.NET , Revolution or Assault?
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At our local SQL users group meeting, the liason for MS was suggesting Visual Studio .NET as the next big revolution in software. (BTW, he mentioned that Gates considers SQL as their key product.) I have seen many flaming or very hot articles/discussions dissing .NET as an attack on everything American. So what do y'all think, are we moving into the .NET revolution or fighting off the .NET assault? Or will MS adapt, as they have with their new licensing flavors and MCSE requirments, and conquer in the end?
Sivea
Sivea -
We're just getting started, but just the changes in the development environment almost justify the move. We use VB6 and Interdev right now. VB is good but starting to get dated, Interdev...well I just cant say much nice about it! Like any new product their is hype, backlash, etc. It's just a tool - take a look at what it offers, compare how you'd do it and how long would take with your current tool...do a good comparison. I think the learning curve will not be as bad as thought and once past that I think will be more productive. And of course there is always the possibility that another tool vendor (Borland maybe) will build a different IDE that works with the CLR.
Andy
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.NET is about a few things. One, it is about decoupling the language used to write something from the execution. So a VB component can talk to a C++ or C# component as easily as another VB component. Why? Things are precompiled (similar to Java) into the CLR, which is then executed.
There are some other aspects of .NET, like the Passport integration, which many people are upset about because it places too much control in the hands of MS, but .NET byitself is not an issue here.
Steve Jones
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So, without the nasty little Passport (which makes me queasy), we are talking about a pretty cool environment?
Sivea -
The ability to design in the language of choice and still get the same end-product may be a pretty important key. For instance, Fujitsu is working on a COBOL version for .NET. So a developer who's spent 20 years in COBOL development can now code components alongside VB.NET and C# developers.
K. Brian Kelley
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/bkelley/
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley -
It's a great benefit. You can have groups write in whatever language they want and still work together. A port to *nix would be the ultimate.
Steve Jones
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I've been coding C# in .NET since the Beta 2 release, specifically ASP.NET apps (A windows service or two as well and a web service or two).
In addition to the comments from others in this forum, .NET, I believe is the best rapid development tool for application building yet. I can build a windows service in 15 minutes to monitor a directory or publish a web service to do zip code look ups in about the same time. Also, javascript validation coding (In web apps) is virutally no more. All of the .NET validators do most of the work for you. Try accomplishing that in VB, VBscript or C.
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I work within a programming company and everyone who has seen .NET absolutely raves about it.
The one comment that has been made is that VB.NET will make a lot of programmers redundant because it is more disciplined than VB6 and some of the self taught programmers are going to find it difficult to adjust.
Rather like the shift towards OO a few years back.
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I think the IDEA of .NET is great. However, I am skeptical of the security and programming of the MS people as THE END ALL tool. They have a poor track record and often cause issues because they want a proprietary system.
Not that other companies are not the same, but it is something I worry about. Also some of the conveniences still have a programming price to pay and I usually prefer to pay the price myself, so if I am prevented from getting too low level in places, I get nervous.
Lastly, I am concerned that C# and VB.NET do not produce the same CLR. Never got a good answer why not, but it will still lead to some people choosing one language over the other because there will be a performance difference.
All told, however, I am excited. I've done a little C# programming and am looking forward to finding a project to do some more.
Steve Jones
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Sounds exciting! With the usual MS related caveats of course.
Another naive question, what does "CLR" stand for?
Sivea
Sivea -
Common Language Runtime. This is the platofrm on which the compiled applications (in C#, c++, VB, Perl, etc) run. This is an abstraction from Win32 so it can be written to run on *nix as well as Mac OS, etc. There is a port ongoing by Ximian right now to Linux.
Steve Jones
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Thanks, Steve!
Sivea
Sivea -
Wait, a port for .NET to *nix? Or something else? I have nix buddies who would be interested--if they don't already know!
Sivea
Sivea -
The VB programmers at my company are beginning to learn and set up something with .NET. Other than that I don't see any revolution nor assault. It appears we will keep going as we are with Cold Fussion Web Programmers, SQL Programmers, and VB programmers. Since I only know SQL, I guess that is why I don't see the hype with .NET as its not likely to impact how I do my job.
Robert Marda
Robert W. Marda
Billing and OSS Specialist - SQL Programmer
MCL Systems -
Not yet. But remember, Yukon will support .NET for stored procedures. As a result, it has the potential to significantly impact a DBA's job. We're already talking about how to handle stored procedures coded in a developer's language of choice. Unfortunately, until we see a working beta of Yukon, it's all speculative.
K. Brian Kelley
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/bkelley/
K. Brian Kelley
@kbriankelley
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