HaloFour
commented
6 years ago - Acquisition - Not an concern of the language, take it to CoreCLR
- Running in browser - Same as above
- Focus on scripts - C# Scripting exists already, unless you're claiming that C# scripting syntax should also be compilable, which it's currently not as C# scripting does have that very relaxed REPL syntax that you describe
- More textural constructs - This is a highly subjective statement. Having more keywords would make the language more complicated, not easier to learn. Having many different ways to do the same thing is generally not a good thing.
- list and dictionary syntax - literals could be a good idea, but at the same time they enshrine only specific types and make those types opaque which I don't think is necessarily a good thing. C# has initialization syntax which makes creating/populating collections simple and doesn't lock you into any particular implementation.
- Immutability - C# is a mutable language, that's not going to change. There's nothing about immutability that makes a language easier to learn, unless you're coming from another immutable language. Coming from another mutable language it would make C# much more difficult to learn. I think that the debate and design around tuples clearly describes how the language designers feel about trying to enforce something like immutability.
- Basic graphics and chart/graph library - Not a concern of the language, take it to CoreFX
This repository is specifically about changes to the language specification. Most of your "proposals" don't involve language changes and the others I feel are already covered by other proposals so I don't think that your meta-proposal is particularly necessary.
svick
ufcpp
sharwell
gulshan
KathleenDollard
DavidArno
LeonG-ZA
ahdung
As great as the language C# is, currently I don't see it is being used for introduction to programming that much. Beginning programming with some language increses it's mindshare and markertshare in my opinion. So, I would like to raise some points which I think will make C# more "beginner friendly". Many of these are found from comparison with Python (which is kind of first choice for beginners nowadays'). And while some of them are language issues, some others are about tooling or library. But I'm keeping all of them together here.
Acquisition The first thing one has to do to get start with C# is to install C#/.net sdk. And the easiest acquisition is no acquisition at all. Some languages like python comes bundled with various OSes. It will be most convenient for a beginner if the dotnet sdk comes bundled with various OSes. I think Microsoft can (and should) bundle it with Windows and talk to Linux distributions to bundle it. And then, .net sdk should be officially available from apt, brew, chocolatey and likes for easier distribution/acquisition/update.
Running in browser Another way to get started is running in browser. This is an important option as this also does not require any installation and run on devices with limited development support like iOS/Android devices. Currently there are various third party services and even 1st-party solutions from Microsoft. But the process should more readily available, adopted and highlighted in various ways where appropriate like documentation and tutorials (both first party and third party).
Run single file When someone is just starting to learn programming, creating a "project", whether visually or through command line
dotnet newis a hurdle s/he has to overcome. So, it will be helpful for beginners if a single file can be run with a single command. Something likedotnet run file.cswill be useful.Focus on scripts Even more convenient for a beginner to start with scripts instead of code files. In hello world is a one liner and what it does is quite obvious from the code itself. While in a source file, a beginner have to use
using,class,staticand other constructs without knowing what they mean just to start. Also with scripts(and convenient configuration), the file itself is executable, which will be easier for a beginner to run. Current scripting support in .net sdk is almost invisible.More textual constructs Programming languages resembling more to human language(English to be specific) is easier to begin with. So,
if not(...)andwhile not(...)will be much more easier to understand thanif(!(...))andwhile(!(...)). Then again there can be anuntilloop in place ofwhile not. Then there can bedo untillikedo while. There can be aloop{...}forever loop. And some textual alternative to conditional?:operator will also be easier to catch. even there can betry whenin the place oftry catchetc. We can look for some other such constructs.list and dictionary syntax In the beginner level, before learning custom and complex data types, programmers usually learn and use lists and dictionaries. These are the two most fundamental collections types. But in C# using these two types are not very ergonomic for the beginners IMHO. One has to use
newand generic angle brackets<>for using lists and dictionaries without much or any idea. So, I would suggest to improvise list dictionary syntax, much like what was done for tuples. Currently(1, "a")is a tuple and the type is(int, string). So simple matching between declaration and type. Same should be done for lists and dictionary-[1, 2, 3]should be a list of type[int]and[1:"a", 2:"b"]is a dictionary of type[int:string]. Or, curly braces can be used in the place of square brackets-{1, 2, 3}is a list of type{int}and so on.Immutability How something like
x = x + 1is a valid statement is one of the most common questions beginners ask. Immutability make things easier to make sense of. Clear distinction between mutable and immutable variables in syntax helps a lot. So, local immutables withletwill make the life easier for beginners IMO.Basic graphics and chart/graph library It's very common to use graphics for making programming more interesting for the beginners. So, availability of a cross platform easy to use basic (2D) graphic library in .net/C# will be awesome. So will be a readily available chart/graph library.
Most of these are already proposed. I am just posing them together with a focus on simplicity for the beginners.