With its many capabilities, C# is a high-level programming language known to be a simple, general-purpose, object-oriented and modern programming language. Developed by Microsoft in 2000, C# gives developers the ability to program and build just about any .NET (Microsoft development framework) application.

Since C# can be used to write a wide range of applications, it remains a superior programming language in the IT world. As a result, C# developers are in high demand with businesses. Here are some applications that could be built using C#:

• Web applications
• Web services and Web API
• Native iOS and Android mobile apps
• Backend services
• Video Games

Prior to starting your hiring process for C# developers, here are some things that you must first know to hire C# developers who can cater to your software development project’s needs and requirements.

C# Key Features

Before you start hiring C# developers, you should fully understand the programming language’s uses and capabilities and what you can gain from hiring a C# developer. One of the most basic yet most important factors you must consider when screening C# developers are their good understanding of C#’s features.

To give you an idea, here are some unique C# features that a skilled C# developer should already know:

Cross-platform compatibility
As C# is part of the .NET platform, developers can build robust applications that work on several operating systems like Mac, Windows, Android, Linux and many more.

Simplicity
Using C# can make the coding experience much simpler. With C#, there are:

• Prohibition of unsafe operations like direct memory manipulation.
• No usage of “::” or “->” operators
• Automatic memory management as well as garbage collection

Modern
C# is designed based on the current trends, enabling developers to:

• Build interoperable, scalable, and robust applications
• Feature inbuilt support that is able to turn any component into a web service that can be invoked over the internet from any application running on any platform.

Object-oriented

• Supports data encapsulation, inheritance, interfaces, and polymorphism.
• Introduces structures (structs), value types that can be instantiated without using a new operator as well as declare constructors that have parameters which enable the primitive types to become objects

Type Safety

• Overflow of types can be checked with C#
• Unsafe casts cannot be performed
• Value types (primitive types) are initialised to zeros
• Reference Types (objects and classes) are initialised to null by the compiler automatically.

Interoperability

• Offers native support for the COM (Component Object Model) and Windows-based applications
• Allows its users to use pointers as unsafe code blocks to manipulate old codes.
• Allows restricted use of native pointers
• Users no longer need to explicitly implement the unknown and other COM interfaces.

Skills You Should Be Looking for

When hiring tech talents and developers, looking at the candidates’ skill sets will help you to initially assess whether a candidate is right for the job or not. In the case of hiring a C# developer, here are some skills that you should keep an eye on:

Proficiency and deep understanding of C#
It may sound rather redundant, but a strong understanding and proficiency in the programming language itself must be stressed. Hiring a C# developer who knows the ins and outs of the language will be able to fulfill your project requirements and make the most of what C# has to offer for your development project.

Familiarity with using .NET and Mono framework
Familiarity with .NET and Mono frameworks play an important role in developing well-functioning and fully capable applications.

To give you an idea, here’s a quick comparison of the two frameworks:
.NET Framework- is a set of libraries which can be used to develop Windows desktop application and other server-based applications written in various programming languages like C# and F#.

Mono Framework- is an open-source framework supported by Microsoft in which developers are able to create cross-platform applications to be deployed on other operating systems such as Mac OS and Linux.

Understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP)
One of C#’s key features is its object-oriented processes. Your potential C# developer must possess a good understanding of object-oriented programming and the concept of “objects”, which contain information in the form of fields, and code, in the form of procedures.

Proficiency in various design and architectural patterns
A skilled C# developer should be knowledgeable about design and architectural patterns as both patterns are associated with code-level commonalities. Design patterns are medium-scale strategies that are used to solve common design problems. On the other hand, architectural patterns are larger-scale strategies that concern large-scale components and mechanisms of a system.

Experience with popular web application frameworks
Web application frameworks are software frameworks that are designed to support the development of web applications like web services, web resources, and web APIs. A C# developer who’s familiar with various popular web application frameworks proves that they have a solid understanding of the framework and shows how well-experienced they are in developing C#-based applications.

The more experienced a C# developer is, the more reliable they are as you know that they have the skills and experience in developing, maintaining, and troubleshooting an app.

Here are some popular web application frameworks:

• Symfony
• AngularJS
• React.js
• ASP.NET
• Node.js

Ability to conduct database schemas
To develop an app, C# developers must be able to construct database schemas that represent and support business processes. A database schema is a skeleton structure that represents the logical view of the entire database, defining how the data is organised and how they relate to one another.

Other Things to Consider

Along with hiring a developer with an extensive technical skill set, there are other factors that you must consider before you hire C# developers, to further ensure that you are hiring a developer that is qualified for the job.

Here are a few things to keep in mind: the communication between you and the C# developer, the cost of the development project, and how you could best manage and monitor your app’s development.

Keeping these tips in mind can get rather overwhelming. Another thing that you could consider is IT outsourcing. Hiring an offshore C# developer is a great and cost-effective alternative to traditional ways of hiring.

Cloud Employee, a UK-managed IT outsourcing company, can help you get connected to highly skilled C# developers and immediately start on your app development project. With cost-effective rates and a large talent pool, Cloud Employee is a perfect IT service provider to help you throughout your hiring process.

With Cloud Employee, you can hire C# developers who are well-experienced in other technologies such as Yii, Zend, Django, Laravel, Symfony, Angular JS, React.js, Node.js, and many others.

Starting on a new development project? Hire highly skilled C# developers with us and get your project going! Learn how Cloud Employee works, see our Developer Pricing Guide, or talk to us. You can hire dedicated offshore developers with us across many technologies.