Hi, > Thanks for the candid opinion on .Net. I've been > wondering what it's like. I was motivated to look at > C# thinking that it was just like Delphi (but maybe > not?) but has a future.. > > As far as working, I'm concentrating on being a > shareware author as it is the most satisfying (only > ignorant general public is my boss ;-). You sound like > a good programmer who efficiently programmed yourself > out of a job.. just proves once again that "nice guys > finish last" in our pathetic, shortsighted culture. > The japs would have kept you on retainer knowing a > valuable asset/investment when they see one..
Without wanting to sound contrarian, I thought I'd just point out that the picture being painted about the value of Delphi skills is IMHO overly negative. At least where I am here in the UK I'm still contacted by recruiters looking for people with Delphi skills (and this, despite the fact that I've not really bothered to keep in touch with them for an extended period of time - more than 3 years or so). Also, it (Delphi skills) appears to often be a plus for jobs with C# requirements (some of which is apparently cross training type setups), based on my browsing the job sites. It is true that there are more VB jobs out there, however being in a highly "populated" skills area also arguably makes you more expendable and your probable salary consequently lower, even if the chances of finding a job might be less. Finally, as for the trouble you might get into with knowing only one language: I am of the humble opinion that (to some extent at least, especially if you're in this "professionally"), it's mandatory to have a pragmatic approach to your skill set: What I mean is you must do like Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas recommend in their excellent book "The pragmatic programmer": "An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." They recommend managing your knowledge/skills portfolion like a financial one -- don't put all your eggs in one basket (don't have just one skill/language), review and rebalance your "investments", "buy low, sell high" (learn new emerging technologies) etc. In terms of actually aquiring this "intelectual capital" with which to fund your portfolio they make several recommendations, including "Learn at least one new language every year", "Read a technical book each quarter", "Read non-technical books too", "Take classes", "Participate in local user groups", "Experiment with different environments" (Windows vs. Unix for example), "Stay current" and "Get wired." (p13-15) As they say, it's "important to continue investing" and "It doesn't matter whether you ever use any of these technologies on a project, or even whether you put them on your resume. The proecess of learning will expand your thinking, opening you to new possibilities and new ways of doing things." (If you can't tell yet, I really like this little book, agree with most of their points, and think it should be on every programmers bookshelf.) As for C#, I'm becoming rather partial to it actually... I'm currently using it for as the pimary language in a a .Net program analysis related project I'm doing as part of my MSc. IMHO Anders's hand in C# and the .Net FCL shows. (Which is not to say it's perfect -- there are some "argh" moments in C# as well... but on the balance of it I'm rather favourably swayed.) I've also sent for the Visual Studio 2005 Beta experience program and I quite like VS 2005 (dare I say it.... I'm think I'm turning to the darsk side... ... ) BTW, in case anyone else is interested, the beta is completely free - I simply filled in the website and it was on my doorstep about a week later (see here: http://www.microsoft.com/emea/msdn/betaexperience/ ) The kit includes Beta SQL Server 2005 edition, some kind of Team Foundation server software I've not looked at yet, Visual Studio 2005, another that I forget the contents of now, and a 8.5Gb DVD with training material showing you how to use VS2005 etc. Can't beat that for the effort of filling in a webpage... Anyway, I'll probably continue using Delphi until further notice (I'm not planning on abandoning it just yet), although it's likely I'll also start using C# (and *maybe* VB.Net, if I really must) where appropriate in my work soon. That's my £0.02 worth anyway , Best regards to everyone Walter ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Most low income households are not online. Help bridge the digital divide today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/cd_AJB/QnQLAA/TtwFAA/i7folB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ----------------------------------------------------- Home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/delphi-en/ To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/delphi-en/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
