When you have an idea to help you create an app of any kind for web, mobile, or desktop, you need to have a few tools available to you. One of these is to know a programming language to help you write the code that will get the work done. As you take a look at which coding language you would like to learn to get the work done, you may wonder whether .NET is a programming language or not.
According to XAM, .NET developers in Sydney, .NET is not considered a traditional programming language. Rather, it is a platform that developers are able to use to create the applications they desire. It is designed to allow the developer to use a number of different programming languages to create games, IoT, desktop applications, and more. It is simple to use and open source, so any developer with a great idea and some coding experience will be able to use it.
Let’s take a closer look at what .NET is all about and how you can use it to help develop some of the great apps that you desire.
Can I Use .NET as a Programming Language?
While there are a lot of great programming languages out there for you to choose from, .NET is not actually a coding language. There are no lines of code to learn to make it work, but it does work well with a number of other coding languages. This gives you a chance to utilize the one you are most comfortable and familiar with.
Rather than being a programming language, .NET is going to be a free, cross-platform, open-source development platform that can be used to build up a wide variety of different applications. When you have an idea for an app, you can use the .NET platform to create it all.
The neat thing about using .NET is that you are able to use a variety of languages, libraries, and editors to build up the application that you have in mind. This helps you to explore a lot of options and won’t limit you to just one or two coding languages you may not be familiar with when you start. You get a lot more freedom to create and have fun with this coding language.
Which Programming Languages Can I Use with .NET?
There are several different programming languages that you are able to use with .NET to help get your applications written and ready to go. The three main ones will include:
C#: This is a popular programming language that many developers like to use because it is simple and modern. It is object-oriented and provides you with a type-safe programming language to get the application done.
Visual Basics: As a beginner in programming, Visual Basic could be a good choice for you to use. It is an approachable language that comes with a simple syntax to build your apps in no time.
F#: This is a programming language that many developers like to use because it allows them to write robust and succinct code to get the job done.
You can choose which of these three programming languages, plus their libraries, you would like to use to create your new application within the .NET framework.
Does .NET Work Across Many Platforms?
One of the benefits of choosing the .NET framework is that it will work on many platforms without you needing to go through and make changes to the code. No matter which of the programming languages you choose to use, the code will be able to run natively on any compatible operating system. You will be able to build up a wide variety of apps using .NET as the basis. Some of these will be cross-platform, and others are going to target a specific set of devices and operating systems based on your goals when creating the app.
Adding Libraries to the .NET Platform
Another benefit of using the .NET platform is that it will have a lot of library packages. These packages are going to extend what you are able to do with your code and bring in special features and more that help you see results. To help extend the functionality of the .NET system, Microsoft and others work hard to maintain a healthy package ecosystem on .NET for the users to enjoy. One example of this is NuGet, which is a package manager that was built to work specifically on .NET and has more than 100,000 packages in it.
Choosing the .NET Platform
There are many great platforms that you are able to utilize to help you get work done on developing a new application, but none will provide the ease of use and all of the compatibility that you are able to find with the .NET framework. Take a look at this framework and see if it is the right one for your needs.