Microsoft has developed a language called C# ("see sharp") that it claims will allow programmers to "quickly and easily build solutions" for its new.NET platform 3. The language has much in common with Java, particularly in those features emphasized in CS1 and CS2 courses. It also includes some of the desirable features of C++ that are missing from Java as well as some new features not available in either language. This paper explores the pros and cons of teaching CS1 and CS2 using C# instead of Java and concludes with a discussion of the author's plans for teaching such a course in the fall of 2002.
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