Hi Tom: Man you have been doing this almost as long as I have you old grey beard! There have been various postings from the staff off and on on the scripting list indicating what languages they were working with. Also, the types of software they use and the implementation indicates a non managed code environment as their development platform. Their third party com API interface is not created in managed code so was not developed under managed code. Just allot of indicators point twoard the development environment including some actual talk on the Scripting list about how WindowEyes was originally coded many years ago. I think, not sure, they used Small Talk at one time but don’t hold me to it since it has been many years since I recall something along these lines. Also the old timers were working in c++ but it was obviously outside a managed code environment. Add these and allot of other things including recommended, and I think used by them, text editers up and you can get a pretty good idea of their development environment in general and it doesn’t point to Visual Studio as any primary development platform. To me it doesn’t matter what platform a developer works in but I do always recommend using the right tool for the job whenever possible. C++ is a fine, well broken in programming language with exceptional low-level capabilities. But with these come the responsibilities of doing allot of things that can be dangerous if not done very well and allot of design and programming overhead of things better done in other languages if the project is to be run under Windows and more so if not developed under a managed code environment. The .net framework is one powerful set of rapid development features that are designed to run together under windows to give the best performance and most solid and robust user experience. It has millions and millions of users, has been tweaked over decades to be pretty much rock solid, flexible and avoid things that programmers might miss when coding outside the .net environment and even is implementing parallelism and sync methods. The only other platform that I think you might find as solid would be the Apple Platform but I have never developed against it so not sure but it too has tens or hundreds of millions of developers having provided input into its development like the Microsoft .net platform. I liked the IBM languages when I worked mainframes but these days they use allot of software that is only somewhat accessible with a screen reader while the Microsoft Platform is very, very accessible. I am no longer a Programmer nor a Database Admin but just a individual who uses the computer to get things done in my real life and, since they don’t exist or are not accessible, I develop my own projects using high-level languages like vb.net or the Visual Studio Web Platform and the sql server tools under their .net platform for fast and rock solid finished products developed in a fraction of the time it would take me to do it in any of the non .net framework, low level languages. The software I develop under the .net framework just flat out works and is totally accessible and I have been running my .net programs for over 10 years now with very few tweaks other than feature enhancements including various databases and even websites and web services encorporated into the mix. This is the right tool for the job I do and I would think a good consideration for other projects that would be run against the Windows operating system. With the advent of Visual Studio 2015 I understand that you can create projects for other platforms, non windows based, as well as cell phones of various configurations but that is outside my wheelhouse but it sure sounds like there are some tools there to enhance the development of large scale projects, including scrum project management tools, by a smaller staff. I too have worked in many low-level languages, started back in the late 1970s and am leaving all the low-level stuff to the young bucks these days in favor of high-level languages to create my personal Investment Platform and other tools I find handy. It is good to hear from another developer who dates back to the punched card era, or close to it - smile. There arent many of us around on the lists I am on. Later and take care Tom: Rick USA
_______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. For membership options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/archive%40mail-archive.com. For subscription options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com List archives can be found at http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com
