> > <<Are people working on "C-squared" or natural language > compilers as we speak? Probably.>> > > I nearly did a PHD in this 20 years ago so you would think > they would have it by now. I always figured that APL was a > step in this direction just that the person they modelled was insane.
And holographics and robots that look and feel like we want them to (no sexual connotations intended <g>) > Conversion to another platform is a major investment in time > and productivity and it all a question about long term trends > in your market. With SQLAnywhere we may be seeing the start > of the end for the VFP database and with LINQ its advantage > in data applications But still, just because there are cheap power screwdrivers on the market, there are still old-fashioned hand-held screwdrivers on the shelves. > but that doesn't mean that for the next > 10 years VFP will still not be the single best tool to > deliver a complete application, simply and quickly with > minimal overhead on a small platform. Yeah! > The open source model has some great strengths for systems > you can deploy as part of the project (and a nice chargeable > part of the bill the customer can understand) Agreed. I love open-source. I truly wish VFP were open-source! > and .NET gives > the corporate world a level of consistency it needs to move > forwards with the risk it is willing to take. MS's encroachment into IBM's business with .NET and the corporate direction is doomed. IBM will squash them like cockroaches <G> > In twenty years there may be a consolidation of platform > resources (all databases will have identical > interface/procedural languages and all OS will support a > common library set) but a wider selection of OS and > development tools that allows better tailoring to needs. Sure. Languages being like so many templates over a translation layer that talks to the OS. Essentially, that's what we have today, except we can still know the OS is there and can reach it. In the future, the OS will at least be better insulated or just completely masked from an applications point of view. > What you need to do is decide how you are going to position > yourself now for the changes you will face in 10 years for > the following 10! Or sitting on the beach of an island in the south pacific, with a girlie robot or two bringing me ice tea and snacks while talking with developers in holographic windows suspended in mid-air <G> Bill > Michael Hawksworth _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
