What programming language is windows programed in?

[kyoshozx]

Just curious.. anyone know?

 

[DAM]

C++

 

[Zucarita9000]

WinXP has some C# going on there too. The next version will be based on C++ .Net and C# .Net

 

[FuriousBroccoli]

Actually, it's a mix. The core kernel is C (some assembly), the rest is mainly C++, the higher up you get the more C++ there is. There is _NO_ C# in Windows at all. C#/C++.NET is a replacement for Visual Basic, thus it is not intended for performance-critical applications such as an OS!

 

[Zucarita9000]

Ok, I was mistaken then.
But I know that there will be some C++ and C# .Net in the next release, wich will be very dependant on the .Net framework.

 

[Nothinman]

There is _NO_ C# in Windows at all.

Not yet. But it depends on what you consider a part of Windows, I can see a lot of critical parts of Windows that aren't core OS things being done in managed languages like C#, like maybe a rewrite of the MMC for example. Some utilities included with Windows were done in VB, so there's no telling what languages they've used in various things.

 

[FuriousBroccoli]

Don't be fooled by the .NET name. None of the .NET products (Visual Studio.NET, Windows.NET) used the .NET languages, they are different beasts, it's just a whole branding thing Microsoft have going on.

VB wasn't used for any critical parts of Windows, so why should .NET be used now? .NET is all about the "high level, easy to use, good for business utilities" the same way VB was, it's never been designed to replace C++ where resources or performance matters (and that's almost everywhere in Windows).

 

[thornc]

Well the kernel is most definetly C...or at least this guy
Sysinternals' XP source tree ..

The GUI stuff are most likelly C++