Re: Delphi and the .Net platform

John Moshakis wrote:
What specifically do you mean by there is no .Net 3.0+ support ? Is
that language and IDE enhancements ?

Here are the big things for .NET 3.0:

- WPF (Windows Presentation Framework)
- WCF (Windows Communication Framework)
- WF (Windows Workflow)
- Windows Cardspace

Here is .NET 3.5+:

- LINQ
- Other C# language enhancements: Lambda/Anonymous Types/Implicit Typed
Variables
- ASP.NET MVC
- Silverlight

I presume those using Delphi for .NET would take any one of those things
by 2009. Nothing on the roadmap indicates there will be any tool
support for any of it.

You can do wcf in Delphi, I would like to see support for asp.net mvc.

Since it's all based on CLR 2.0, it's possible to build a full WPF
application as well. But without tool support, it's a heck of a lot
harder to do. It's less productive and just not worth it.

The main point is that none of .NET 3.0+ is on the current roadmap. Not
even a mention like those items in "Beyond Commodore". A strict reading
of the roadmap makes me believe that it's more likely that we'll get
"cross-compilation for other operating systems" than LINQ in Delphi or a
WPF designer.

Certainly a roadmap is subject to change, but as it is now, that's what
it says to me. Do you see anything different?

I found it quite interesting that I can use the mvc framework in vs
2005. So I presume its a just a case of making sure that you can
compile against the 3.5 assemblies and adding wizard support through
new items.

Again, it's not about what you can possibly do with a CLR 2.0 compatible
compiler. We can always reduce things down to MSIL; but for most that's
not the level we'd want to code at for maximum productivity.

IDE support is critical for effective .NET development. CodeGear's
current roadmap shows very little for .NET 3.0+. They've already said
they're going to pick/choose what portions of .NET to support based on
providing their customers with a "solution". Great, provided that they
pick the parts that are important to *my* solution.

So what parts are they going to pick? ISTM, that's what the roadmap
should indicate. But as it is now, they have a full plate and haven't
really picked anything. Best I can glean from their roadmap is that
..NET data access is the part that's going to receive the most attention.
Not to mention that .NET continues to expand at a blistering pace.

Does CodeGear have the capacity/resources to pick even one major thing?
Which one? LINQ? WPF? WF? SilverLight? MVC? Will the
implementation be better than what I have with VS.NET today or even
close to the same time frame in the future? Are they going to pick the
things that I want/need?

In choosing a .NET development tool for the long haul, why would I
choose anything but VS.NET? The risks are simply too high to choose
Delphi for .NET, even if it were *significantly* better in some areas.

--
Brian Moelk
Brain Endeavor LLC
bmoelk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
.

Relevant Pages

  • RE: WPF v Windows Forms
    ... WPF is Microsoft's unified presentation subsystem for Windows and is ... Letting WPF applications use these existing controls can make sense in some ... Microsoft Online Community Support ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.framework.windowsforms)
  • To load managed DLL
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  • Re: API for WPF
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    (microsoft.public.vc.mfc)
  • Re: Wild speculations about the "other" factors
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    (borland.public.delphi.non-technical)
  • Re: PDA development in Delphi
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