D# (D-Sharp)

Open-source .NET compiler for D# (d-sharp), a "C#" with simplified syntax.

This is a continuation of the original Proposal: Radical simplification of the C# syntax (Roslyn issue #13731). The project is in a very early stage. the syntax of the language has still to be nailed down, before work on a compiler can start.

Instead of long explanations, here an idea of how D# could look:

using static System.Console

namespace Example.DSharp // Namespace is a not nesting, thus saving one indentation level.

class Program
    static void Main(string[] args)
        int a = 10
        int b = 20

        if a == 10
            if b == 20
                WriteLine("Value of a is 10 and b is 20")
            elsif b > 50
                WriteLine("Value of a is 10 and b greater than 50")
            else
                WriteLine("Value of a is 10")
        switch a
            case 0, 1, 2
                WriteLine("Low number")
            case 3, 4, 5
                WriteLine("Medium number")
            default
                WriteLine("Other number")
        while a < 1000
            WriteLine(a)
            a *= 2
        do
            WriteLine(b)
            b *= 2
        until b >= 1000 // Since while would be ambiguous, we use until instead.
        ReadLine()

In Roslyn issue #13731 you can see the corresponding C# code.

Whether the language will be a white-space language or whether it will use some end-symbol for code blocks has yet to be discussed. While experimenting with different end-symbols, I realized that they don't really add information. Is it helpful to see 7 end-braces at the end of a C#-listing?

if a == 10
    if b == 20
        WriteLine("Value of a is 10 and b is 20")
    elsif b > 50
        WriteLine("Value of a is 10 and b greater than 50")
    else
        WriteLine("Value of a is 10")
    end
end

(133 non-whitespace characters)

Instead of C#:

if (a == 10) {
    if (b == 20) {
        WriteLine("Value of a is 10 and b is 20");
    } else if (b > 50) {
        WriteLine("Value of a is 10 and b greater than 50");
    } else {
        WriteLine("Value of a is 10");
    }
}

(145 non-whitespace characters)