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Re: Evidence that Functional Objects is real?
Maury Markowitz wrote:
>
> "Bruce Hoult" <bruce@hoult.org> wrote in message
> bruce-829D5C.13153105112000@news.nzl.ihugultra.co.nz">news:bruce-829D5C.13153105112000@news.nzl.ihugultra.co.nz...
> > - the product won't suddenly stop working. It'll probably take at least
> > two major Microsoft OS releases for that to happen.
>
> Geez, not these days. I have three installs of Win2k now (laptop, here,
> work) and all three are different. For instance on the laptop you can't
> "pull right" the Control Panels, but at work you can. Joy.
These are UI issues, the APIs are relatively stable. Anyone using
Windows for the UI has my sympathy. Anyone whose boss believes that
software they write has to last forever (and wants them to upgrade to
the latest version of Office so they can read their memo on why), likewise.
> > - you can start using Gwydion Dylan instead. No fancy IDE, but if it
> > stops working -- or has a show-stopper bug -- then you can fix it
> > yourself or say HEEEELLPP here and someone will pop up and fix it for
> > you (possibly even in a timely manner if you offer to pay them).
>
> But again, this is of little help to a boss. Consider what happens if all
> three were to happen at once:
>
> 1) programmer in question leaves
> 2) existing compiler breaks
> 3) Gwydion isn't updated yet
Or if a plane crashes on the office... Risk management is part of any
project. The circumstances you describe could happed to any technology.
Java is hot, but imagine if MS dumped Java, didn't update the runtime,
didn't implement new APIs in it, and didn't update their compiler. Oh,
hang on... :-)
> Don't get me wrong, it shouldn't be like this. But it is.
I agree there's risk to using any technology, but no more so with Dylan
than most others. OK, "everyone uses C/C++", but if your vendor goes
down or releases a major revision, you'll have trouble porting code that
swears blind it's pure ANSI C/C++ between VC++/GNU/Metrowerks, or even
versions of the same compiler.
- Rob.
--
Rob Myers - http://www.robmyers.org/ H2G2 - http://www.h2g2.com/
MacOS wonderfulness for The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Game.
"Smash Global Capitalism! Spend less money!"
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