Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. It is one of the world’s largest software makers, known for Windows, Office, Azure, and major contributions to programming languages and developer tools.
Key Contributions
Microsoft has developed influential technologies:
- MS-DOS/Windows: Dominant desktop operating systems
- Office: Standard productivity suite
- Visual Studio: Influential IDE
- C#: Modern programming language
- TypeScript: Typed JavaScript superset
- .NET: Application framework
- Azure: Major cloud platform
Programming Languages
Microsoft has significantly influenced programming:
- Visual Basic: Made Windows programming accessible
- C#: Modern managed language
- TypeScript: Brought types to JavaScript
- F#: Functional language on .NET
Developer Ecosystem
Microsoft’s tools have been central to software development:
- Visual Studio defined the modern IDE
- VS Code became the most popular code editor
- GitHub acquisition expanded developer reach
- .NET provides runtime for multiple languages
Evolution
Microsoft’s relationship with open source evolved from antagonism to embrace. The company now contributes to Linux, open-sourced .NET, and owns GitHub.