RE: Java programmer lured back by .Net (Questions)

Wow, that's a lot. I'm a developer who uses both Java and .NET and I can
appreciate the best of both worlds. When I develop in .NET I use C# which I
think is an awesome language and in many ways is superior to Java. Of course
it learned a lot from Java, and improved upon many things which Java is
slowly catching up on. Microsoft of course doesn't have to go through the JCP
which helps. You will find C# an easy transition from Java. There are
libraries within .NET that will allow you to send data over a HTTPS
connection along with handling the encoding. As far as code security you're
in the same boat as Java since it compiles down to MSIL instead of bytecode
of which both can reverse engineered very easily. Get a good obsfucator and
you will be fine. Also, yes you can use MDD within .NET. If you don't mind
the expense Rational (of course now IBM) makes tools that will allow you to
generate code from UML and back and forth. It's the same tools they make for
Java. Their Rational XDE is nice but expensive. There are other tools out
there though. .NET is much easier to work with for putting together GUI's
although using SWT gives a much nicer feel than Swing for creating Java
interfaces. They are taylored to the OS so they can get away with a lot more.
Also if you're a portability advocate, check out the MONO project which is a
great port of .NET for other OS's. Hope this answered a few questions.

"Beatrice Rutger" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I am a previous Micro$oft desertee (moved from VB/VC++ to Java before
> this whole DOTNET thing) because I had several issues with Micro$oft. I
> am not completely in love with Windoze, but I have to say that Java
> SWING sucks BIG TIME for developing and deploying desktop applications
> (especially on Windoze).
>
> Unfortunately, I have been dragged kicking and screaming back to my old
> haunts - but the landscape has changed somewhat and I would appreciate
> some feedback from people with real world experience of what I'm trying
> to achieve. Basically, I'm torn between two worlds (Java programmers
> hate me for deserting, and are trying to convince me to use the slow
> clunky SWING GUI because it's a better fit - yeah tha'll happen!), and
> in the past, I have been bombarded by .NET zealots who want me to
> re-write my whole backend to use the flaky IISP etc - and I'm like yeah
> right!).
>
> My backend is pure Java (J2EE) running on Unix - but because SWING is so
> shitty, I basically am forced to use .NET which, with its (Forms?) is
> really cool, looks good and allows you to write an application that
> really looks and feels at home on a Windoze box - and blows away crappy
> lokking SWING applications in sheer performance and looks.
>
> The problems then are this:
>
> 1). Inter-operatability (communication between the front end and backend)
> 2). Code protection at the client side
>
>
> INTER-OPEATABILITY
> ====================
> I have a J2EE backend and a .NET frontend. I need to get them to
> communicate. I do NOT want to use SOAP/XML because it is far too heavy
> weight, and I get the performance hit caused by parsing on both sides. I
> would like to use something like base 64bit encoding and servlets to
> transfer data in binary format between the backend component - I will
> issue HTTPS request from the .NET client, receive the request on the
> Servlet at the backend, process it and hand the response back (in base
> 64 bit encoded form). Any ideas about how I can do this on the .NET side
> of things (is theer a library for issuing HTTPS requests and handling
> base 64 encoded daat?)
>
>
> CODE SECURITY
> ==============
> Admitedly, this is a problem that Java also has, but we do have class
> loaders, and that (along with code obfuscation) can lead to some pretty
> secure code. I would like to be able to place my executable on my remote
> server (probably as 64 bit encoded ASII strings - since it will be on a
> different platorm) and then "load" the executables on demand from
> accross the internet - so that there are no executables on the local
> machine for prying eyes to reverse engineer. Is there anyway, I can load
> binaries from a remote location and then run it on a local machine?. I
> will be very interested in knowing if and how this can be done.
>
> I would not need to worry about code security if I was developing with
> VB or VC++ - however, the future of VB seems uncertain (is the plug
> going to get pulled on VB at some stage or what?), and also last time I
> checked (several years ago), VC++ was lousy at creating GUIs - the
> DOTNET framework has these nice forms which unfortunately, I cannot use
> in VB or VC++ without making the whole damn executable easy to reverse
> engineer - is there another way of getting the fantastic GUIs (which is
> the only reason I am back), along with the code security of ("non
> reverse engineerable") executables?. Is there a language or language
> combination that gives me the desired results ?
>
>
> Lastly, but not the least, can I use MDD (model driven design in .NET)
> you know, UML nad design patterns etc to generate the underlying code?.
> I sthere a tool that allows me to create UML designs and then generate
> the appropriate code in .NET?
>
> I look forward to your responses
>
>
> Regards,
>
> B.
>
>
>
.