Java inventor James Gosling says he isn't losing much sleep over Microsoft these days, despite the software giant's effort to stem Java's popularity with its own Java-like language.

Although C# has many Java-like qualities, Microsoft executives say C# is not the company's response to Java. But Plummer said it's impossible not to compare the two languages.

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced the availability of the first beta version of a new tool that will migrate Java code into C#, Microsoft's proprietary Java-like programming language.

C#, F#, and Visual Basic are the most prominent languages used with .NET: C#: Announced with much fanfare upon .NET’s launch in 2002, C# is the most famous and widely used .NET programming language.

Crucial to Microsoft's effort is C#, a Java-like language that will soon be part of the company's new Visual Studio.Net package of software-development tools, which was released to developers ...

Microsoft, of course, is putting its muscle behind programming language C# and .Net architecture, which it believes will become strong alternatives to Java.

Java showed a dramatic decline of -3.92% on TIOBE’s system. While the programming language still sits at number four, Jansen notes that C# has never been this close to catching up to Java.