C# 2005 Programmer's Reference
Chapter One
What is C#?
So, you want a C# reference? OK, well the best place to begin is by looking at what C# is and
where it came from.
The Name
First off, the name. According to the ECMA-334 C# Language Specification (http://www.
ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-334.htm), the name is combined
of a Latin capital letter C (U+0043) followed by the number symbol # (U+0023). C# is pronounced
"C sharp" or "see sharp."
The origin of the name is somewhat shrouded in mystery. Some believe that it may have been chosen
by Microsoft to imply a progression from C++, with the # symbol composed of four + symbols
arranged to form a square. Another origin for the name could be more musical, implying that it's not
as far from C as C++ is, because ++ is the symbol for the increment operator. In music, a # indicates a
note that is one half step above the other, so C# might show that it is only a half step above C.
The musical readers among you might have recognized that the # ... read full excerpt from C# 2005 Programmer's Reference ebook