C# 5.0 Unleashed

C# 1.0: Managed Code Development, Take One

Creating a new runtime is one thing; providing a rich set of libraries to make the technology relevant is another thing—moreover, it’s the most crucial thing developers care about when deciding whether to embrace a new platform.

This put a big task on the shoulders of Microsoft’s .NET Framework BCL team, having to write code targeting a runtime that was still under development. Obviously, one of the core ingredients to make this mission successful was to have a programming language and compiler—not to mention productivity tools such as debuggers—readily available to get the development going.

Only two options were available. One was to retrofit an existing language like C++ or Visual Basic on the .NET ...