On 2005-04-13 13:22, Dave Bernstein wrote: >http://www.appforge.com/products/enterprise/crossfire/index.html > > Well, we'll just have to disagree on this. As for the above link, I found the statement "/AppForge Crossfire uses industry standard tools and languages such as Microsoft C#, Visual Basic .NET, and Visual Basic 6/." especially amusing.
>Java, because it evolved from C and C++, has a ridiculously cryptic syntax. > I can see we are on completely different wavelengths here as well; Java does not have "a ridiculously cryptic syntax". It reminds me of one criticism of COBOL (which I developed in for eight years ): "It is verbose because it has long variable names". Like a developer can't use short variable names in COBOL (or long ones in C/C++)??? Programmers that use cryptic variable names (in any language) are poorly trained, but that is not the fault of C/C++. About the only possible "cryptic" part of C is the pre/post decrement operators (which Java has) and "*pointer" references (which Java doesn't have), and that certainly doesn't take any time to learn. Java has references (without the "*" syntax), but references are an important part of modern langauges. The rest of the syntax of C and Java is not that different from Algol or Pascal or other similar languages. C++ has its good points, but I will agree with you that portions of it are unnecessarily obtuse and cryptic (but then Microsoft can't even get their C++ compilers correct). However, programmers that don't learn an object-oriented language like C++, Java, or C# are doomed to be mired in the past (sorta like CW). However, Java has fairly unique feature: No GOTOs. Despite the recognition for the past 30 years in the computer industry that GOTOs are NEVER necessary, Microsoft allows GOTOs in C#. A clear indication that they either don't understand the fundamentals of good software development, OR that they are so interested in the almighty dollar that they are afraid that they will alienate a few GOTO-diehards (who shouldn't be programming) by not including it. Do you use GOTOs??? Any at all??? Ever??? >>> Good programmers look for ways to INCREASE the portability of their code, >>> not DECREASE it. > >***Good software engineers look to understand and anticipate the needs of >their users, and develop accordingly; increasing cost, complexity, and >time-to-market to achieve unnecessary portability can be fatal. > > "time-to-market" ??? For an amateur radio program that you give away? "Unnecessary portability" ??? For an amateur radio program that you would like everyone to use? Portability doesn't increase complexity; it only means that developers have to not dive in and code first and design later. Portability is only unnecessary if you don't care about the non-Microsoft market. It's a typical Microsoft-centric attitude that is especially common here in the Seattle area, with lots of ex-Microsofties (as they are called) starting their own companies, and then going belly-up in the .com bust. That's what I found so amusing about the link (above) that you sent. >***You purchased a poorly-designed, poorly-implemented application; the fact >that it happened to be built with VB was irrelevant. A similarly incompetent >author would produce comparable garbage in any language. > > Because VB doesn't have an adequate communication library (one that works the same in Win 9x and the NT/2k products), it's the author's fault? >***Yes, the code was copyrighted. No, I did not threaten legal action; I >simply expressed my dissapointment with his behavior. > And did he stop? There are a lot of people out there that need the copyright law to be explained to them. Amateurs seem to be especially guilty of this. I've visited web sites that have copied the exact same wording about a technical subject from another site, with no attribution given. People need to be told. >This is a hobby, remember? > > And that's exactly the problem I have with many of the amateur radio programs out there. The K3UK DIGITAL MODES SPOTTING CLUSTER AT telnet://208.15.25.196/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalradio/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
