8 replies to this topic

[livepcportal]

Hello everyone! I am learning C++ and one question suddenly strike in my mind that "Which programming language is used by microsoft to develop windows platform i.e. to develop windows xp or windows 7 or any other os? If someone knows the answer of this question, please let me know! Thanks in advance!!

[legend112]

to tell the truth im not sure but i would like to think they use some proprietary software of theirs...

microsoft is not a big fan of open source software so the software they use, they never put it out for people to tweak and add more functions, etc so nobody really knows im sure.

[mahesh2k]

Most of today's modern operating systems use C/C++. As far as i know operating system like linux/unix uses C/C++ heavily. There are some projects which uses C#/Java to build the operating system. You can find such operating system by googling.And to talk about Microsoft then they use C/C++. They have their own compiler/debugger and other things made on their own you can say in house. To get the exact answer, you can ask this question on MSDN. You'll likely to get the answer in detail than pointers from here. It's high chances that the software (compiler/debugger/interpreter) are closed source software.

You should ask this question to MSDN, stackoverflow or other Microsoft related forums. You'll likely to get answer depending upon the expert contribution people on those forums.

[networker]

I don't think they'd ever use c# to build an operating system. I mean, C# is just
a parrot version of visual basic anyway using a c++ type syntax. I really don't know
why Microsoft bothered creating that language.
I'm sure they used C++ to create all the Microsoft operating systems. They definitely
aren't java. What they never specify though is if they used Microsoft C++ or
Borland C++, the two biggest C++ companies. Probably Microsoft C++ for Windows.
Borland C++ for Linux no doubt.
Don't forget that with both Microsoft and Linux there would have been a lot of work also
done at the Machine language level.

[mahesh2k]

Quote

I don't think they'd ever use c# to build an operating system. I mean, C# is just
a parrot version of visual basic anyway using a c++ type syntax. I really don't know
why Microsoft bothered creating that language.

They didn't used it but it is possible to create OS using java and C#. Search google for term "operating system using java" and you'll get results like JOS. So it is quite possible to have operating system using java or c sharp. It's just that we are unaware of possibilities. You're right that microsoft didn't used it for their own OS development.

[bluedragon]

few years back , I got hold of Windows 3.1 source code.
Majority of it was C++ (visual) and quite easy to understand.

I believe they haven't changed much since then. They've just improved and optimized the windows environment.

and Since I've found bugs in almost all windows version , I believe its definitely C++

I think C++ is the most powerful language till date.

Haven't used java much so I can't compare the two

[The Simpleton]

Proprietary software? If there was such a thing we would have heard about it from some disgruntled MS employee, isn't it?! I'm not sure but they do mix up a lot of languages in my opinion. I won't take any more wild guesses!

Quote

few years back , I got hold of Windows 3.1 source code.
Majority of it was C++ (visual) and quite easy to understand.

Do you still have it with you? I think I could learn something from that source code....

[livepcportal]

bluedragon, on Nov 20 2009, 11:32 PM, said:

few years back , I got hold of Windows 3.1 source code.
Majority of it was C++ (visual) and quite easy to understand.

I believe they haven't changed much since then. They've just improved and optimized the windows environment.

and Since I've found bugs in almost all windows version , I believe its definitely C++

I think C++ is the most powerful language till date.

Haven't used java much so I can't compare the two

Have you still got it? Can you email it to me? I would be really thankful if you can do that as it would really help me learning a lot more about C++!
So, now can I conclude that Microsoft used Visual C++ to develop windows platform?

[k_nitin_r]

@livepcportal

I'm sure the distribution of Microsoft source code is illegal so you can't expect to keep a copy of it. Microsoft does, however, provide the source code of some parts of its operating system for academic use though you can't use the source code in any of your own software or even distribute the software.

However, you can take a peek at the Linux source code and you are encourage to distribute and make modifications to it. You can download a copy of the Linux kernel source code from http://www.kernel.org/ . The source code for pretty much all the other components that you find in your favorite Linux distribution is available online too. If there is any particular component or tool that you would like to have the code for, please feel free to post back to the forum with your request and I or any one of the other members of the forum would gladly provide you with a link. If you would like to have a walkthrough of the code, there's plenty of documentation available and any of the forum members associated with or contributing to the project can help you get started via IM.