Back to basics (or rather: What they all will be laughing at in a century) Part II

One thing that has amazed me since I learned Java and C# is the way history keeps interfering with ‘modern’ languages. The first thing you learn when picking up a new language is the famous Hello World. The ‘Hello World’ – code in Java and C# is very similar:

 

Java:	C#
public class Hello {     public static void main(String[] args)     {         System.out.println(“Hello, world!”);     } }	class Hello {     public static void Main(string[] args)     {         System.Console.WriteLine(“Hello, world!”);     } }

 

In both sources there is a class that contains a static method called Main. This is the entry point of the application. In other words: When we ‘start’ the application the Main method is started. Starting the application is different in Java and C#:

 

Java:	C#
c:>java.exe Hello.class Hello, world! c:>_	c:>Hello.exe Hello, world! c:>_

 

As you can see, to start a Java program you instruct the Java environment to run a class whereas .NET applications have a Main marked (by the compiler) that will be started by the .NET environment.

 

Now, who started taking Main for granted? Wouldn’t it be more sensible, logical, Object Oriented to have a constructor as entry point? So hereby I suggest the following brand new language E# (sorry couldn’t resist):

 

E# Hello World	E# Execution
public class Hello {   public void Hello(string[] args)   {     System.Console.WriteLine(“Hello, World!”);   } }	c:>MyApplication.exe Hello Hello, World! c:>_

 

Note that by passing the name of the class I am now able to choose what class will be started (a bit like Java) and a more Object Oriented approach by instantiating an object (The Program).