C## is the newest Microsoft buzzward that goes hand-in-hand with their ".NET" buzzward. It's essentially their proprietary "Java" since Microsoft isn't capable of using anyone elses standard, regardless of how well received they have been.

Don't be deceived into thinking that the fact that C## is being submitted to a standards organization really means it will be available to the general public to use. They can easily submit it to standards organizations and still charge obnoxious licensing fees to actually use it. The primary advantage of Java is cross-platform functionality; that's not something Microsoft is going to be commited to, needless to say.

Logically speaking, there's no reason for C##. Java already exists and people know how to use it, and it's cross-platform. Microsoft is playing catch-up and there's really no reason to leave Java for C##. There's no technical reason for C## to exist--the only reason it exists is because Microsoft is upset they couldn't own Java.

As for seeing C## on an 8052, don't count on it. Microsoft, luckily, has never paid any attention to the 8052 or any other microcontroller. I suspect the development market for the tools is too small to be of interest to Microsoft.

Even if Microsoft was interested in microcontrollers, when was the last time you saw Microsoft able to do ANYTHING in just 64k? Heck, the MFC libraries are nearly 2 MEGABYTEs.

So, to answer your question, 8052's are a Microsoft-free zone. Don't worry, the world can survive without Microsoft. 8052 developers have been doing it for decades.

Craig Steiner