Popular applications of C#?

C# is a modern, object-oriented programming language designed for building a variety of applications that run within the .NET framework. It's a versatile language, used in a wide array of applications such as game development, web and desktop application development, cloud-based applications, and mobile app development. Let's dive into a few of the most popular applications of C# and examine the corresponding code snippets that explain them.

1. Web Applications

ASP.NET is a powerful framework developed by Microsoft for creating modern web applications, and at the heart of this framework is the C# language. With C#, you can build robust, performant, and scalable web applications.

To give an example, consider creating a movie web application. You can create a Model for the Movie object, a view to display the movie data, and a Controller to handle the user interaction.

// Movie.cs (Model)
public class Movie
{
    public int ID { get; set; }
    public string Title { get; set; }
    public DateTime ReleaseDate { get; set; }
    public string Genre { get; set; }
    public decimal Price { get; set; }
}

The Controller interacts with the model and the view. It handles the user inputs, manipulates the data using the Model, and chooses which View to render.

// MoviesController.cs
public class MoviesController : Controller
{
    private readonly MovieContext _context;
 
    public MoviesController(MovieContext context)
    {
        _context = context;
    }
 
    // GET: Movies
    public async Task<IActionResult> Index()
    {
        return View(await _context.Movie.ToListAsync());
    }
}

2. Console Applications

C# was initially developed for creating Windows desktop applications. Despite being versatile, C# remains an excellent language for building Windows console and GUI applications. Console applications are the simplest form of C# application, ideal for programs that operate via command-line interfaces.

For example, consider a console application that lists all the actors in a particular movie. When the user inputs the name of the film, the console application fetches and displays the list of actors.

string movieTitle;
Console.WriteLine("Enter the movie title: ");
movieTitle = Console.ReadLine();
            
List<string> actorList = GetActors(movieTitle);
 
foreach (string actor in actorList)
{
    Console.WriteLine(actor);
}

3. Game Development with Unity

C# has gained immense popularity in the gaming industry due to the features it provides in Unity, a leading game development platform. C# is the preferred language in Unity as it is type-safe and efficient while offering advanced features that aid in building complex game logic.

For example, consider a scenario where an actor (character) in a game jumps when the user presses the Space key. This could be programmed in Unity using C# like so:

public class ActorJump : MonoBehaviour
{
    public float jumpHeight = 10.0f;
 
    // Update is called once per frame
    void Update () 
    {
        if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.Space))
        {
            GetComponent<Rigidbody>().velocity = new Vector2(0, jumpHeight);
        }
    }
}

4. Windows Application Development with WPF and UWP

C# can also be used to build Windows desktop applications using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Universal Windows Platform (UWP). WPF is used for creating desktop applications with complex user interfaces, animations, and graphics, while UWP allows developers to create applications that can run on multiple types of Windows devices.

For example, consider creating a button in a WPF application that, when clicked, displays the title of a randomly picked movie from a list.

<Button Click="Button_Click">Pick a Movie</Button>

public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
    public MainWindow()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }
 
    private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        string[] movieList = { "Titanic", "Avatar", "Avengers" };
        Random rnd = new Random();
        int index = rnd.Next(movieList.Length);
        MessageBox.Show("Movie selected: " + movieList[index]);
    }
}

5. Mobile Applications with Xamarin

Xamarin, a .NET framework, allows developers to use C# for building cross-platform applications for iOS, Android, and Windows. With Xamarin, you write your app in C#, and it gets converted into native app code for each platform.

For instance, consider a simple Xamarin.Forms application that displays the description of a movie when a corresponding button is clicked.

<Button Text="Show description" Clicked="OnButtonClicked" />

void OnButtonClicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    string movieDescription = "Titanic is a love story set against the ill-fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic.";
    DisplayAlert("Movie Description", movieDescription, "OK");
}

In conclusion, from web development with ASP.NET, to game development with Unity, to Windows and mobile app development with WPF, UWP, and Xamarin respectively, C# is an incredibly versatile and popular language. The examples provided have merely scratched the surface of C#'s broad applicability. As you continue exploring C#, you'll discover that it can help you accomplish virtually any programming task you have at hand.