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C Sharp (programming language)
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<p>C# (/ˌsiː ˈʃɑːrp/ see SHARP) is a <a href="/facts/General-purpose_programming_language/LyA5zR3M">general-purpose</a> <a href="/facts/High-level_programming_language/smjECUhx">high-level</a> <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming language</a> supporting multiple <a href="/facts/Programming_paradigm/7LwgRpB3">paradigms</a>. C# encompasses static typing,: 4 <a href="/facts/Strong_and_weak_typing/WYexudnr">strong typing</a>, <a href="/facts/Lexically_scoped/bbj6AFMo">lexically scoped</a>, <a href="/facts/Imperative_programming/6b5dUnE1">imperative</a>, <a href="/facts/Declarative_programming/gogtdzcJ">declarative</a>, <a href="/facts/Functional_programming/cdxqPEIM">functional</a>, <a href="/facts/Generic_programming/kqtqJk7p">generic</a>,: 22 <a href="/facts/Object-oriented_programming/TxNMEcao">object-oriented</a> (<a href="/facts/Class_(computer_programming)/zvzkSAtE">class</a>-based), and <a href="/facts/Component-based_software_engineering/eW5wvSHC">component-oriented</a> programming disciplines. </p><p>The principal inventors of the C# programming language were <a href="/facts/Anders_Hejlsberg/E1GJCekr">Anders Hejlsberg</a>, Scott Wiltamuth, and Peter Golde from <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a>. It was first widely distributed in July 2000 and was later approved as an <a href="/facts/International_standard/9R3SMtfH">international standard</a> by <a href="/facts/Ecma_International/HCbnIU6n">Ecma</a> (ECMA-334) in 2002 and <a href="/facts/International_Organization_for_Standardization/IacYR7Yg">ISO</a>/<a href="/facts/International_Electrotechnical_Commission/hSK0kjwI">IEC</a> (ISO/IEC 23270 and 20619) in 2003. Microsoft introduced C# along with <a href="/facts/.NET_Framework/J6QDAUhP">.NET Framework</a> and Microsoft <a href="/facts/Visual_Studio/omNe6Lej">Visual Studio</a>, both of which are technically speaking, <a href="/facts/Proprietary_software/9zcskxYL">closed-source</a>. At the time, Microsoft had no open-source products. Four years later, in 2004, a <a href="/facts/Free_and_open-source/1cHtjLCB">free and open-source</a> project called Microsoft <a href="/facts/Mono_(software)/PlyeJxRS">Mono</a> began, providing a <a href="/facts/Cross-platform/16zqdvNR">cross-platform</a> <a href="/facts/Compiler/WNfCDFJe">compiler</a> and <a href="/facts/Runtime_environment/YmCuC4xP">runtime environment</a> for the C# programming language. A decade later, Microsoft released <a href="/facts/Visual_Studio_Code/YsBDgKlK">Visual Studio Code</a> (code editor), <a href="/facts/Roslyn_(compiler)/y2lksQ5d">Roslyn</a> (compiler), and <a href="/facts/.NET/PDMQdfFu">the unified .NET platform</a> (software framework), all of which support C# and are free, open-source, and cross-platform. Mono also joined Microsoft but was not merged into .NET. </p><p>As of January 2025, the most recent stable version of the language is C# 13.0, which was released in 2024 in .NET 9.0 </p>