My broken marriage with C# and extramarital affair with F#
NOTE- As per today I am neither married nor committed. And for that case never married and never committed. :P
Whoever is following my progress must be knowing my love for F#. Neither me nor F# knows exact time and date when that happen. But now it is like if few days I have to pass without writing few lines to(in) F# then it felt like I have left software engineering for good.
I am full time married to C#. My heart and soul still bleed for it. Still I am following Jon Skeet. Still I am updating my self. But truly speaking; that enigma, that love, that emotions are lost. And final blow comes when I don’t have to see C# on daily basis.
My profile changed at my day job. Can’t share all the details though but it is not C#.
Our shared time is getting less day by day. And even that less time getting consumed by newly found adventures with F#.
I still remember a day when I visited it on TryFsharp. And my first impression was ‘OK’. But then slowly it started getting into me. Then more meeting happens at fsharp.org. Can’t say anyone but just for F# I gave request to become a member of fsharp.org and luckily got accepted. Meetings became more often, is it love? I didn’t know at that time.
But then something happen. I started burning midnight oil for F# and one day god answers my desire less efforts and first time I run F# code on Heroku. I felt the first blink of love. And love got confirmation when my name got place at fsharp.org with F#.
After that there was no looking back, there were just milestones for a bonding that is getting stronger with every obstacle conquered. It includes my first community check in for visual studio template, my first experience of porting Signalr and Nancy on azure and lately porting servicestack with SignalR.
It is never one sided. Whenever I have lots of data I have F#, whenever I have complicated (or not that complicated) algorithm I have F#. I want to do mobile I have F#, I want to make game again I have F#.
It is not that it is the only one but for me it is the one. So, simple, elegant, sweet, graceful and still so powerful. And never demanded anything, it just work on any platform.
So, all is good. I can’t say so. I am still married to C#; my resume says so. I am still having same respect that I was having long back but may be that love is lost. I don’t know whose fault it is; may be me may be F#. But things that stays is less fun and more friction.
There are few things that only C# can do, few places like Azure only C# can go without any issues. It is not that I wanted to get separated but sometimes at some places it is not the best possible choice.
I don’t know how far I can go with C# but my love for F# is reality. If I am continuing in software industry and if my choice will be granted, my first choice will F# as of now and may be for few more years to come.
NOTE: I still follow C# and quite good with it but if I get choice I will always go with F#. I just want that F# get same respect and love from business line of Microsoft Products. As things are changing in positive direction hopefully that day is not too far.