[Fwd: [om-list] Why use C# instead of C/C++?]

[Luke Call]

C# may have advantages but it still "feels" proprietary--yes, I'm aware 
MS has plans/submissions to standards bodies and Sun didn't etc., but 
you can't use C# in the foreseeable future without M$, as you can use 
Java without Sun, (unless Mono really matures and is ported widely and 
remains "compatible", which time will tell). I don't trust M$' and I'm 
sure they'll do what they can do make C# work better on Windows, and not 
be compatible elsewhere. Will be very interesting if that doesn't 
happen. In the meantime, Java is everywhere--learning it today means you 
can code in so many different OS'es and environments--pda, web, client, 
server, gui, daemon, stored procedures, etc, and vendor support is good 
across the board (with a single large exception). Since I'm not smart 
enough to learn too many languages, I'm (tentatively) sticking with a 
menu of C/C++, Java, Perl/Python, or Scheme/Lisp for now, depending on 
the application.

Luke