OT: on IDEs and code writing on steroids

[Lutger]

Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

...
> I've repeatedly failed to figure out the coolness of C#, and would 
> appreciate a few pointers. Or references. Or delegates :o).


It's not in the language. 

C# only has to do 'better' than C++ and Java to be cool and in that it succeeds: Besides many smaller improvements, it provides delegates / events, lambda's and true generics compared to java. Compared to 
C++ it provides, well, lots of the same stuff that make people prefer Java over C++. 
It does this while still being familiar. Take F# for example, probably a much cooler language: I suspect this is too alien for most people.

The real attraction of C# is the framework and the IDE. A lot of programmers don't program in a language, but in an ecosystem where the language is just a part of it alongside the framework, toolchain and 
documentation.