I hate to even come off as tromping on this opportunity you have come across Nick. That is the last thing I would want to do. But Rick's point is really well grounded. IMHO one of the very last things that ought to be considered for a software/solution development project is what language to use, unless there is a really good reason or excuse to use a particular language due to current familiarity and knowing it will adapt well in producing a great result.
Rick has offered a lot of very important elements of consideration already, so I am going to not repeat them lest one think I am merely doing a copy/paste <g>. I am certain you will do well with this project. I just hate to see you slide into the arena of selecting a language (or other tools) before getting your hands around what the needs are. This is probably one of the biggest mistakes I see newly certified "software designers and engineers" make, selecting the tools before really knowing what they are up against. Best of luck! Gil > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Rick Schummer > Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 4:28 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: A Question of Strategy / Crystal Ball required > > > I think you missed my point Nick. The choice cannot be really > discussed with a lack of information. > Even with the details you posted in response to the post by Gil > and myself. There are too many > unanswered questions. > > Database of 10 tables is not enough details. I can build a one > table database that has a billion > transactions a day. If you tell me you have one table some people > might conclude MS Access could > have the horsepower. Throw in a billion transactions a day and > people will change their mind. See my > point now? <g> > > What about the security of the data? What about the security of > the source code? What about the > future enhancements? Are their certain ActiveX requirements? A > Web Component? Is a super rich UI > necessary for marketing? What are the competition offering? Is > there a third-party product > available? > > What about developer resources, their skill sets, and size of > training budget? What about size of > budget for the retooling? What research has been done to look at > all the language/tool alternatives? > Can the company even afford the time to come up to speed on the > new tools? Will a competitive > advantage be forgone? > > Too many questions. Too many possibilities. > > Rick > White Light Computing, Inc. > > www.whitelightcomputing.com > www.swfox.net > www.rickschummer.com > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of NickC > Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 02:58 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: A Question of Strategy / Crystal Ball required > > Vague spec: > All encompassing line of business application, for ten to twenty users. A > couple of say ten table databases plus document management, which could be > another ten table database. Also other external ancillaries, routing of > incoming faxes, iSMTP event sink to route incoming emails, input scanned > documents etc. Basically a Company wide integrated database solution. > > 64bit - That's were the crystal ball comes in, I do not foresee > any genuine > system need for 64bit, but in five years time it might transpire to be a > marketing disadvantage to not be able to run on a 64bit server, then again > it might not matter. > > Database storage - I see no reason why the database cannot reside on the > Companies internal server, which is also their SMTP mail server; > most of the > access will be from internally anyway. There are already a couple of VPNs > in place to allow remote users to connect to that internal server. Maybe > some restricted remote web access might be necessary at some point. > > Nick > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > > Of Rick Schummer > > Sent: 09 December 2007 17:12 > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: RE: A Question of Strategy / Crystal Ball required > > > > You forgot to mention some or many of the key requirements. I am not > > saying you are doing this, but > > this is where most strategic consultants make a big mistake in > my opinion. > > Pick a language before > > understanding all/most of the requirements. I have worked on too many > > project recoveries where the > > developer picked a language and development tool set based on one > > requirement: what do I need on my > > resume. Sickening. I have walked into project proposal processes where I > > was told what the tools > > were before the project was defined. Skipped it and watched the > failures. > > > > You need to start by collecting the requirements for the project. So far > > you stated two - investment > > timeframe, and maybe a need for 64-bit. If the requirements are done, > > which I would assume is the > > case based on your question, you have to determine the best platform(s) > > for the job (database > > platform, replication schemes, servers (onsite or hosted), workstations > > vs. dumb terminals vs. > > portable (could be a mix), OS mix, distributed vs. local, etc., etc., > > etc.) > > > > Language is important, but probably the most insignificant of > the choices > > you have before you Nick. > > > > Rick > > White Light Computing, Inc. > > > > www.whitelightcomputing.com > > www.swfox.net > > www.rickschummer.com > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > On Behalf Of Nick Causton > > Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 11:07 AM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: A Question of Strategy / Crystal Ball required > > > > The age old question again I am afraid - which language to use? > > > > We are maybe looking at a largish <$200k development for which > we want to > > get returns for the next ten years, longer if possible. Now lets assume > > that I am being employed as a Strategic Consultant to examine which > > development environment is right for the job, where do I start? > > > > Now I know what the natural answer from most people here is likely to be > > but... bearing in mind the lack of 64-bit future and our ten year > > expectation is that still the right choice? > > > > I look forward to the ensuing discussion. > > > > > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ 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 Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** 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.
