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# Is it still C#? Practical systems programming with .NET (war stories included)


- **Date:** Thursday, Jul 9, 2026
- **Time:** 15:30–16:00 (30 min)
- **Room:** Stage 6 - powered by Microsoft
- **Event:** World Congress 2026 Europe

## Recording

[Watch recording](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100138-is-it-still-c-practical-systems-programming-with-net-war-stories-included)

## Description

We built a database in .NET and pushed the runtime to its absolute limits. In this talk, we'll dissect the engineering decisions we made, extracting hard-won lessons you can use to build truly high-performance software. Expect battle-tested techniques you can apply to any demanding .NET service. Even if it's not a database. 

Join us to learn how to survive the sharp edges of systems programming. We'll explore:
1. JSON and Beyond
2. The Memory Game
3. Taming the State Machine
4. Beyond the Cache Line
5. Vectorize Everything!
6. Surviving the Ecosystem


## Speaker

### [Szymon Kulec](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@szymon-kulec)

Lead Developer Advocate at RavenDB


## Related talks at this congress

- [Java Sucks (So C# Didn't Have To)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1305-java-sucks-so-c-didn) — Adele Carpenter
- [".Net is too slow" was not an option](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1187-net-is-too-slow-was) — Tomasz Woznica
- [Goodbye Microservices, Hello Self-Contained Systems](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/980-goodbye) — Simon Martinelli
- [In-depth .NET Azure Functions: Isolated mode, performance and durable AI agents](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1223-in-depth-net-azure) — Stas Lebedenko