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I think Millions of Programmer is still working on Visual Studio 6.0 (including me),and they take some time to switch over to .net and here,in no time microsoft comes with new version ,GREAT 
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"I Think It Will Help"
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Alok Gupta
visit me at http://www.thisisalok.tk
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I agree they were still are fixing bugs in 1.1 when next thing they are markeying 2.0 like it is in production already. At tech-ed they aren't giving examples of 1.1 (the current version) but rather things like Widbey and Yukon. Kind of makes me feel like I am chasing the wind.
Once the latest version is released it always apears to me as if the now believe that the last version was the worst thing they could have ever released and the next on will solve all the problems. Each new version promises greater productivity and more intergration. I remember when VB6 came out and if you wanted to look the VB5 examples they were all gone. It is like "Use the lastest stuff or you are on you own".
So far I have had great fun with .net 1.0 and 1.1 and I enjoy learning new stuff. Just I feel like keeping up is pointless. I say stick with VS6 if that works for you or if your boss thinks it will work just fine. Only move versions when there is a business reason to do so not just because it is cool.
Doubin
visit me here http://doubin.forwardslash.com
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Doubin wrote:
Only move versions when there is a business reason to do so not just because it is cool.
Agreed
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"I Think It Will Help"
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Alok Gupta
visit me at http://www.thisisalok.tk
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I disagree, I think change for "extra cool" is a good enough reason. Do you write code purely for the money, perhaps you'd be happy making webpages is cobol then?
For me coding is about learning new stuff, doing things elegantly and walking away with that warm fuzzy coder feeling. Not smashing my head against the wall as I tackle with the gross inadequacies of ASP 2/3.
And whats to keep up with! I see the border as pre dotnet and post dotnet. Individual versions are a pretty insignificant issue. I'm looking forward to 2.0 for generics (mostly so I can strongly typed collections) and master pages, both of which should reduce the amount of code I need to write - which is bloody good thing!
PS: VS6.0's integration with sourcesafe is a complete nightmare.
[worldspawn]
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I'd be happy making web pages in cobol if it made me lots of $$$. I'm not that ultruistic!
I write code for money first, for fun second. Unfortunately, one of the downsides to learning the new stuff is that you realise just how far from the old stuff we've come.
My company however writes code purely and simply for money. Therefore, it will upgrade when and only WHEN there is a business case that says WE WILL MAKE MORE MONEY by upgrading.
The most amazing thing though is that all the interviews I went to when .NET first came out wanted people with .NET skills, but still had them programming in VB6. Many C++ shops that I inteviewed for still had people coding in C. I wonder why? Perhaps it's because there is just not enough business benefit for upgrading.
So you may be able to avoid smashing your head against a wall avoiding the inadequacies of ASP 2/3, but the multinational organisations reaping in huge dollars, aren't paying for the upgrade path just yet - and many of the smaller companies can't afford to either.
Upgrade when you will make money for it for you business. Upgrade if you feel like it for fun.
Peter Hancock
My blog is here
And they still ran faster and faster and faster, till they all just melted away, and there was nothing left but a great big pool of melted butter
"I ask candidates to create an object model of a chicken." -Bruce Eckel
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Perhaps smashing one's head against the gross inadequacies of ASP 2/3 presents a business case. Improved productivity can also be the foundation of a business case. My company isn't making any rush to convert their existing VB6 codebase, but we use .net for a lot of new projects. Its just easier to get things done in c#/asp.net than in VB6/ASP.
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Improved productivity certainly is a foundation for a business case. "It's cool" isn't.
The point you make about using .NET for new projects is perfectly valid also. The concern comes when you have... (as places where I've been still have)
VB5 applications.
VB6 applications.
ASP applications.
C# applications.
ASP.NET applications.
(note that this company ALSO has java, corba, jsp and J2EE applications. All because they were early adopters of new technologies)
All still in existence. And all because new projects warranted it as it IS easier to develop in the new technologies.
The downside now though - is that there is a support team still doing VB5 / VB6. There is another team supporting ASP. And yet a third team looking after the C# applications.
Mind you - none of this is Microsofts fault. While we keep jumping on the next big bandwagon - software companies will continue to provide them. That's why I think some sort of business case is vitally important. When left in the hands of us IT kids, we end up with the above situation.
Peter Hancock
My blog is here
And they still ran faster and faster and faster, till they all just melted away, and there was nothing left but a great big pool of melted butter
"I ask candidates to create an object model of a chicken." -Bruce Eckel
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The tricky thing is that you never know if "The next big thing is going to be a dud". Ever code an ASP+ page?
I have a moderate view on the whole thing.
The industry NEEDS all types of people
1. "It's cool" people who drive the technology and find the bugs.
2. People who are careful not to waste money on vapourware.
3. People who go out on their own and don't just rely on their companies to expose them to new techologies.
People we can do without are those you refuse to change, up skill, etc regardless of new information or knowledge of the benefits.
Techonology is one part of business. If someone never saw a business need for computers you would not be reading this ramnbling message.
Using new technology does not prevent business failure and job losses. Look at http://www.20twenty.com[^] they were the poster boy company for .net SA Teched 2002 doing everything in 1.0 beta, that still never stopped them from going down when the money ran out.
http://doubin.forwardslash.com[^]
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Well, if you use the .net libraries, then you *must* switch to .net. If you are using only c++, then there is little reason to switch from VC 6.0.
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ed welch wrote:
Well, if you use the .net libraries, then you *must* switch to .net. If you are using only c++, then there is little reason to switch from VC 6.0.
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"I Think It Will Help"
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Alok Gupta
visit me at http://www.thisisalok.tk
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<sarcasm>Yeah, I mean, who needs boost anyway! Partial template specialization is for losers!</sarcasm>
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I completely diagree. The compiler seems to produce much better code. The type checking is much better, and the ability to stop buffer over-runs is excellent. Intellisense and the development environment are much better in Visual Studio 2003. Plus... you can download the c++ compiler for free...
(dunno if it includes latest MFC tho)
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There's nothing like the sound of incoming rifle and mortar rounds to cure the blues. No matter how down you are, you take an active and immediate interest in life.
Fiat justitia, et ruat cælum
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The abiltity to stop buffer over-runs is useful, but not fool proof.
the compilor impoverments are only minor improvements, in comparison to the major bugs introduced to the VC7 resource editor.
Not to mention that VC7 crashes more often than VC6.
Personally I find it much quicker to copy and paste than use Intellsense.
And many of the UI changes in VC7 actually reduce usability, rather than improve it.
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This is a good thing.
It means you can skip over 1.0 and 1.1, and right into 2.0 when the time comes. And 2.0 is better than the previous versions.
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Arjan Einbu wrote:
It means you can skip over 1.0 and 1.1, and right into 2.0 when the time comes. And 2.0 is better than the previous versions.
AGREED
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"I Think It Will Help"
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Alok Gupta
visit me at http://www.thisisalok.tk
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IMO. I don't think they are going too fast, but they aren't giving developers the helping hand to jump aboard the band-wagon.
Whilst the benefits of C# and .NET are obvious once you start to using them, I still feel that Microsoft's developer resources such as MSDN spend too much time on the "cool" and flashy features rather than showing us how .NET can make our actual development lives better. Where are the examples that show us how to solve the day-to-day problems that we face during the development process?
In the last few months, they have got a little better but I still feel like they have forgotten what problems we developers face in the trenches.
Michael
CP Blog [^]
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Michael P Butler wrote:
Whilst the benefits of C# and .NET are obvious once you start to using them, I still feel that Microsoft's developer resources such as MSDN spend too much time on the "cool" and flashy features rather than showing us how .NET can make our actual development lives better. Where are the examples that show us how to solve the day-to-day problems that we face during the development process?
While this question may seem obvious - it has few obvious answers. Part of the problem is that one person's problem is not necessarily another person's problem.
There are many articles available (some great ones are right here on CodeProject). But there isn't one reference on how to do everything.
You need to start by understanding the .NET idioms - they are similar to Java idioms, but quite a bit different from C++ or Win32 idioms. Once you get your feet wet - it becomes pretty obvious that .NET is nearly orthogonal (the consistency of the API alone is a huge step forward).
But there are so many benefits. Just start googling topics of interest and include "C#" - you are likely to find something good.
Dale Thompson
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Visual Studio 6.0 came out over 6 years ago. That's pretty dated in terms of software. It's interesting to note that C++ was standardized the same year that VS6.0 came out -- because of this VC++ 6.0 doesn't conform very well to the C++ standard. The non-.NET C++ compilers that come with the .NET Visual Studios are much more compliant. For that reason alone, I would personally upgrade. It's also good to have the latest so you can personally stay educated (who knows when you'll need to find a new job).
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Come on! You can't be serious! Visual Studio 6 was released in 1998 - 6 years ago! Yes, I myself still work in it (only at work, not at home), but my company migrating to VS2003 currently, so hopefully in 2-3 months VS6 days there will be over 
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