I'm doing a project for something other than trading, however there seems to be a lot of knowledge regarding programming languages. The ones that I have are Delphi, C++, and C#. For this project I am currently working on Speed is very very very very very important. Which is my best option?
Fortran! Seriously though, probably C++ or C. To some extent it depends on what the project is. A bit of a summary would help.
Delphi's pretty fast. C++ is a no brainer. C# is weaker compared to the other 2 choices. Seemingly, the OP is asking a question that is pretty obvious...
If you don't know the answer to that question then it is unlikely that you will do very well in optimizing your project for speed. The compiler can only do so much.
ah, now I get it. I thought that Speed, with capital s, was a sort of framework or tool. Go for C++. Not sure about delphi
Not sure about compilers but modern assemblers will get you very, very nearly as efficient regarding lines of code and speed as the best you can do by yourself.
Stick to .net, its fast enough for even the high end trading app so should be fine for what you need. You will also save yourself years of time and money debugging using older technologies.