Key issues on using a new programming language - C# - in implementation of a face detection and recognition (FDR) system are presented. Mainly the following aspects are detailed: how to acquire an image, broadcast a video stream, manipulate a database, and finally, the detection/recognition phase, all in relation with theirs possible C#/.NET solutions. Emphasis was placed on artificial neural network (ANN) methods for face detection/recognition along with C# object oriented implementation proposal.

In June 2000, Microsoft announced both the .NET platform and a new programming language called C# [1–3]. .NET is a framework that covers all the layers of software development from the operating system up. It actually wraps the operating system, insulating software developed with .NET from most operating system specifics such as file handling and memory allocation. It provides a new application programming interface (API) to the services and APIs of classic Windows operating systems while bringing together a number of disparate technologies that emerged from Microsoft during the late 1990s. It provides the richest level of integration among presentation technologies, component technologies, and data technologies ever seen on a Microsoft platform. This includes COM+ component services, a commitment to XML and object-oriented design, support for new web services protocols such as SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI, etc. .NET framework components are depicted in Figure 1

The programming language of choice for .NET platform is C#. But C# is also an attractive language per se, aside from .NET. The language is powerful, productive, type safe, has a rich and clear syntax and, most importantly, provides a conceptually appealing implementation of the object-oriented paradigm. It is designed to give the optimum blend of simplicity, expressiveness, and performance, pushing beyond the limitations of Java, C and C++ (Figure 2).

It inherits from:
- C, the high performance;
- C++, the object-oriented structure;
- Java, the garbage collection and high security;
- Visual Basic, the rapid development.

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