"languages like C# and Java" Not particularly your post, because compared to e.g Haskell you could say that, but I usually cringe when people say "C# and Java", and often list a hsot of bad attributes that are more particular to Java. Java is such an utterly verbose, dull, ugly, clumsy to use language that falls over its own feet all the time, expecially when adding new features that are at best half as useful as they could be because of early design problems... Whereas C# is, comparably, such a joy to use... ;)