Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Development
    • Development

    .Net Tools Get Serious

    By
    Peter Galli
    -
    February 18, 2002
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The launch of Visual Studio .Net gives definition to Microsoft Corp.s software-as-a-service initiative, which, until now, has been more talk than substance. Now the question is whether the tool suite will fill the needs of Web services developers.

      The Redmond, Wash., company announced Visual Studio .Net at an event here last week, touting it as the best product available for developing and delivering Web services. Developers for the most part didnt disagree.

      “I like the object-oriented approach for VB [Visual Basic],” said Todd Sax, director of technology for GTech Corp.s national call center in Boca Raton, Fla. “I have a team of Visual Basic developers, and weve been struggling with some OO for VB in general. Were really at a point of deciding to move to C to manage our OO approach. But with Visual Studio .Net and VB .Net, we can achieve what we need to achieve.”

      Sax is building a large-scale solution covering 2,000 users and enterprise applications for his companys call center and help desk systems. GTech builds and maintains lottery systems.

      “The biggest issue that we had [going with .Net] was that the new paradigm was completely different,” said John McDonald, chief architect at Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America, in Minneapolis. “Visual Basic and the old Microsoft DNA paradigms dont really work anymore. They are very different, in spite of what Microsoft says about how easy it is to convert. They are very different in terms of skill set and in terms of strategic thinking. So, we still have a journey to take. But were making it fairly rapidly.”

      Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates called Web services “the key to productivity that spans the entire economy” and Visual Studio .Net the first tool for XML Web services.

      Gates, calling Visual Studio .Net the “most comprehensive development tool of all time,” noted that CLR (Common Language Runtime) supports more than 20 languages, including Microsofts Visual Basic .Net, C#, J# and Visual C++. Others supported include Perl and Smalltalk.

      Visual Studio .Net also supports the Web services tool kits for SQL Server 2000, BizTalk Server 2002, ASP .Net and .Net Framework.

      Scott Borduin, chief technology officer at Autodesk Inc., in Surrey, England, said he likes the concept of CLR because he doesnt “have to fight the language war.”

      “The fact that you can write in any language is a definite plus,” said Ashish Kumar, CTO at Seattle-based Avanade Inc. “There is a lot of capability to natively build enterprise apps.”

      Avanade offers a Visual Studio .Net add-on called Avanade Connected Architecture, which gives developers architectural guidance and sample code for building enterprise applications with the Microsoft technology.

      Sandy Vilahu, an analyst with the California Integrated Waste Management Board, based in Sacramento, said her agency is expecting Visual Studio .Net to cut development time on Web applications.

      “We think we can cut our development times in half,” Vilahu said. “Its going to revolutionize our [Active Server Pages] apps.” Thats based on preliminary results the agency has achieved with the technology, Vilahu said.

      Tom Button, vice president of Microsofts developer and platform evangelism division, said he expects more than 2 million developers to adopt Visual Studio .Net as their primary tool set this year but added that the tools are basically the enabler to help them create applications.

      “The tools are not the high-order business value for us,” Button said. “We see it as a way to get our design time technology in front of developers. The platforms are where we make money.”

      So far, 350,000 developers have received the final versions of Visual Studio .Net and .Net Framework, and 250,000 have received .Net training.

      Peter Galli
      Peter Galli has been a financial/technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has been Investment Editor of South Africa's Business Day Newspaper, the sister publication of the Financial Times of London.He was also Group Financial Communications Manager for First National Bank, the second largest banking group in South Africa before moving on to become Executive News Editor of Business Report, the largest daily financial newspaper in South Africa, owned by the global Independent Newspapers group.He was responsible for a national reporting team of 20 based in four bureaus. He also edited and contributed to its weekly technology page, and launched a financial and technology radio service supplying daily news bulletins to the national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which were then distributed to some 50 radio stations across the country.He was then transferred to San Francisco as Business Report's U.S. Correspondent to cover Silicon Valley, trade and finance between the US, Europe and emerging markets like South Africa. After serving that role for more than two years, he joined eWeek as a Senior Editor, covering software platforms in August 2000.He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise.He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.His interviews with senior industry executives include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Linus Torvalds, the original developer of the Linux operating system, Sun CEO Scot McNealy, and Bill Zeitler, a senior vice president at IBM.For numerous examples of his writing you can search under his name at the eWEEK Website at www.eweek.com.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×