Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 11th Jun 2012 00:38 UTC, submitted by judgen
"Microsoft recently extended 'It Just Works' compatibility for Visual Basic 6 applications through the full lifetime of Windows 8. Visual Basic 6 first shipped in 1998, so its apps will have at least 24 years of supported lifetime. Contrast that with the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.0 (2002), which is incompatible with Windows 7 (2009)."
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RE[4]: Apps have actually gone downhill since then.
by Alfman on Wed 13th Jun 2012 04:50
in reply to "RE[3]: Apps have actually gone downhill since then."
Member since:2011-01-28
galvanash,
"Not modern ones. There is virtually no reason to 'run' UI code on the server anymore. You may host it and serve it to clients, but you certainly don't need to run anything except your data layer."
It's probably not worth my getting involved here since I do agree with your overall message - leave bad legacy code behind when possible. However I'm not sure why you made the above claim? You must know that the overwhelming majority of web apps do generate UIs on the server instead of the client. Even modern frameworks like ASP.Net have done very little to shift UI generation to the client side.
It's technically possible to shift all UI code to the client side by using ajax and eliminating postbacks, but that's the exception rather than the norm.
RE[5]: Apps have actually gone downhill since then.
by galvanash on Wed 13th Jun 2012 05:07
in reply to "RE[4]: Apps have actually gone downhill since then."
Member since:2006-01-25
You must know that the overwhelming majority of web apps do generate UIs on the server instead of the client. Even modern frameworks like ASP.Net have done very little to shift UI generation to the client side.
Well maybe I went a bit too far with that... I should have said "Not all of them". A combination of backbone.js or knockout.js with jquery on the client side can handle the UI and all the business logic - all you need on the server side is a data layer. There are other ways to do the same thing, ASP.NET has Atlas for example.
I wasn't really trying to say that this was the only way to do it, rather that server side generated UI code isn't the only way either. Web development does not necessarily involve server side complexities created by the UI code. The backend of a backbone/jquery web app is generally nothing more than a thin REST web service for fetching and retrieving your data. The nice part is you don't have to care much what the server side is (ASP.NET, python, Ruby, whatever) - it doesn't much matter.
RE[4]: Apps have actually gone downhill since then.
by moondevil on Wed 13th Jun 2012 06:29
in reply to "RE[3]: Apps have actually gone downhill since then."
Member since:2005-07-08
RE[5]: Apps have actually gone downhill since then.
by galvanash on Wed 13th Jun 2012 06:59
in reply to "RE[4]: Apps have actually gone downhill since then."
Member since:2006-01-25
I was speaking about desktop vs web development issues.
As for VB 6, it can die in peace for what I care.
As for VB 6, it can die in peace for what I care.
I don't have any issues with desktop development or fat clients if you will. My criticisms were more towards the aging technologies under the hood of VB6 (which is what limits its scalability) - not desktop development in general.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/15/13 22:44 UTC
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?More Features »
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Member since:
2006-01-25
No. It has everything to do with the middleware - and VB6 doesn't have any worth speaking of. Sure, you can add some - but it is harder than just wiring things up with ADO/RDO. Obviously that isn't an option, since the whole argument against moving off the now 15 year old dead end platform is that .NET is too hard.
I hear ya though - making your app scale is the DBA's problem...
Not modern ones. There is virtually no reason to "run" UI code on the server anymore. You may host it and serve it to clients, but you certainly don't need to run anything except your data layer. It is the same thing as putting a VB6 executable on a network share, except:
1. It can work on different platforms.
2. It works over the internet.
3. It at least can work on mobile devices if you bother.
3. Pick a language you like - there are hundreds.
4. Supports virtually any database known to man.
5. Performs extremely well when done right.
6. Scales much better than monolithic desktop apps using connection oriented, archaic things like ADO/RDO/ODBC.
7. Has the largest developer community on earth.
8. Is the way Microsoft is moving anyway...
No they don't. But 15 year old database connection components do...
There are RAD tools for the web too you know... But if web frontends don't float your boat there is WPF, Silverlight, QT, GTK+, etc. etc. etc.. At least those technologies have parts that were actually written for Operating Systems newer than Windows 98...
I know I am sounding like an ass at this point. I don't care, it's frankly infuriating. I honestly cannot understand how any rationale person can defend continued use of a 15 year old product built on extinct technology on the sole basis of "it's easy"... When I was 12 I wrote TIBasic programs for my TI99/4A - compared to modern development in practically any language it was certainly easy - but it is also irrelevent now. The world has moved on. The vendor of the tool has moved on (and then some). It's time to move on.