C# & .NET - What Is The Point?

[JTeagle]

OK folks, I'm going to take an aggressive stance here - just what is the point of this "exciting new technology", and what's "new" about it?

Perhaps people could describe what all this .NET stuff does for the programmer / user that can't be done with existing languages and technologies.

In other words, someone justify it all to me.

(I'm always sceptical of new things, and if I'm going to switch to new things I want to know why I should)

Note: I bear no resentment towards MS or their technologies, but I believe that new things should only be introduced if they serve some significant purpose.

 

[kyledunn]

And it's all true ... well said Dave!

 

[twocents]

>got something up and running without spending ages >wondering why activex objects weren't being instantiated

This is an excellent point, but this has never been a problem for me. Been using Java for last two years, and can't see how C# is going to make my life easier in the least. Actually, I think it's more likely going to make things more difficult. Problems I see with it.
1) Still allows pointers (more controlled, but they are still there).
2) Microsoft owns it.
3) Nothing really new in the language. Minor things,
but nothing earth shattering.

>The key to good marketing is making people believe that >they need something that they don't. If you do your >research you will find that Microsoft has released many >duds
I think that is probably closer to the truth than anything else I've read. Maybe that is why so many people are asking the same question as JTeagle. I don't remember a lot of people saying "Why use Java?". When I started reading on Java, it jumped out at me.
1) Platform independence.
2) Garbage collection.
3) No pointers.
4) Nice API.
5) Great exception handling.
6) Easy to learn (with respect to Visual C++)
7) Open source.

Make a list of what new features C# brings to the table.
1) Increased speed.
2) Little things like, easier to write for loops.

That's about it from what I've seen. And the speed issue
is being debated. Many are saying that it's not any faster
than Java's JIT compiler.
The little tricks they introduced to make coding easier, I think really just complicates things.

I'm sure this is a big improvement over any of Microsoft technology, but I doubt it's an improvement on Java. Java will be replaced with something, but I doubt this is going to be it.

Thanks for starting this thread JTeagle. I hope to see more debates on this in the future.

 

[BlindPete]

grrrrRowl. ;-)
Wow lots more to digest.
In my experience... wizards or automated constructs are fine time savers for simple tasks (of coarse for simple task you don't need one) When I've used one for something more substantial, there always seem to be small adjustments, tweaks or format changes you have to make. It is a major pain in the arse to have to digest someone elses code to accomplish that. Plus they auto-taskers tend really lay on the over head (because they are planning for as many scenarios as possible) This was more or less ok (for me) for apps that ran stand alone, but I'm sure we can all agree that is undesirable for server based apps.

My shop here is still in "wait and see mode" but I'm not bashing MS (I like their IDEs). -Pete

 

[kyledunn]

One of the big pluses for me is that the IDE supports so many delivery environments. I'm now writing a desktop application. I can easily select a desktop color scheme that adapts to the user's choice of colors. I select from the system "Dark Control" or "Light Control" colors and if the user likes Red then he gets dark and light Red, if he likes Green he gets dark and light Green, all by point and click in the IDE. I know this is such a Microsoft thing but it makes my apps flexible for the user's preferences and it's easy for me to do. For writing Microsoft apps, it's an excellent environment. And the same IDE supports several devlivery options. I just finished one app that works with my Nokia 3360 mobile phone, my Jornada PocketPC and a standard web browser allowing secure authentication for access to an SQL server built with much of the code pulled from standard libraries. I'm glad to be taking advantage of what others have done and one hell of a good IDE.

This is not to say that if I were a Java or C++ programmer that I would make the switch. There is a lot to be said for sticking to what you know well and most computer things can be accomplished in any of these languages. I'm a C programmer from the mid 70s and for me the ease of development, oop environment, multiple delivery platforms and tons of code to pull from make this the right choice for me. I'm an early adopter and proud of it.

Kyle

 

[sweb]

Ease of use ? a few clicks and a DB app is running fine ? No hassles ? Then run Delphi. You can get a full blown DB app and I'm including stuff like MSSQL server without writing 1 line of code.
Remember one of the guys primarily in charge of creating C# created Delphi. I think from this perspective C# is compelling to me personally as the idea behind Delphi and it's beautiful and simple ease of use combined with the inevitable market penetration of a MS compiler will make C# a force to be reckoned with.
The main problem people have with Delphi is its use of Pascal and due to this it has a lack of mass take up in the big development shops..fair enough, but this will all go away with C# which is going to be Delphi for everyone (apart from MS haters of course).
I don't think this is a case of what can this language do that others can't because as said previously, you can do everything already with other compilers/languages. What is important is how easy this language/compiler makes creating those programs along with the inevitable industry standardisation this will become.
If you develop on your own then as has always been the case you can make your own mind up and stick with what you are happy using but if you contract or have any plans to move into corporate development on Windows then you are almost definitly going to have to get involved in C# at some point.