Best programming suite recommendations.

From: Bob Lafleur <bob_lafleur_at_technologist.com>
Date: Thu Oct 31 20:55:01 2002

I used VS5 a lot, but refused to move to VS6 because Microsoft had some
bugs in VS5 that weren't fixed in 6, and they wouldn't even acknowledge
they were bugs and document them in their knowledge base... They could
easily be reproduced with a 12-step process. So out of principle, I
wouldn't use VS6. Also, VS6 had some pretty major problems of it's own
in it's early versions.

VS.NET is a whole new animal. Therefore, the initial versions (even
though there were many betas) will still have some flaws. But Microsoft
has .NET as a long-term strategy, and they've thrown a lot of the old
stuff away to pave the way for new technology. VS.NET is one of the best
new things I've seen in quite a while. I would *not* consider myself
burned with VS.NET. I would have felt that way with VS6 if it had been
my money that purchased it.

There are plenty of books on VS.NET out now. If you're not quite sure,
get a book and read it before investing in the software. Also, you can
get the .NET SDK which includes all the runtime, plus the compilers for
free. You just don't get the fancy IDE, but you can write and compile
any .NET code you want with just the SDK.

I was a little overwhelmed with the VS.NET IDE at first. But I'm quickly
becoming very comfortable with it. I really like the popups that happen
while you're typing in code, so you know what your options are at every
step of the way. (Sometimes there's a few too many popups, but I guess
more is better than not enough).

If you have something specific you want to know, or want me to try and
see how it is handled, let me know (off-list, preferrably) and I'll do
what I can to help answer any questions you might have.

   - Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-admin_at_classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin_at_classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of John Allain
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2002 9:37 PM
To: CCTalk
Subject: Re: Best programming suite recommendations.


> if you put your feelings aside and want to learn a tool that will be
> most useful in the job market, I think VS.NET is a good one to know.

What I am trolling for is people who have bought into it and
have been burned. I used v4 and v5 and had mildly positive experiences,
but was disappointed with them overall.

example: ask for a help lookup on an overloaded function on
compiled and linked (read: external references resolved) code. The help
system listed all the operation loadings and had you pick one, dummmm.

> if your anti-Windows then you won't want it.

Pro-quality, mainly.

John A.
Received on Thu Oct 31 2002 - 20:55:01 GMT