Boo vs C# vs Python?

Question

I was (yes, was) a Python (and before VB6) lover until tried to create GUI applications. It is very (very) difficult to create a GUI, and making executables (A hello world app was 2 MB).

Then, I jumped to VB.NET, but collections looked hard, strange and foolish to me. Then, jumped to C#, but don't really know C# well now. I ordered a good (Turkish) C# book.

Nowadays, I met Boo. It is a bit more Python syntax, .NET, compiled and compiles in C# lang. I liked it, even more than C#. But I didn't find a book about Boo.

And I really don't know, is learning Boo better than C# or learning C# better than Boo. I just want to some Python like data types. Those were:

• {key1:value1, key2:value2} → dictionary (some like HashTable)
• [Value1,Value2,Value3] → List (can be edited/changed)
• (Value1,Value2,Value3) → Tuple (can't be edited/changed)

I use dictionaries more than list and tuples. I want to know, which is better?

Answer 1

You have lists and dictionaries in .Net: System.Collections.Generic.List and System.collections.Generic.Dictionary.

As for the language: Just learn the one that is more fun for you. The choice of language is most often religious. Expecially on the .Net platform, where each language has almost the same capabilities.

Answer 2

Knowing C# will be very useful to you if you want a career in .NET development. But learning Boo would allow you to use the Python-like features you are after in a .NET environment. You should probably also look into IronPython, which does have books available (Iron Python in Action)

Answer 3

My general opinion is that it would be better to go for C# since it is from my point of view, easier to find resources, documentation and tutorials for C#.

Answer 4

I'm not sure what your end goal is, but before you give up on python please do check out the python/Qt combo for building a gui. You can build complex cross-platform guis and it's fairly easy to pick up. Qt, Python Bindings

Answer 5

I have found Boo to be very useful in creating simple one-off scripts, while retaining my Pythonic source style. And since it compiles to runnable EXE or DLL, I can package up a single EXE with all the needed DLLs (including Boo.Lang.dll) using ILMerge, and then send that off to a client, usually for some kind of quick troubleshooting or system diagnosis.

I also use Boo to support my C# development. I often fire up a Boo interpreter to try out variations of string or date formatting, then I can replicate the final version almost directly into C#.

But it is darned difficult to find docs for Boo. I had to Google quite a bit to find the syntax for generics, since they are a relatively new addition to Boo, and not yet mentioned in any tutorials, or even reference pages. And googling for "boo" generates quite a few unwanted hits, making the search even more difficult.

So in short, don't make this a choice between Boo and C# - they actually complement each other pretty well.

Answer 6

You have lists and dictionaries in .Net: System.Collections.Generic.List and System.collections.Generic.Dictionary.

As for the language: Just learn the one that is more fun for you. The choice of language is most often religious. Expecially on the .Net platform, where each language has almost the same capabilities.

Hmm, I didn't find this in VB.NET. I did some tricks in MSVS and found how to make dic. and lists in C#:

var a = new Dictionary<object, object> {{"asd", "1"}, {"f", "1"}};
var b = new List<object> {"asd","asd"};

This is easier than in VB.NET. I don't remember the "Generic" collections in VB.NET, or my book sucks :S Whatever, when my C# book come, presumably I will continue with C#. Thanks for all comments. Paul McGuire's was the best comment ;)

And, is there a way to make read-only List like Tuples? It will reduces CPU and Memory usage I think. I googled and found some of them (like ReadOnlyCollection and ReadOnlyCollectionBase) but in MSDN, first creates an ArrayList or List then loads ReadOnlyCollection to List. Is there a way to make readonly list without making another list? :S

Answer 7

Don't use the object type with dictionary and list. The point behin generics is that you can work strongly typed. If you want untyped collections, use System.Collections.Hashtable and System.Collections.ArrayList. but I would recommend using the generic versions and using the correct types. – Maximilian Mayerl

Hmm, tnx for the comment. I'm sure I will use same data types for keys and values (so, static) (e.g: Key: string only, value int only etc.) more than dynamic ones. Then, which is better for performance and coding?:

var a = new Dictionary<string, int> {{"one", 1}, {"two", 2}};
var b = new List<string> {"first", "second"};
var c = new Hashtable() {{"one", 1}, {"two", 2}};
var d = new ArrayList() {"first", "second"};

I have a thing that can be made with collections:

private static string City()
{
    switch (region)
    {
        case "AL": return "Alabama";
        case "AK": return "Alaska";
        case "AZ": return "Arizona";
        case "AR": return "Arkansas";
        case "CA": return "California";
        case "CO": return "Colorado";
        case "CT": return "Connecticut";
        case "DE": return "Delaware";
        case "FL": return "Florida";
        case "GA": return "Georgia";
        case "HI": return "Hawaii";
        case "ID": return "Idaho";
        case "IL": return "Illinois";
        case "IN": return "Indiana";
        case "IA": return "Iowa";
        case "KS": return "Kansas";
        case "KY": return "Kentucky";
        case "LA": return "Louisiana";
        case "ME": return "Maine";
        case "MD": return "Maryland";
        case "MA": return "Massachusetts";
        case "MI": return "Michigan";
        case "MN": return "Minnesota";
        case "MS": return "Mississippi";
        case "MO": return "Missouri";
        case "MT": return "Montana";
        case "NE": return "Nebraska";
        case "NV": return "Nevada";
        case "NH": return "New Hampshire";
        case "NJ": return "New Jersey";
        case "NM": return "New Mexico";
        case "NY": return "New York";
        case "NC": return "North Carolina";
        case "ND": return "North Dakota";
        case "OH": return "Ohio";
        case "OK": return "Oklahoma";
        case "OR": return "Oregon";
        case "PA": return "Pennsylvania";
        case "RI": return "Rhode Island";
        case "SC": return "South Carolina";
        case "SD": return "South Dakota";
        case "TN": return "Tennessee";
        case "TX": return "Texas";
        case "UT": return "Utah";
        case "VT": return "Vermont";
        case "VA": return "Virginia";
        case "WA": return "Washington";
        case "WV": return "West Virginia";
        case "WI": return "Wisconsin";
        case "WY": return "Wyoming";  
    }
    return City();
}

EDIT:

    var ren = new System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch();

    ren.Start();
    var a = new Dictionary<string, int> {{"asd", 1}, {"f", 1}};
    var b = new List<string> {"asd", "asdf"};
    ren.Stop();
    var rn1 = ren.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds;
    ren.Reset();
    ren.Start();
    var c = new Hashtable() {{"asd", 1}, {"f", 2}};
    var d = new ArrayList() {"asd", "asdf"};
    ren.Stop();
    var rn2 = ren.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds;
    ren.Reset();
    ren.Start();
    var e = new Dictionary<object, object> { { "asd", 1 }, { "f", 1 } };
    var f = new List<object> { "asd", "asdf" };
    ren.Stop();
    Console.WriteLine("Dictionary<string, int> + List<string> = {0} Miliseconds"
                      + "\nHashtable() + ArrayList() = {1} Miliseconds\nDictionary<object,"
                      +" object> + List<object>  = {2} Miliseconds", rn1, rn2,
                      ren.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds);
    /*
    Returned (Generally the results will be similar):

    Dictionary<string, int> + List<string> = 0,1331 Miliseconds
    Hashtable() + ArrayList() = 0,0145 Miliseconds
    Dictionary<object, object> + List<object>  = 0,0567 Miliseconds
    */

Looks Hashtable and Arraylist is the winner :D (Lol). And the "object" type was better than string and integer. They are almost the same (in coding), so, I will use HashTable and ArrayList...