The API Wars (How NET Broke Windows?)

[dw85745]

I stumbled across this.

A very interesting read on the history of Microsoft development, where it's going, problems, etc.

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html

[RobDog888]

That was a long article but it made some good points. Great read

I only disagree about his point that web apps are going to take over the desktop client apps. Desktops will always be around as they are faster and more robust. Web apps have their place but so do desktop app. Neither one will kill off the other.

[ComputerJy]

That was a long article but it made some good points. Great read

I only disagree about his point that web apps are going to take over the desktop client apps. Desktops will always be around as they are faster and more robust. Web apps have their place but so do desktop app. Neither one will kill off the other.

well, between Server pages and web-based apps I think desktop apps will fade away in time

I loved this part:

Developers, developers, developers, and developers are not buying into Microsoft's multiple-personality-disordered suggestions for how we should develop software.

[RobDog888]

Nope, because when your working offline how do you expect to run a web app?

[szlamany]

RD - I was showing some of my customers that very nice RWW (Remote Web Workplace) that you created (hope you don't mind me logging in )...

At any rate - do you think that when you actually connect to the remote app server that you are running MSTSC.exe on your local machine? I could not find MSTSC (which is traditional REMOTE DESKTOP) in the task list when I used RWW to connect.

Do you think that RWW is a web-ish version of MSTSC/RDP?

[RobDog888]

Yes, its not really running MSTSC.exe but an ASP.NET webapp. The draw is that you can "simulate" a client desktop in a web environment. Granted you get most of the desktop and features when running your desktop apps but you still loose out of the "richness" and performance of a real client desktop. The other issue is that it also requires Terminal Server. Now heres the big problem: You can not run Terminal Server on Small Business Server 2003. You need a second physical server box running Windows Server 2003 with Terminal Server Services and all the Client Access Licenses to support the number of concurrent connections you will need. This is a major expense for most small / meduim sized companies. The other issue is that not "ALL" client desktop applications will run under Terminal Server.

This is all a justification of why client desktops will never fade out and will continue to retain a good chunck of the market share.

Ps, Np Steve as I know where you live
Any ideas on my GPO issue? I had to take a break from it as it was driving me crazy

[szlamany]

Yes, its not really running MSTSC.exe but an ASP.NET webapp.

I'm a WINFORMS programmer at the moment...

But if RWW is not MSTSC then they did a truly incredible job of emulating that "experience" in an ASP.NET webapp.

If all it takes is some strong client-side ASP or whatever...downloads for the experiece to be made richer for the user then the possibilites are endless...

I personally hate webforms - the mouse-wheel staying attached to the last "drop-down" list - all kinds of what-just-happened moments - very unthought-of behavior when you compare to a winform.

I have respected joel-on rants 5 years ago - I read this one a short while ago and thought it had less basis-in-reality.

I entered the MS world 6 years ago - and the API-wonders that are comfortable to some are really just a pile of complex and hard to call functions buried in some library.

.Net most likely exposes all that same functionality through a more-obvious class-defined protocol. Is that bad? I'm thinking it's just another way for us all to build-to-the-MS-standard.

[RobDog888]

I only not really mstsc.exe because the initial point of entry is the aspx website and that seems to run mstsc.exe in ts shell.

I hate web forms too as they are slower and you need to be connected to the internet. Give me a desktop app anyday.