You may use Python to do simple calculations. It’s very convenient to run interactively. But the same thing can be done with C#.
I will introduce how to do that.
What is an interactive form? Link to heading
When a user inputs a statement or expression, the tool evaluates it.
That is the simplest introduction I think.
In Python, it looks like this:
>>> a = 10
>>> a * a * 3.14
314.0
It’s calculated on the spot, so it’s very useful as a way to execute a temporary code. (I use it when I want to judge whether the number is a prime number or not.)
C# cannot be run interactively because it’s a static language. Isn’t it? Link to heading
While Python executes dynamically, C# is a static language, which we have to compile for execution.
And you may think the need to compile is too time consuming and therefore fatal to run interactively…
Wikipedia Dynamic programming language
But it’s not true.
Extensions to run C# interactively Link to heading
You can’t run C# interactively by default.
However there are a lot of people who want to run C# interactively and you can do that by using extensions which they developed!
I will introduce some extensions.
C# REPL Link to heading
It is provided by the Mono project, which is famous for its C# runtime implementation and open source.
C# REPL.
Usage is very simple. Install Mono and just execute:
$ csharp
csharp> using System;
csharp> var a = 10;
csharp> a * a * Math.PI;
314.159265358979
If you are using Mono C#, try it now.
dotnet script Link to heading
This can be used on .NET Core while C# REPL runs on Mono.
dotnet script
You can install it as a .NET global tool by executing:
$ dotnet tool install -g dotnet-script
Once installed, you can run it with the dotnet script command.
$ dotnet script
> var a = 10;
> a * a * Math.PI
314.1592653589793
Also dotnet script can dynamically execute C# files whose extension csx and let us to use unique commands such as #r.
It’s so convenient.
Note that .NET Core 2.1 or higher is required.
dotnet interactive Link to heading
This is an official extension for interactive execution. dotnet interactive
With this extension, you will be able to run C# on a Jupyter notebook.
You can install it by using the following commands.
$ dotnet tool install -g Microsoft.dotnet-interactive
$ dotnet interactive jupyter installation
I know that when you open the Jupyter notebook, your body will move freely and start to type Python codes not C# codes.
Summary Link to heading
If you create a C# project file for each trivial calculation, switch to interactive C# now. It saves your time.Normally, to use Python is the best way.