Board index » cppbuilder » Woe is me.

2003-11-04 03:37:39 AM
cppbuilder53
Hi,
What to do?
I have been programming in VB(6) for the past um{*word*249} years. Due to there
being no further development in VB, as well as the ongoing saga of
applications that don't work on clients PC's due to incompatibility issues
between MS operation systems, and the gi-normous file size of the
distribution applications, I thought it best to move to another programming
language.
I thought BCB would possibly be the answer, as I have BCB3 which I had
purchased in 1998 and stored away without use, due to time restraints. After
"playing" with it I quite liked it, and started looking about to purchase
the latest release - until alas I read articles on this NG.
Now I am most concerned - where does one go? Stay with MS's latest
VB.NET/VS.NET and continue with the same old problems in a modern
stetting? - or just carry on pursuing BCB in the hope that it will remain
compatible with the many MS operating systems existing and yet to come?
Wasting money is one thing, but time I cannot afford!
Would it be worth my while putting a lot of effort into learning C++ ? Will
C++ be a good ongoing grounding for the future?
So many questions - which way to go?
Is the answer is to stay with MS products after all - and just keep on
changing/upskilling throught the years ahead (every year or so?!).
Or does one just jump off the software merry-go-round and turn to a more
stable vocation?
Any ideas based on experience appreciated.
Lew.
 

Borland has NOT been clear on their direction (NO ROADMAP).
Micro$oft has a very committed / aggressive road map with .NET.
Your choice.
Regards,
Shane
P.S. I just started a new project in .NET (my first of hopefully many). I
decided early last month I wasn't going to get "Borlanded" again.
 

"Lew" < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >wrote:
- You are concerned only with building applications for
Microsoft's platforms.
- You would like a reliable and stable alternative to VB that's similar to VB;
and if it worked for both win32 and dotNet development, that would be nice too.
- You are willing to use a Borland product.
Answer: Delphi
kjh
 

{smallsort}

"Lew" < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >wrote in message
I think you're misinterpreting the problems. There is little question
that C++BuilderX will be compatible with future versions of Windows.
What isn't clear is whether it will be compatible with Borland's Visual
Component Library (VCL). Since you aren't familiar with VCL and don't
have a lot of existing code that relies on it, that's a non-issue for
you.
This open letter makes it clear that Borland intents to keep up with
changes like .NET and to support it in their future C++ products.
bdn.borland.com/article/0,1410,31277,00.html
--
Gillmer J. Derge (TeamB)
 

"Gillmer J. Derge (TeamB)" < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >wrote in message
people seems to recognize the the strength of BCB is the VCL, and BuilderX
does not have it, and may never get anything like it.
/sten
 

Lew,
If Borland decides to continue supporting VCL in BCBX then go with BCB
v6 for now and eventually go to BCBX.
If they don't then you could try wxWindows on BCBX or .NET. I agree
about the MS issue with different OSs and the file sizes and all that.
You need to wait a few weeks to see what Borland announces. I'm
cautiously optimistic that VCL will continue to be viable.
The cool thing about VCL at this point is that there are really good
commercial controls libraries and open source ones too:
jvcl.sourceforge.net/
and go here and search on Turbopower:
sourceforge.net/search/
I like C++!
Lew wrote:

"Sten Larsson" < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >writes:
are concerned about is how much compatibility there will be between
today's VCL code and tomorrow's CBX code. The answer is not yet
clear, unfortunately.
--
Chris (TeamB);
 

"Lew" < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >wrote:
powerful and of course is based on the VCL. Borland has committed to a
Delphi VCL for .NET as well.
 

If you're going .Net, then it won't matter much which language you use.
They use the same CLR and will perform approximately the same. Since
you come from a VB background, I'd suggest C#. That is the language MS
has positioned for your needs.
A few posters mentioned Delphi. I like Delphi and made quite a nice
living from it over the years. But I've noticed the market for Delphi
skills is drying-up. There are still a some Delphi legacy systems lying
around but I expect they will be all but gone within in a few years as
.Net continues to penetrate.
On an aside: I think Borland decision to abandon VCL/CLX and chase
Microsoft in .Net-land is pretty much corporate suicide. Not that
Borland was healthy anyway. I mean, what MIS (or Software Engineering)
department in their right mind is going to choose shaky-company Borland
over rock-solid Microsoft?
Ok. That is only my opinion.
Lew wrote:

Ken Halliwell wrote:
 

On Mon, 3 Nov 2003 14:16:00 -0600, "Shane Stump"
< XXXX@XXXXX.COM >wrote:
been...
I'm getting more and more convinced that I should always have my feet on firm
standard (or at least open sourced) ground. The more propietary stuff you use,
the sooner you'll get screwed.
BTW, using C# means propietary os, propietary frmaework and propietary
language. You've been warned.
 

the CLI was an impossible task. VB.net is a very nice development
environment.
 

almost not delphi work in the philadelphia area.
Lew. Learn VB.net and dont look back.
 

"Mike Margerum" wrote:
Peter
 

have to learn from your (really bad) mistakes and cut your losses.
Most of these abandoned developers will move to vb.net and finally
learn what a kuldge vb6 was. Whats so hard about migrating to vb.net?