The reason is that Rb 200x is substantially different from 5.5.5 and
below. Not just the IDE changed, but Rb itself changed from being
written with Code Warrior to Rb itself, so that introduced not only
new bugs, but speed and performance issues, as well as some
retrograde stuff like loss of version control. It's not just an
incremental upgrade change but a fundamental change to Rb itself.
Also of course the RS sales model changed...
People use various prior versions if they still need to support
earlier OS versions for some reason (eg education markets and OS 9).
As you've seen from the assorted replies, a lot of people have had
problems porting older apps to 200x, so they often stick with what
works to earn them money.
People will eventually have to port to take advantage of things like
Universal Binaries and Cocoa, but there are still plenty of bugs to
iron out before then, and both of those could well be 6 months plus
away.
Most people seem to have fewer problems writing code from scratch in
2006, but many people here have been with Rb since version 1, and
some earlier than that, so they have a lot of code that keeps
breaking without feedback from the compiler (which is also relatively
new). You expect a few code breaks with new versions, but there
appear to be an awful lot with no help or logic as to what has broken.
Whilst you could write working apps with Rb 1 and 2, it wasn't until
Rb3 that it became refined (though some people may disagree!), and I
reckon that given the new codebase for Rb, about the same time will
be required, meaning that 2007 should really kick ass, but there are
problems until then.
Unfortunately RS has always been a bit slack in fixing some bugs, but
the new release model of a new version every 90 days favours releases
with new features over bug fixes to a greater extent than before, and
as you can see that model is turning some people off upgrading (often
long term users who have given an awful lot to the Rb community over
the years). The fact that many bugs have existed for over a year
(some go back two or three years) without being fixed is also a
concern for many, as is the fact that often when there is a rush to
get out a new release, the docs and especially the Language Reference
are not updated properly which is pretty unforgiveable. But bug fixes
versus new features has been a perennial debate here!
I think that with all the effort on Real World, the immediate release
afterwards is pushing the envelope too far, and is probably worth
ignoring, but that's the model RS has chosen.
I believe most of the complainers here are long term fans of Rb, who
love it, and many have followed it since its creation, in former
guise of Cross Basic, by just one man, Andrew Barry. Whilst RS has
allowed Rb to develop more quickly into a bigger and more mature IDE,
that doesn't mean that everyone agrees that RS is following the
perfect course!
This list has traditionally always been a sounding box on Rb and RS
as well as a source of help and tips, but while sometimes
frustrations set in and tempers fray, everyone ultimately wants to
see a better Rb.
On 26 Apr 2006, at 15:27, Mark O'Neill wrote:
Why are people still using RB5.5.5 (and below)
instead of RB2006r2 and, more aptly, write here to
complain that certain features don't work in their
old version of RB?
Tony Spencer
St Rémy de Provence (13) France
http://tonyspencer.blogspot.com/
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