Re: VB6, VB2005, or Something Else?


Meanwhile, to read the .Net threads one would think that
the debate is mostly just about coding style differences.
People like Larry are saying, on the one hand, that .Net and
managed code are the wave of the future. No options. Get
used to it. At the same time he says, "I still regard .NET as
being mostly a server side platform for any serious work".

There's a downright weird disconnect there that doesn't
seem to recognize the ramifications implied in a mangaged code
OS.


But you don't have to write managed code if you don't want to.
You can still write native code in C++, so its not an all or nothing
venture.

Yes, and I can write it in VB - for now.

Managed code just makes it easier to write software for
Windows.

And it's easier still to write VBScript applets in an
IE window. There's a place for everything.

But unless your writing for an intranet, or the backend of an internet
facing web site, all that meta data in the .NET executables makes it
easy for others to look in on your intellectual property (code base).
For third party software vendors that does not bode too well....

Yes. That's part of what I was getting at: People are
pushing .Net - and Microsoft is pushing it - without distinguishing
between server side and desktop. It's a bit like a thermometer
maker saying to a cook, "You should use mercury. Everybody's
using it now." (Poor analogy, but a fun one. :)

Have a look here for why we see so much managed code info (vs
native code info) coming from MS:
http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/03/26/561172.aspx


I'm not sure why you pointed to that link. To show
that there's no risk of losing access to native code?
We already are losing access unless we switch to
C++, and I don't feel confident about what will happen
there. I can see how you might view that as a Chicken
Little attitude if you're finding .Net useful and are not
very much concerned with desktop software, but that
blog's logic of "We're pushing .Net because it's what
everyone is using." leaves something to be desired.

One could as easily say that Microsoft is publishing .Net
articles in MSDN magazine because that's what people
are reading. Of course they are. It's all there is! I haven't
bought MSDN of Visual Studio (formerly VBPJ) for years
because there's nothing in them but .Net.

Frankly, I don't think that Tom Archer is saying much
of anything in that blog. It reads like a marketing
brochure, as does nearly all of what comes out of
Microsoft.

[ [
Target Audience - If you ever want the definitive answer for why we at
Microsoft do something, follow the metrics. The Visual Studio and .NET
Developer Centers are - by far - the two most popular Dev Centers (in terms
of traffic and users)......
Therefore, one way of answering the question of why we post so much managed
code content (relative to native code) is via the old adage, "We don't make
the news; we only report it."
] ]

That sounds very much like one of Bill Gates'
disingenuous humdingers, when he says things like,
"We listened to our customers and they told us
that they wanted higher pricing with more features."

Many Microsoft press releases use that same tack:
Our customers want us to do what we're doing, and our
customers are all we care about...blah, blah, blah.

According to figures I've read there were estimated to
be 10 times more VB programmers than C++ programmers
when .Net started out. I don't remember Mr. Gates sending
out any sort of survey asking how many people wanted
to keep using VB.




.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Python/Wx dot net
    ... >I'm anxious to hear how Microsoft has managed to convince you they can ... I thought managed code would prevent, among other things, things like ... My understanding is that 32bit native code will be run by the 64bit ... there will still be native 32 bit apps running under 64bit windows. ...
    (comp.lang.python)
  • Re: Connecting to the Internet
    ... > APIs was a lot easier than learning Registry APIs.) ... be installed in all versions of Windows that you choose to support. ... I hope you don't mind me saying you have "missed the boat". ... Vague questions such as that are often ignored in Microsoft newsgroups ...
    (microsoft.public.vb.winapi)
  • Re: Laptop Hunter ads
    ... And so we've been running these PC value ads. ... Just giving people saying, ... call from the Apple legal department saying, hey -- this is a true story ... Microsoft with specific objections about how the ads were misleading, ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: Activating Windows XP Home
    ... I have a query with reference to how many times we can activate our copy of XP before we need to call Microsoft. ... I formatted my computer a couple of days ago and installed a fresh copy of XP Home and after installation, an automated message appeared on my computer saying something like, my hardware had changed and that I needed to verify and activate my copy of XP. ... I fully realise that making major hardware changes would probably need me to reactivate XP so I clicked on the link in the system tray and activated Windows online, ... coherce unsuspecting/uninformed customers into buying another license and there are recent reports here of even the MS activation reps trying to get legitimate users to buy another license needlessly. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Laptop Hunter ads
    ... And so we've been running these PC value ads. ... Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey -- this is a true story -- saying, "Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices." ... Now, if you told me that Apple's legal department had contacted Microsoft with specific objections about how the ads were misleading, I might believe that. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
Loading