Borland has a dream, the dream of programmers
This article is published in personal identity, does not represent any company views
Sirius
As a programmer, I have been in the software industry for ten years. Now, I am fortunate to work in Beijing Borland, which faces the programmer to survive every day, and it is naturally difficult to say.
Borland is actually a small company, in the current IT field, in the case of Microsoft, Oracle, Sun and other software giants, the Borland Bank's $ 100 million reserves really can't really.
But I know that Borland has a dream, a programmer's dream. In order to become a reality, Borland's talented programmer tense, always cultivated the keyboard in the night, yes, one day, dream will come true, the programmer will be excited.
Each company has its own culture, just like each country, Borland has its own heritage. Mr. Fouler (current president) said that Borland is to build Borland as a country like Switzerland. Oh, Switzerland, this is a small country, yes, Borland is just a small company; it is known for the exquisite watch and tools, Borland has maintained the company eight years with a Delphi; it has a hardworking and intelligent public, Borland Have a group of programmers worldwide; it built a few unclear artificial miracles under various arduous terrain, Borland created another best software; travel in Switzerland, you don't have to worry about the problem, With Borland software, you don't have to care about cumbersome details. Most importantly, Switzerland is completely neutral, Borland has no platform.
Yes, the product of Borland has no platform. This is the commitment of Mr. Simon (Senior Vice President of Borland) to the programmer. This is part of the Borland dream, it can be said that it has been basically realized. CORBA Middleware Product Visibroker masked and connected to different platforms. Software Object Frame Product AppServer, Software Object Management Product AppCenter, Java Development Tools JBuilder is running on JVM, and these products can be available as long as Java can come. Database Product Interbase has done Windows, Linux, Solaris on top of three types of platforms. Delphi for Linux before the end of the year, C Builder for Linux will be released (refer to the Kylix plan) next year. Is there any reason not to believe that Borland can achieve his commitment?
In fact, Borland's platform is not just an operating system platform, including language platform, whether Pascal, C , Java, you see the IDE environment will be the same face, and the components you use are similar architectures. In addition to the language platform, it also includes different software object system standards. You will find that your object can always communicate with each other, whether using CORBA or Java or DCOM, or Midas, and your object can always communicate with each other. You can often see the specific standard traces in the IDE environment. Yes, this is the master's dream. How can the programmers logic in the world? I can't do it, I have been trying to break another similar barrier, I have always been as a dream until I found Borland. Borland has the same dream.
I want to think about why a separate software can't be an object? Since we invented this noun, there seems to have too many people who have used this sign to drink their own products. In fact they are all right, because every individual software is a genuine object. Because they are independent, they satisfy the most basic conditions of the object: package. As for inheritance, use the old code in the new software, is it inherited? There are also many shapes, write a similar program, put it and the current software together to form a group, achieve different functions, is it more shape? By the way, only a separate package is the object is not the standard. Have your own name, have your own data, have your own way, why isn't it an object? Yes, this is an object. In the world of programmers, these objects are all living life. That is their soldiers, always listen to their command. However, those hate operating systems, those tens of thousands of languages, those for certain companies, these so-called platforms, they kill these creatures. The platform will not survive the hometown of the objects, but also let them know each other, can't feed others with a long spoon. Fortunately, there are so many real programmers in the world, but also more than one company that cares about the destiny of the object. These companies (at least more than 800), they formed an organization called object management organization (OMG), and they have a standard called CORBA. Corba knows all of these objects, which are separate software. Corba also let them know each other and ask the other party to complete their own efforts.
Yes, we no longer need to request all objects to meet the DCM's binary code specification. In the world other than Windows, we can't find any hand-to-hand software to generate these code blocks. We don't need all programmers to learn Java languages, we can use your own language. Any old code is a soldier that the programmer itself, we don't need to abandon them today.
If someone tells me that he integrates a new system with the Java program on UNIX and the C program under his Windows, I will not feel weird, because Borland's Visibroker, JBuilder and C Builder let you do it. . If someone tells me, his EJB can be familiar with CORBA objects and can communicate with each other, because if you develop EJB in the AppServer framework, it can be a CORBA object. Java objects must survive under a small bit but perfect the framework environment, but this does not mean that they cannot be integrated into Corba's large families through a framework environment similar to Borland Appserver. If someone told me that he took the Delphi code under Windows (including interface description) to Linux, I compiled a Linux executable, and I ran like the model under Windows, I won't be strange, because Delphi For Linux, you can do it.
Only the DCOM object is now not adapted to this world's big unity. It is not so much stubborn in Microsoft. At least they want to make their new language C # specification out, so that CORBA objects can also be developed in the future. Even them outside DCOM, you can also pay attention to SOAP, because SOAP is easy to integrate into CORBA, in fact they have done this. Oh, what is SOAP? In fact, it is just XML. What is it using XML? Transfer between CORBA objects (generally speaking) is a flat message, which is difficult to transfer if an object is most specifically in particular. Use XML to package an object, then transfer the XML file throughout, you can transfer the object. In fact, Java can also transfer objects, but both parties must be a Java program. Mr. Ballmer (Microsoft President) Telling XML will overcome Java, not unevenness, but only ignoring the fact that it takes to CORBA (of course, with Microsoft's strength, he can have existing CORBA products, but it must have Similar products, this product should be able to interoperate with CORBA, otherwise it will lose the meaning of cross-platform). Someone will tell me in the future. He implemented the MIDAS server program written by Java on the server. He used DataModule to encapsulate all business logic, put it under a frame environment (EJB Server) in the form of EJB, which is DATAMODULE You can access things in any language in any language in any language. If you hear these words, I will not feel weird, because even from the current technical foundation, Borland has the ability to do this. If someone tells me in the future, his Microsoft format software object can be familiar with CORBA objects and work closely, then I may be somewhat happy, but still will not be strange, because Microsoft is willing, Borland can do it.
The world of programmers is a pure land without the national boundaries, and any hegemony is not allowed. If you think this is just a dream, please allow Borland to make a dream with you.
About the author: Yang Shaoxiong, Nanjing University Computer Department, Advanced Programmer, Beijing Borland System Engineer
