QUOTE (Delta @ Jul 24 2008, 06:02 PM)
I'm a fan of C# myself, but I also know a little C/C++ and Python. Before this I was into VB and QBasic.
I really don't want to get into a big debate, but I think .NET/Mono and associated languages a little under-appreciated. It certainly doesn't have 100% the performance of native code, but for applications that don't need that 100% it's a choice to consider. Besides having a large base class library to use in your apps, you can use whatever language that can target .NET/Mono, and that includes C#, VB.NET, Boo, IronPython, IronRuby, C++/CLI, etc. And because it's language-agnostic, class libraries made in C# for example can be used in any other .NET language, and vice versa. No need to mess with header/lib files either.
But, to be fair, I'll point out a couple major flaws: OS portability and deployment issues. For non-Windows OSes you can use Mono, but it's unfortunately always playing catch up to the changes Microsoft keeps making. And by the time they catch up, Microsoft makes a new release of the .NET Framework. Besides that you have the fact that people need to have .NET installed in order for such apps to function at all. It's not a *huge* problem especially if an installer can install it automatically, but it's not as fun when you want to distribute using .zip's or (insert archiving format here).
For me, the disadvantages aren't enough to keep me from using C#/.NET. That, and the fact that I'm not particularly experienced with C/C++. But don't get me wrong; I don't hate native languages. In fact, I appreciate native code just as much as managed code... just that I use managed code as a personal preference. Ultimately you just need to use whatever tool fits the job. If managed code works, great. If native code works better, use that instead.
No tl;dr, sorry. ;P
In the case of C# and Mono, Mono is usually at the same level in terms of language features. However, in terms of libraries, it is playing catch up. Also, Mono has the unique feature of being able to compile .NET languages just like a regular compiler instead of JITing it and requiring the Framework.
The programming languages I know of are NSIS, C, C++, some BASIC (QBASIC variant), some Visual Basic (only a little), some C#, some Java, very little ASP (used to know more, forgot most of it), and a tiny bit of PHP.
My preferred languages would probably be C++ and C#. I don't dislike Java as a language all that much, but I dislike the JVM A LOT. I respect and appreciate the Mono project a lot, mainly because they bring something quite new to the table that I want to work with.
With Phalanger and other projects, bringing in existing open source code and incorporating it into a Mono project got significantly easier...
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