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  3. Why is .NET so popular? (Serious Question)

Why is .NET so popular? (Serious Question)

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  • L l a u r e n

    that is just all kinds of wrong :wtf:

    "mostly watching the human race is like watching dogs watch tv ... they see the pictures move but the meaning escapes them"

    P Offline
    P Offline
    Pete OHanlon
    wrote on last edited by
    #61

    Isn't it though.

    I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be

    Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

    My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx

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    • M Marc Clifton

      b_dunphy wrote:

      What I am is self taught so my grasp of programming theory is iffy at best and I know it, that is why I asked.

      Well, it really doesn't have much to do with programming theory. Microsoft wanted a language that would appeal to the Java developers, so put together something that had garbage collection so the programmer didn't have to think about it (usually), a better implementation of reflection, and was ultimately extensible into language features like lambda expressions (and LINQ), which was a nod at the functional programmers and then of course turned into a full fledged bridging functional language, F#. But also, behind the scenes, is a very useful concept, that of compiling to intermediate language (IL), also known 50 years ago as p-code (show me one thing Microsoft has actually invented that is original) that allows a pretty seemless integration of different .NET languages (VB, F#, IronPython, C#, etc), and, at runtime, can then actually emit assembly code that is tuned to the processor and system on which it's running (which can cause no end of trouble when working with Oracle's data provider.) But they also ended up with a language they truly owned (please, let's not delude ourselves that C# is anything other than what Microsoft wants it to be) which gives them tremendous long term leverage in a variety of markets. You can now write C# code instead of PL/SQL in SQL Server, if you look at the metadata that DevExpress's XtraReports generates, it's actually C# code, and so forth. The .NET framework is very flexible, even for its drawbacks (which I don't encounter too often), and provides a real solid foundation on which to build even higher level frameworks, which unfortunately Microsoft is mired in at the moment (WCF, WPF, multitasking, etc) without what I think is a comprehensive, in depth understanding of the problem domain. But that's me. :) And management falls into the trap that .NET is a better environment because, since it does memory management, programmers will make less bugs, since C# is like Java they don't have to do a lot of "retooling of their resources" (as in, spend money training people with new skills), and since .NET supports VB, they hire programmers on the cheap here and in India, and worse, they can even do some of the programming themselves. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. In Microsoft's case, they pave the road to hell. But actually, C#, F#, and .NET are really cool. I d

      P Offline
      P Offline
      Pete OHanlon
      wrote on last edited by
      #62

      A cogent, lucid and superlative argument delivered, as usual, with aplomb. I couldn't have put it better myself.

      I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be

      Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

      My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx

      M 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • P Pete OHanlon

        A cogent, lucid and superlative argument delivered, as usual, with aplomb. I couldn't have put it better myself.

        I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be

        Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

        My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx

        M Offline
        M Offline
        Marc Clifton
        wrote on last edited by
        #63

        Pete O'Hanlon wrote:

        A cogent, lucid and superlative argument delivered, as usual, with aplomb. I couldn't have put it better myself.

        Just trying to increase the wisdom units! Marc

        P 1 Reply Last reply
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        • L l a u r e n

          apologies if i misunderstood you i thought you were saying .NET was a good way to write web apps if you were saying it is better than using c++ then i would probably agree if you are saying it is "a good way" to write them i stick to my original opinion microsoft do not understand the web ... do not appear to want to understand the web ... and keep trying to get proprietary tools adopted (and failing miserably) ... in short they suck at web and should stick to what they do best, which is (i think) desktop apps nd frameworks if i sound jaded maybe it's because i have had to spend a lot of time using IIS and .NET for web and frankly it's crap

          "mostly watching the human race is like watching dogs watch tv ... they see the pictures move but the meaning escapes them"

          W Offline
          W Offline
          wout de zeeuw
          wrote on last edited by
          #64

          Tried ASP.NET MVC yet? I rather like it. The aspx look short and to the point, not too much plumbing to be done. Urls look neat too.

          Wout

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          • J Jim Crafton

            Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:

            5. Visual Studio - Mainly .NET

            And see how frequently people here bitch about it being buggy and slow. Now whether or not that's the fault of .NET, or the developers, or some combination, who knows, but it's not exactly a positive endorsement. Personally VS 2008 drives me up the wall, since I do a mix of C# and C++ coding, and I really long for the days of VS6.

            ¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! Personal 3D projects Just Say No to Web 2 Point Blow

            W Offline
            W Offline
            wout de zeeuw
            wrote on last edited by
            #65

            Jim Crafton wrote:

            Personally VS 2008 drives me up the wall, since I do a mix of C# and C++ coding, and I really long for the days of VS6.

            VS6 has already been released you know, what are you waiting for? :laugh:

            Wout

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            • F fjdiewornncalwe

              You looking for your punch card collection, Henry?

              I wasn't, now I am, then I won't be anymore.

              H Offline
              H Offline
              Henry Minute
              wrote on last edited by
              #66

              Don't have to look for them. I know exactly where they are. They are in the storage box along with my 5.25inch disks, the DOS 6.22 and MASM 4.?? installation disks. Trouble is I don't remember where the box is. :laugh:

              Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.”

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              • P Pualee

                I bet the young-uns here don't even know what a dip-switch is.

                H Offline
                H Offline
                Henry Minute
                wrote on last edited by
                #67

                Don't see why not. Several of them are dip-sticks, same family. :-D

                Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.”

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                • B b_dunphy

                  I have some limited experience with C# and VS 2008 and I don't understand why the .Net framework is so popular. It is a meta environment running on top of the operating system just like Java and the non-Windows implementations do not have all of the capabilities of the Windows version so it's not truly cross platform. I don't see why -- other than Microsoft's semi-forcing the issue -- someone would choose to use this. Shouldn't Win32/64 code run just as well, if not better, since there is no runtime between the code and the system? I can't help thinking of Java or even UCSD P-System Pascal when I look at this. I realize .Net has a large amount of built-in functionality but the same thing could be implemented in native code as well. What am I not seeing here?

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  Member 96
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #68

                  As an owner of a business application software shop who switched our commercial apps from native to managed many years ago I can tell you exactly what you're not seeing: Vastly reduced time to market, vastly reduced support footprint, vastly reduced distribution file size, vastly reduced overall tech support commitment and it's far safer to make changes to the code without fear of everything blowing up horribly so we're more apt to make changes and improvements and implement new suggestions` to already proven and released code bases. That's why we use it and for no other reason. Now if you're a hobbyist or a huge shop, say in a private company making in house software with an unlimited budget and manpower by all means choose to do native development but doing new business and general app development in a non managed environment is just plain archaic in this day and age.


                  “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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                  • M Marc Clifton

                    Pete O'Hanlon wrote:

                    A cogent, lucid and superlative argument delivered, as usual, with aplomb. I couldn't have put it better myself.

                    Just trying to increase the wisdom units! Marc

                    P Offline
                    P Offline
                    Pete OHanlon
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #69

                    Ah. I tried the wisdom thing a while back. It didn't work for me. Now, I just go for the sneering, superior attitude.

                    I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be

                    Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

                    My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx

                    M 1 Reply Last reply
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                    • N Nemanja Trifunovic

                      b_dunphy wrote:

                      What am I not seeing here?

                      You are not seeing that a popularity of a technology has little to do with its technical qualities. Why is PHP popular? Why is C popular? Why is Java popular? Why is Scheme not popular? Why is Haskell not popular?

                      utf8-cpp

                      C Offline
                      C Offline
                      CPallini
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #70

                      Nemanja Trifunovic wrote:

                      Why is Scheme not popular?

                      Because of Leppie? :rolleyes:

                      If the Lord God Almighty had consulted me before embarking upon the Creation, I would have recommended something simpler. -- Alfonso the Wise, 13th Century King of Castile.
                      This is going on my arrogant assumptions. You may have a superb reason why I'm completely wrong. -- Iain Clarke
                      [My articles]

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                      • P Pete OHanlon

                        Ah. I tried the wisdom thing a while back. It didn't work for me. Now, I just go for the sneering, superior attitude.

                        I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be

                        Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

                        My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx

                        M Offline
                        M Offline
                        Marc Clifton
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #71

                        Pete O'Hanlon wrote:

                        I tried the wisdom thing a while back. It didn't work for me. Now, I just go for the sneering, superior attitude.

                        LOL. I tried the sneering superior attitude for years, then wised up. :) Marc

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • B b_dunphy

                          I have some limited experience with C# and VS 2008 and I don't understand why the .Net framework is so popular. It is a meta environment running on top of the operating system just like Java and the non-Windows implementations do not have all of the capabilities of the Windows version so it's not truly cross platform. I don't see why -- other than Microsoft's semi-forcing the issue -- someone would choose to use this. Shouldn't Win32/64 code run just as well, if not better, since there is no runtime between the code and the system? I can't help thinking of Java or even UCSD P-System Pascal when I look at this. I realize .Net has a large amount of built-in functionality but the same thing could be implemented in native code as well. What am I not seeing here?

                          L Offline
                          L Offline
                          Lost User
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #72

                          b_dunphy wrote:

                          and the non-Windows implementations do not have all of the capabilities of the Windows version so it's not truly cross platform

                          There's first a distinction between web-applications that run on a server and desktop applications. Whatever language you choose, there will hardly be any language providing a seamless move between those two architectures. You can host a web-server, or run desktop-applications on different platforms if you'd like. Or console-applications. Or services :) I'm running Suse Linux, using MonoDevelop (.NET 4 by now). Not for web-applications, but for desktop-applications. No, not using the GTK# binding, but using WinForms. Why? Well, it's supported under Mono, and Linux hardly requires any resources.

                          I are Troll :suss:

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                          • M Marc Clifton

                            b_dunphy wrote:

                            What I am is self taught so my grasp of programming theory is iffy at best and I know it, that is why I asked.

                            Well, it really doesn't have much to do with programming theory. Microsoft wanted a language that would appeal to the Java developers, so put together something that had garbage collection so the programmer didn't have to think about it (usually), a better implementation of reflection, and was ultimately extensible into language features like lambda expressions (and LINQ), which was a nod at the functional programmers and then of course turned into a full fledged bridging functional language, F#. But also, behind the scenes, is a very useful concept, that of compiling to intermediate language (IL), also known 50 years ago as p-code (show me one thing Microsoft has actually invented that is original) that allows a pretty seemless integration of different .NET languages (VB, F#, IronPython, C#, etc), and, at runtime, can then actually emit assembly code that is tuned to the processor and system on which it's running (which can cause no end of trouble when working with Oracle's data provider.) But they also ended up with a language they truly owned (please, let's not delude ourselves that C# is anything other than what Microsoft wants it to be) which gives them tremendous long term leverage in a variety of markets. You can now write C# code instead of PL/SQL in SQL Server, if you look at the metadata that DevExpress's XtraReports generates, it's actually C# code, and so forth. The .NET framework is very flexible, even for its drawbacks (which I don't encounter too often), and provides a real solid foundation on which to build even higher level frameworks, which unfortunately Microsoft is mired in at the moment (WCF, WPF, multitasking, etc) without what I think is a comprehensive, in depth understanding of the problem domain. But that's me. :) And management falls into the trap that .NET is a better environment because, since it does memory management, programmers will make less bugs, since C# is like Java they don't have to do a lot of "retooling of their resources" (as in, spend money training people with new skills), and since .NET supports VB, they hire programmers on the cheap here and in India, and worse, they can even do some of the programming themselves. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. In Microsoft's case, they pave the road to hell. But actually, C#, F#, and .NET are really cool. I d

                            B Offline
                            B Offline
                            b_dunphy
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #73

                            Yes, thank you. I was thinking about half of this but didn't know how to phrase it. What I was thinking was .Net looked like a souped-up VM with a really extensive bundled framework yet some people attack Java because of its VM and praise .Net which is really just Microsoft's answer to the same problem. I was unaware IL was compiled to ML before execution. I had heard "JIT compiler" before but the compiler part didn't quite click. The reason I was asking is I find myself in need of a program that can run on Win and OS X and share data files between them (my comp is a boot camped 2007 iMac running OS X 10.6 and Vista HP) and was trying to decide whether to use C# or C++ for the Win version. Mac is Obj-C cause XCode is free and came on the OS DVD. I got VS 2008 Standard on the discounted "fire sale" pricing just before 2010's release after originally trying to code the app in REALBasic and spending more of my time working around their bugs and semi-implemented features (for example the Speech command works in Mac and Win but not Linux; REALSQLDatabase has bugs in the OS X implementation but the same code works correctly in Win and Linux.)

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                            • P Pete OHanlon

                              b_dunphy wrote:

                              What am I not seeing here?

                              Commercials. You answer it yourself when you say:

                              b_dunphy wrote:

                              I realize .Net has a large amount of built-in functionality but the same thing could be implemented in native code as well

                              Yes you can create these items in your own framework, but the key things are that somebody else has already done this for you and this cuts things out of the development that you don't have to do for yourself. Couple this with the fact that you get the benefit of thousands of others testing the framework for you, then this serves to inspire a lot of confidence in the corporate suits. I used to write applications in Informix 4GL, and I could crank out database applications very, very quickly. Then I moved over to C and my productivity dropped. Moving on to C++ and Windows improved my productivity marginally, but not by a great deal - fortunately I was writing applications that required raw speed over cut development times. Compare that with the VB types who could crank out database applications for companies in a fraction of the time. With the move to the .NET framework, MS has provided a framework that provides the speed of development of the VB types with a much fuller featured framework. Now, others have mentioned ASP.NET which is a much more credible alternative to Java web applications, but nobody has mentioned WPF and Silverlight. WPF makes DirectX developed interfaces easy to develop; letting you go well beyond the standard look and feel of Windows applications - effectively commercial applications can be limited only by the creativity of your designer. With Silverlight applications, we have a credible alternative to Flash applications and this has opened up a new way of developing applications; potentially targeting other platforms.

                              I have CDO, it's OCD with the letters in the right order; just as they ruddy well should be

                              Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

                              My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Onyx

                              B Offline
                              B Offline
                              b_dunphy
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #74

                              Pete O'Hanlon wrote:

                              Yes you can create these items in your own framework, but the key things are that somebody else has already done this for you and this cuts things out of the development that you don't have to do for yourself. Couple this with the fact that you get the benefit of thousands of others testing the framework for you, then this serves to inspire a lot of confidence in the corporate suits.

                              I meant Microsoft could have just as easily provided all of it as native code, as could anyone else in theory. Why do people tolerate a VM rather than just demanding Microsoft provide it as native code? It is just for the Garbage Collection or what?

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                              • H Henry Minute

                                Assembly! Assembly? You youngsters today are spoiled. Machine Code is the way to go. :-D

                                Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.”

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                                P Offline
                                peterchen
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #75

                                Clickety-Click[^]

                                Agh! Reality! My Archnemesis![^]
                                | FoldWithUs! | sighist | WhoIncludes - Analyzing C++ include file hierarchy

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                                • S Steve Mayfield

                                  Hardware Binary Editor :thumbsup: (aka toggle switches)

                                  Steve _________________ I C(++) therefore I am

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                                  Mike Winiberg
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #76

                                  BTDTGTTS! On an Elliott 903...

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                                  • B b_dunphy

                                    I have some limited experience with C# and VS 2008 and I don't understand why the .Net framework is so popular. It is a meta environment running on top of the operating system just like Java and the non-Windows implementations do not have all of the capabilities of the Windows version so it's not truly cross platform. I don't see why -- other than Microsoft's semi-forcing the issue -- someone would choose to use this. Shouldn't Win32/64 code run just as well, if not better, since there is no runtime between the code and the system? I can't help thinking of Java or even UCSD P-System Pascal when I look at this. I realize .Net has a large amount of built-in functionality but the same thing could be implemented in native code as well. What am I not seeing here?

                                    Z Offline
                                    Z Offline
                                    zuiopl
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #77

                                    The question is wrong. It should be "Why is the old stuff so unpopular". If you have ever hunted down memory bugs in C++ or done COM+ or uh(!) oh(!) try to do useful things with hosted IEControls....or the ATL/MFC mess ......shudddering when I think back.... Try parse a XML document in native code (what ever level of "native" you mean with that) In .Net you code a lot faster. => Mo Money, Bro !!!

                                    V 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • B b_dunphy

                                      I have some limited experience with C# and VS 2008 and I don't understand why the .Net framework is so popular. It is a meta environment running on top of the operating system just like Java and the non-Windows implementations do not have all of the capabilities of the Windows version so it's not truly cross platform. I don't see why -- other than Microsoft's semi-forcing the issue -- someone would choose to use this. Shouldn't Win32/64 code run just as well, if not better, since there is no runtime between the code and the system? I can't help thinking of Java or even UCSD P-System Pascal when I look at this. I realize .Net has a large amount of built-in functionality but the same thing could be implemented in native code as well. What am I not seeing here?

                                      R Offline
                                      R Offline
                                      R Erasmus
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #78
                                      1. There is lots of resources available on the net. 2) Windows is the most popular OS. .NET hooks in perfectly with Windows. 3) Its well structured and has a great IDE. 4) Its easy to use. 5) Syntax wise it supports 80% of the languages out there, making it even easier to use. 6) It gives the user a choise of language and you pay only one price. 7) Its free, ;-)... the express version that is. 8) Its cutting edge. 9) Its Microsoft, ;P 10) Can go on for the whole day!

                                      "Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence." << please vote!! >>

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • B b_dunphy

                                        I have some limited experience with C# and VS 2008 and I don't understand why the .Net framework is so popular. It is a meta environment running on top of the operating system just like Java and the non-Windows implementations do not have all of the capabilities of the Windows version so it's not truly cross platform. I don't see why -- other than Microsoft's semi-forcing the issue -- someone would choose to use this. Shouldn't Win32/64 code run just as well, if not better, since there is no runtime between the code and the system? I can't help thinking of Java or even UCSD P-System Pascal when I look at this. I realize .Net has a large amount of built-in functionality but the same thing could be implemented in native code as well. What am I not seeing here?

                                        D Offline
                                        D Offline
                                        Dwayne J Baldwin
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #79

                                        .net = productivity. Productivity = results. Period. For hundreds of millions of Windows machines, vb.net and c# are simply more productive than anything else so far. Script kiddies and native code usually means there are no deadlines and someone else is paying the bills. .net puts a roof over your head and food on the table. Seriously.

                                        Dwayne J. Baldwin

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                                        • J Joe Woodbury

                                          I love writing assembly, just can't find an excuse too. I really do believe assembly should be learned by all CS students very early on. It sheds a whole lot of light on what's really going on with the computer and makes you very jaded about claims of new technology (since you know that it's all just assembly in the end.)

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                                          L Offline
                                          Lost User
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #80

                                          To be precise: Let them solder together a little 8 bit machine first and then program it with the dip switches or hex keyboard. After that they know enough to try out a fancy compiler.

                                          A while ago he asked me what he should have printed on my business cards. I said 'Wizard'. I read books which nobody else understand. Then I do something which nobody understands. After that the computer does something which nobody understands. When asked, I say things about the results which nobody understand. But everybody expects miracles from me on a regular basis. Looks to me like the classical definition of a wizard.

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