Four responses to notes raised in this thread: Back in the 90's I was as big on Java and more open initiatives as VB, but the MV world wasn't interested. Earlier in this decade I was on a quest to create Linux desktop app interfaces for MV but no one seemed interested. So I planted a firm foot in the .NET market and got a fast reputation as a Microsoft zealot. Go figure. Today most of the solutions I advocate are based on Microsoft tools simply because they work consistently for all MV platforms. If this market had a firm demand for something else, I'd offer solutions using the preferred technologies. I still blog about using cross-platform Flex for MV GUI development, and development for iPhone and other non-Microsoft mobile platforms, but no one seems to be interested. Hardly anyone mentions Python, PHP, Perl, Ruby, or other cross-platform tools in this industry so they're hardly worth pursuing as more standardized solutions. For all of the love of open software that we see expressed in these forums, we can probably count on a few fingers how many people in this market actually write code at the OS level to integrate with their MV environment. People love to bash Microsoft (and it's usually well deserved) but I don't see any other technologies that are clear winners in this market. What I'm seeing out there is .NET versus a world where people are reticent to move forward due to uncertainty and lack of confidence in anything that's out there. I got over that speedbump years ago and I've been happy with my solutions for about 8 years now. How many of you can say the same?
About C# and bubbling up errors, I don't understand why there is a problem. As with Java, your C# app code is instantiated in a Main function. Personally I try/catch as much as possible at the lowest levels, but for anything that bubbles up, wrap that initial instantiation in Main in a try/catch as the ultimate handler. For web applications, use the methods provided in the global.asax to trap errors, and report exceptions in the event log, via email, or by other preferred methods. If you look at my blog you'll see I've narrowed down modern client/server development to the bare basics. Browsers only support JavaScript (or VBScript) if they're not using plugins. Plugins give us Java and enhanced JavaScript, and with Silverlight/Moonlight we get C# and to some extent VB.NET, IronPython, Ruby and possibly others (I'm sure some people will be surprised at that). That's all there is and there's nothing to indicate the world is shifting to provide more alternatives in the thin client - after that we need self-updating thick clients. So if you want to do web development, pick one and run; don't wait for something else to come along. If you want to use one language in the client and on the server, Silverlight, Moonlight, and Java Applets are the only options. We can use MVBASIC as a back-end for ALL client and middle-tier languages and technologies. There's no reason to wait to do development. My ongoing recommendation is to decouple the server from the details of the client so that you can provide alternative client UI's and technologies, and completely replace your tiers as required. This is where most MV-oriented tools fail us. Finally, as far as bindings to other languages is concerned, I've written a document (that I keep editing and never get to publishing) on a new project I call mvEsperanto which allows any language to make use of any MV platform using a common API and a variety of connectivity methods. Other environments have a diversity of language bindings and it's time MV does as well - but unlike other interfaces this will not be limited to a single DBMS vendor, OS, communications interface, or other commercial/religious interests. Look for this within the next few weeks. Tony Gravagno Nebula Research and Development TG@ remove.pleaseNebula-RnD.com Nebula R&D sells mv.NET and other Pick/MultiValue products worldwide, and provides related development services remove.pleaseNebula-RnD.com/blog Visit PickWiki.com! Contribute! _______________________________________________ U2-Users mailing list [email protected] http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
