An object-oriented and type-safe programming language supported by Microsoft for use with the .NET Framework defined by the standard ECMA-334. The language was created by by Anders Hejlsberg (author of Turbo Pascal and architect of Delphi), Scot Wiltamuth, and Peter Golde, specifically for building enterprise-scale applications. Its syntax is similar  to both C++ and Java and is considered by Microsoft as the natural evolution of the C and C++ languages.