it so hard and what challenges did I face and how I overcame?
First, ease depends on perspective and reception capacity. I won’t say it’s hard or easy. Put your mind to it and you’ll be good in it.
Challenges I faced while learning C#, it’s a bit of challenge for everyone — internet and a good laptop.
I started C# on a 1GB RAM HP Probook 4515s, AMD Semprom Processor with Visual Studio 2010.
Well, I could do the basic stuff back then, not now when IDEs are really RAM gulping — Visual Studio still stands out to be a good performer.
I was in the University, my allawee (monthly allowance) was about N10k a month, cost split between my dad and mum.
Out of that N10k, almost N6k went for internet purchases most times. On months that it doesn’t, it meant that I found someone’s internet voucher to use during mid-night.
That internet problem, I kept a copy everything on my hard drives and also just give friends so in case my laptop goes kaboom! I have backup.
And thank God my school had lecturers who cared about students, Prof. Alese stood out as a mentor and guiding light for me during my stay in school.
So yeah, get mentors who can help you and never forget to continue that cycle when you make it.
Thing is, there were times I felt like quitting when I got to some cross-roads but looking at the role models I wanted to be like, I got myself back on track.
Also, I moved in circle of friends that didn’t let me give up just by association. That’s positive peer pressure.
So, those are some of my 2 cents to give.
Once again, getting started with C#, I would recommend time over time.
https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/C-Fundamentals-for-Absolute-Beginners
In some posts to come, I will talk about getting started with developing cross-platform applications with C# using Xamarin. Stay tuned.
