Re: 64-bit on the horizon? (Was Re: Vista Requirement Already)

"Jolyon Smith" <jsmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:MPG.202bc2f7bceaca9e989bb0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <45c0ed98@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Dan Palley says...
"Jolyon Smith" <jsmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Aside (and a rant - sorry): In common I am sure with very many other
who
have been waiting impatiently for 64-bit Delphi, 64-bit capability is
FAR more important than generics or partial classes, for example.

Generics, partial classes etc - these are all "nice to haves" (for some
- I personally have yet to be convinced that they are even "nice to
have". They absolutely aren't "necessary").

My understanding is that generics are necessary for Net 2.0 support, and
are
not a nice-to-have.

Yep - all part of the game of "keeping up with Jones' in the .net space
(aiui even a .net language doesn't _have_ to support generics, it will
just look pretty dumb if it doesn't, since all the rest do).

But of course, native 64-bit specifically _isn't_ .net so I'm not sure
what the relevance here is.

The relevance is that Net 2.0 support, which is coming in Highlander
according to the last roadmap, requires generics. You mentioned that one of
your options to get to 64-bit support is to target Net 2.0.

For me, 64-bit is a nice-to-have. The apps I develop wouldn't even
benefit
64-bit and none of my customers have 64-bit servers up and running
anyway.
My 64-bit servers run all my 32 bit apps just fine.

You are aware, I take it, that Vista will be the last ever 32-bit
Windows release?

I know there are updates coming out for Vista and I suppose those will still
support 32-bit. Longhorn server will most probably also come out in 32-bit
versions.

I know that Fiji and Vienna are the code names for the versions after Vista;
do you have any links as to deliverable dates or requirements?


Presumably you are also aware that 64-bit IA servers will be running 32-
bit apps at sub-32-bit speeds. Even x86-64 based servers will be
running 32-bit apps a little slower than they would on tru x86-32.

I don't believe IA64 servers (i.e. Itanium) are being targeted for any
current or fugure version of Windows. When we talk about 64-bit Windows, I
assume we mean x86-64 (i.e. Intel EMT and AMD 64).

I assume you're also aware that 64-bit applications generally run slower
than their 32-bit equivalents, so I'm not sure the speed difference is
meaningful either way. The main benefit of running 64-bit apps is access to
more memory.

Had you asked me 2 weeks ago whether 64-bit was important, I would have
said the same as you. But a lot can happen in 2 weeks and there is now
a _customer_ driven need to address 64-bit. That doesn't mean
delivering a 64-bit version tomorrow, but it _does_ mean satisfying the
customer(s) that we have a viable strategy for getting there in a
reasonable timeframe.

In any event, whether you need 64-bit now (you will absolutely need it
one day, and probably - like me - sooner than you think) generics and
partial classes are even more meaningless to your customers and none of
them have - or can choose to acquire - hardware that derives any benefit
what-so-ever from such trinkets and baubles in the language you use to
develop their apps.

CodeGear determines what features and functionality will get them the most
revenue; Net 2.0 support works for multiple platforms and, hence, probably
has a wider audience than 64-bit.

I should confess of course that part of my frustration and ire is
entirely selfish: I really would much rather not be in the depressing
position of having to recommend that Microsoft and RemObjects get the
purchase order for the dev tools required in the future, rather than
CodeGear.

If you're targeting Net 2.0 to address the 64-bit issue, then you should see
a Delphi option soon (Highlander). Chrome and C# do not create native
64-bit executables.

Dan



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