Re: Wonderful Programming Article! Quick Question...

[Mohammad Akhlaghi]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks a lot for sharing that nice link to the comparison of C# with 
C++. I had heard about C# and .NET in the context of non-astronomical 
software, and primarily for GUI applications in Microsoft Windows. But 
through that article[1], I learnt how C# compiles into bytecode (similar 
to Java) through .NET and these two are now properly correlated for me.

Thanks also for the review on that "Why C?" section of Gnuastro's book, 
I am happy it was helpful ;-).

In astronomical data analysis, due to the large volume of data (10s of 
Gigabytes to Terra-bytes every night, in mid-sized observatories) almost 
all analysis is done in batch-mode and there is no time for human 
GUI/interactive interface.

The languages reviewed in the "Why C?" section of Gnuastro's book[2] are 
those languages that are used in major/large astronomical data analysis 
software/projects.

I don't know of any major professional/research astronomical project 
that uses C#. So I am afraid that adding this link will open up requests 
to add links of comparisons with many other languages that are never 
used in astronomical data analysis and may be confusing/irrelevant for 
an astronomer or programmer (who is interested for coding in 
astronomical projects).

If we do later find a relevant astronomical research data analysis 
software that uses C#, it may be relevant to have this link in the "Why 
C?" page.

Thanks again for sharing that link, it was a useful read and I learnt a 
lot from it.

Cheers,
Mohammad


[1] https://www.toptal.com/c-sharp/c-sharp-vs-c-plus-plus
[2] https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuastro/manual/html_node/Why-C.html

On 3/28/22 16:01, Andrew Hoffman wrote:
> Hey there!
>
> I hope you’re doing well! I was doing some research on the top needs for 
> programming and I came across your article, *Why C programming 
> language?.* (Since I know you have a lot of helpful site content, here 
> is the link I am referring to: 
> https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuastro/manual/html_node/Why-C.html 
> <https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuastro/manual/html_node/Why-C.html>. I 
> found the post helpful on what is up and coming and in high demand in 
> the coding world. I actually tried coding when I was in university and 
> came to the conclusion that coding might hate /me/, but that’s a 
> different story!
>
> I didn't know that developers are writing scientific software in a 
> combination of python and C coding. That was interesting. Regarding C 
> coding specifically, one thing I am seeing is that there is some 
> confusion amongst beginners on where to start when it comes to C coding 
> (C#, C++, etc).
>
> Since C coding is obviously still popular, I would love to get your 
> opinion about our article, *C# vs. C++: What’s at the Core?*. It was 
> written by a veteran full-stack developer with 15 years experience 
> creating C coded apps and platforms. The article itself is very helpful 
> in breaking down C# vs C++ in a very clear way for those who may be 
> either struggling to understand the differences or to possibly help 
> determine which route to go in C coding.
>
> Here is the article link for your convenience: 
> https://www.toptal.com/c-sharp/c-sharp-vs-c-plus-plus 
> <https://www.toptal.com/c-sharp/c-sharp-vs-c-plus-plus>
>
> If you find the article to be helpful, would you consider linking it to 
> your article as a further reading suggestion?
>
> Thanks for your time and I would love any feedback regarding the article 
> as well!
>
> Andy