C# is the programming language Microsoft introduced in 2000 as part of the .NET platform.
Microsoft developed C# during the late 1990s for its .NET initiative. Anders Hejlsberg led the language-design team, and the language was presented publicly with the .NET platform in 2000. C# was designed as a modern, object-oriented language with automatic memory management and strong integration with Microsoft’s runtime libraries.
Its syntax resembles C and C++, but C# also incorporates ideas associated with Java and other managed languages. It became a major language for Windows applications, web services through ASP.NET, enterprise software, and games made with the Unity engine.
The language is standardized through international specifications, and its compiler and runtime are available in the open-source .NET ecosystem. It is sometimes confused with C or C++, but the sharp symbol in C# is part of the language’s name and distinguishes it from those earlier languages. C# has also gained features such as generics, asynchronous programming, pattern matching, and records over successive releases.