.NET ------anyone developing for it yet?

[newbie~wan]

I just wanted to get some input from some TIMO people. Is anyone developing w/ the .NET platform yet? What do you think? Is it all MS has it cracked-up to be?

I know, a very general question. But I am considering taking a job developing in C# on .NET. I just wanted to get some feedback before I went any further in the consideration process.

Thanks all.

[Whir]

I was trying to do a bit back in my employed days. It's a very robust platform. I was doing VB.NET. I don't have any experience with C#, but .NET is supposed to be a kind of a unified system I thought.

[mAdMaLuDaWg]

Hey newbie~wan,
I use .NET at work. I've been through a lot of server side programming languages JSP,Coldfusion, ASP and what not. I think .NET is a truely amazing language as a server protocol(with the exception of a few quirks).
I program in VB.NET, but whatever language you program in gets compiled into 'Microsoft Assembly Language' ... the name is truely misleading coz it ain't Assembly Language at all as it only can be used with a windows platform (I think Win98+) that has the framework installed.
I really wanted to get into C# instead of VB but the company I work for happend to buy a ton of VB.NET books and I had to go along with VB.NET. From what I see, C# is much more reflective of an Object Oriented Programming Language than VB.NET and seems to be the number one favorite for .NET developers, although there isn't any difference in program output.
If u need any more help with .NET, I would be more than happy to help you out...

[Martee]

.NET is very cool. I've been working with with C#/WinForms/Managed DX for a while, and it is quickly becoming my development tool of choice.

but whatever language you program in gets compiled into 'Microsoft Assembly Language'

It's actually MSIL - Microsoft Intermediate Language.

[mAdMaLuDaWg]

Yep, but in MS whitepapers it is nicknamed 'MS Assembly Language' when explaining its function... in other words, its MS' definition of an Assembly language

[qball]

MSIL, interesting, I didn't know it had a name other than, CLI, common language interpreter or CLR, common lang runtime...

The .NET framework, supports not only the .NET stuff (VB.NET, ASP.net, etc) but also, supposedly pretty much everything else (C++, Java, PHP, python, ADA, etc).

Is it all MS has it cracked-up to be?

When has a microsuck product been what it's cracked up to be? Seriously...

.NET is basically MS's answer to java, but only for winders. Java which is hugely popular and proven, is very much a thorn in BG's side, so we do our version...

Other than that, time will tell...

http://java.sun.com/features/2000/11/dot-net.html

http://java.sun.com/features/2000/11/dotnetvsms.html

[mAdMaLuDaWg]

When I first looked into VS.NET, I saw a whole lot of features blatantly ripped off from Java as well as other languages (example would be how ASP.NET pages are compiled).
Although, I am totally on the side of Open Source, IMO, .NET will definitely emerge as a leader providing the IT market with a greater number of jobs versus Java
Here are my reasons why:
*MS had a real long BETA test of .NET, which I think spanned around 4 years. This BETA test generated a HUGE fan base. There is PLENTY of documentation out there because of this whereas documentation about Java is not that widespread (although it is still out there)
*MS has been cleverly marketing .NET which entices Businesses (such as the one I work for) with no IT personell in the management to move towards .NET
*MS is going to dominate the web services market
*Pending lawsuits with OpenSource projects that MS should win
So, to answer the question that newbie~wan had... learning .NET will guarantee you a job, although it may not be the best product on the market... All IMO, of course

[Creosote]

C# is fun. The syntax is pretty much like Java. Its easier though, it . It makes more use of properties, instead of, say, a set method as in Java.

I don't think learning .Net would guarantee someone of a job in and of itself. That is saying for someone who didn't know another language. Yes, it does make a resume more appealing for people who know other programming.

It would probably be easier to get a job knowing C++ or Java right now. And I would make a wild guess that someone with a C++ or Java background could be hired for a .Net position, but not neccessarily vice versa.

[newbie~wan]

I have programmed in C++, but never java or C#. I've heard java is a lot like C/C++, only a little bit easier to understand and use. So, if C# is a little like java, would it be fair to say C# is easier to use/program in than C++?

Thanks for all the feedback so far.

[mAdMaLuDaWg]

C# resembles Java more than it resembles C++ (although MS calls it a cross between C++ and VB).... you could also program C++ in .NET, if thats what you want. With my experience in programming, every language is basically on the same level of difficulty, its just the syntax that differs... if you get the 'programming logic' of any language, it would be easy for you to jump into another language... So I don't really think there is any difference in difficulty with all of todays programming languages... I think thats the general consensus you'll get from every1

[Nighthawk]

I created a VB.net program that would read through an MSMQ queue and run as a Windows Service.

It worked fine, and was able to chow through a bunch of MSMQ messages (~3000 a minute or so).

[Creosote]

No, C# is definately easier than C++ for a lot of things. You don't use the WInAPI to make a windows app for one.

[mAdMaLuDaWg]

Not really Creosote, you can use C++ in VS.NET and u wouldn't have to use the API.

[Creosote]

Uhhhh....if you used Managed C++...which no one uses. C++ is rarely used to make applications based on the .Net framework--its a waste of time.

The advantage of C++ is its speed, which is negated by .Net.

[newbie~wan]

Interesting.............
I like where this thread is going.

A while ago, I heard something along the lines of what Creosote is describing. Some guys from work went to a .NET conference for beginners (so its possible they got some stuff wrong).
From what they understood, since every language gets compiled to the uniform MSIL, the advantages/disadvantages of every language were, in a way, negated.

Does anyone else have any knowledge on this aspect of .NET? This topic isnt exactly the kind where you can get straight answers from a Micro$oft website.

[vass0922]

IMO MS completely blundered the .NET name... nobody has a clue what .NET really is. (by nobody, I mean the people who aren't actually working with it)

I think VB.NET IS GOD AWFUL slow to startup the first time, because it has to compile the MSIL into machine language on first run. After that it runs fine, but that first time is painful. I put a splash screen right at the start of the app, and it still takes around 3-5 seconds for the splash screen to show up after executing. I really dont see the point of using C++ in the .NET language, seeing as (as mentioned before) you don't gain anything except MUCH slower execution time.

Regarding the MS only comments there is an open source version of .NET in progress that I believe is trying to bring .NET languages to other platforms.

[newbie~wan]

Does anyone know what "Sun ONE" is? I was reading an old "Information Week" magazine, and there was a sun microsystems add for a "software development platform" called "Sun ONe". From the way they described it in the add, it sounded a lot like .NET.

The magazine was nearly a year old, and I haven't heard anything about a "sun one".
Has anyone heard of this or know what it is?