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Hi,
this is my first post to the list even if I have been reading you
for more than one year. I didn't wish to change my habits but this
thread concerns certainly end-users and down-to-earth developers,
of whom I am.
On 5 Nov 2003, Oleg Dulin wrote:
> An MS developer using XAML only needs to learn XAML. Everyone else
> needs to learn 20 different XML languages.
Plain wrong to me. I came to learn XML and its machinery
(XML APIs and co.) but now I should learn XAML and everything coming
along. That does not seem like a gain of productivity, especially if
it looks similar to existing technologies but not quite the same.
It's like learning a new (spoken) language. It's easier to make mistake
when two languages are very close (as a matter of fact I am learning
Italian and my mother
tongue is French, and you can not imagine how hard it is to remember
the tiny
differences between the both).
On 5 Nov 2003, Steve Boyce wrote:
> Just to add briefly to Oleg's good points, it seems to me that MS think
> very clearly about where their unique value is and how to leverage
> that.
> I find it hard, and also pointless in fact, to criticise them for that
> if they do it well. That is why they are a business and not working on
> GNU or whatever.
The unique value of MS is to be a monopoly, that's all.
They do not leverage that. I would applaud if they planned kick-ass
applications based on standard techs, but perhaps they don't want
because
it would mean that you won't be forced to use Windows. I do not speak
about desktop apps but really on services. Some of the features I
prefer in XML
are internationalization through Unicode and cross-platform design but,
sadly,
interoperation with other systems is of no interest for Microsoft. For
them, it is
an economic issue, but for most other users it is a question of freedom
or
even worst an economic barrier; don't be surprised if the third-world
is getting
more and more interests in Open Source software. I don't think
Microsoft realized
that internet became so popular because it was simple to use and
understand
and because it works with any OS. Four years ago I didn't know anything
in Computers
but I could enjoy and use it back in 1990 and I only discovered Windows
in 2000 (!).
Take that with a grain of salt, I do not know XAML and do not plan to
learn it
anytime soon. But maybe the day will come when I will be forced.
Cheers,
Pascal
PS: I happened to have worked for a major European company in
Telecommunication market, and the main
reasons for moving to XML were internationalization and cross-platform
access. What about that ?
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