On Wed, 2008-04-23 at 15:31 -0600, Bryan Sant wrote: > Flex is limited to ActionScript 3 (which is Adobe's implementation of > ECMAScript 4 -- aka JavaScript 2), but due to the wide use of > JavaScript, I don't think that this one language only limit is an > issue for most developers.
Suppose you needed to use some complex math library (to make it more realistic let's say it's a finance math library). If you're using ActionScript you get to reimplement it in ActionScript. If you're using Silverlight you just drop the assembly in place and you're done. I guess technically that depends on this math library being available in a .NET language but that's more likely than that it would be available in JS. > JavaFX and the soon-to-be-released Java 6u10 plugin (which makes the > JVM load fast and Java applets not suck) can access any Java class. > So you can use any langauge that runs on the JVM (which exceeds the > number of languages that can run on the CLR). Ruby, Python, JavaFX > Script, BeanShell, Groovy, Scala, Scheme, etc. Here's a link to a list of the many many languages that run on the CLR: http://dotnetpowered.com/languages.aspx Not to mention that Java can also be made to run on the CLR. > Hypothetically speaking, do you think that MS would stand idle while a > Mono/Moonlight powered world eventually starts to tip the desktop > market towards Linux? I don't think there's any risk when using Mono > right now. I agree that MS wants .NET everywhere... Right now. > However, personally, I do worry that future popularity of Linux may > eat into MS market share and that's when they'll show their teeth. My own opinion: Mono and Moonlight will never be a factor in tipping the desktop market toward Linux. They will be a factor in businesses choosing to use Silverlight vs. Flash which will be a win for MS. If the desktop market does tip toward Linux some day MS wants to be relevant and profitable anyway and pulling some patent stunt to submarine Mono and Moonlight doesn't help them win in that market. MS already knows that Linux is eating into their market share. Instead of showing their teeth they're trying to figure out how to stay relevant in a market that no longer rewards them for playing dirty. /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
