should we use .net or java

[camelman]

This should spark off quite a discussion.
I have been talking to developers about what they think I should be using for developing client server apps. The ones who have worked with VB6 and Java all say that things just work better in java. They have to fight with their VB code to get things working because it just doesn't always do what its supposed to.

I went to Microsoft devdays and was blown away by the promises quick and stable projects. Is .net riddled with bugs like VB6 was or is it the ultimate new platform/IDE?

Another point is that Java servers are much cheaper (sometimes free) to set up than Microsoft servers and they don't get hacked as often.

Any opinions.

 

[topramen]

.net

 

[chiph]

1) Java is cheaper (unless you're using a Enterprise Beans server)
2) Java is more mature
3) .NET is faster
4) Java is multi-platform (but with Windows on 90% of the world's PCs...)
5) .NET is a 1.0 release from Microsoft

Despite all of Java's advantages, I'll pick .NET because I'm able to be more productive and get my products to market sooner. Besides, I feel that .NET presents a more unified vision.

Chip H.

 

[camelman]

Have you used .net to create applications yet ?
Did you find that it behaved and did what it was supposed to? Any major bugs to report?

I really appreciate the advice you are giving me, I am finding this a hard decision to make but it looks like .net is the way.

Camelman

 

[chiph]

I've been working with the betas, a coworker has two C# books out, and we're installing the release version of Visual Studio .NET this week.

Obviously, some things changed during the betas (the database-access classes, in particular). But I've been impressed, overall. Bugs? Well it was a beta, so all kinds of bugs. But it's gotten steadily better with every code drop. I'll let you know how the release version looks.

Chip H.

 

[camelman]

Thanks I look forward to hearing about whether the release version has many bugs.

I will probably use VB and not C# because I am more familiar with VB. I haven't worked on C since I used visual C when I was studying and found it painfully difficult to get my projects to compile.

 

[chiph]

Well, the release version is installed. The development environment is at least twice as fast as Beta2 (The benefits of a release build and not a debug build

I haven't had any crashes so far, even doing things that caused problems before. So, no bugs thus far.

You'll want to upgrade your development hardware for Visual Studio .NET. You'll want at least 256mb RAM, and a display capable of at least 1280x1024 (1600x1280 would be better). Now is the time to get a 21" monitor, or perhaps two 19" monitors with a dual-head display adapter. My laptop with a 1024x768 display is just not cutting it. :-(

I would say that it doesn't matter if you use VB.NET or C#. The language differences are really quite minimal, and others have pointed out that going from VB6 to VB.NET is like learning a whole new language anyway. You'll spend most of your time learning the .NET framework anyway.

Chip H.

 

[camelman]

I just upgraded my machine recently to a thunderbird 1400, 512MB Ram and a 19" monitor.
This was a bankrupting experience but one I found well worth it. I am going to install the release version soon so I can start playing around with it.

My worry was not so much that it would crash but that it just wouldn't do what it was supposed to. I often found in VB 6 that you had to find ways around problems because of flaws in the programming language. I am looking forward to using .net as it looks like generally less of a pain than VB 6.

Thanks

Camelman

 

[stnkyminky]

Is there a place I can download a beta or trial version of vb.net or vs.net?

Scott
Programmer Analyst

 

[chiph]

Scott -

No. Since the product has RTM'd (Release To Manufacturing), all the betas have been removed. If you're a subscriber to MSDN Universal, you should be getting the CD's any day now. Or you can use your MSDN userid & password to download it from the MSDN website (all 1.8gb worth!).

Chip H.