[Translator] We are all explore the future of the software, let us go back to see what happened in the past ten years; we remember what we will see again?
Due to the limited level of translator, if there is an improper, please refer to the author's original text.
Windows platform
It has become a multi-block for many years, not just some patches, but also makes many programmers and IT administrators crazy because of their complex and closed structures. But there is no doubt that Microsoft also makes life of programmers in all PC single desktops.
Through Win32 API, dynamic link library, and component object model (COM), Microsoft gives developers a big platform to build their app or they can use. "All technology collections allow developers to create this platform, which is Microsoft tried to do in the first position," Frank Dzubek, president of Washington Communication Network Architect Association. " Alternative ways is either in the DOS world single task, this is what we remember, or write the app several times for the Different flavor Unix.
Even Sun will give this devil. "Microsoft, or deliberately or accidentally try to build a foundation for many people in the 1990s of the 1990s. Do not use it for this." PHIPPS said.
Fast Application Development (RAD)
If you are programming in the 1980s, you remember this process: Write the code to a preliminary editor (such as Emacs), run a command line compiler (such as GCC), then wait a cup of coffee time. The graphical user interface (GuIS) is only Macintosh, just like a graphic programming. Macintosh's HC (Hypercard) program makes the application very easy, and even end users knowing the programming or programming language can also establish such applications, although it is simple, it provides a certain amount of functionality.
Visual Basic brings the same ease of use to develop Windows applications. Early Windows applications developed simply difficult to comic pole. You must start from the beginning, including interface, and this process is expensive, time time, there is bug lurking, and this is only for elite programmers. You must provide the most basic infrastructure and functional relationship of the application. Visual Basic changes this by allowing you to concentrate on a specific application feature. VB gives you a UI that you can drag and delete from the tool strip to form (control) to provide the UI of the application. More importantly, all of these components are built in the foundation of the foundation window message. In that case, they abstract Windows kernels and OS operations from developers, so he or she only needs to concentrate on application logic.
The VB integrated development environment is very easy to use, and VB has also introduced the concept of fast application development, but you sacrifice certain performance to make these achievements smooth, and arrange it to create applications. . Like HC, the original application you use by VB is simple. However, developers and merchants are aware of VB value from the beginning, and improve the performance of this tool is that the characteristics of VB are only a few years of exponential growth. VB How to extensively enter the commercial application market? Now the number of rows of VB code in the commercial application is more than the number of lines of COBOL code.
The most important aspect of VB's RAD capabilities: developers can purchase control from third parties and add them to the VB toolbar for their application. They will be exaggerated to exaggerate this ability. For some of the low-cost development and test components, it makes developers may purchase features and in their application. In many cases, you can buy a function but VB itself does not provide this ability.
Microsoft combines many VB's RAD characteristics to other programming tools, including Visual C , which can also insert third-party controls. Microsoft's competitors also integrate the RAD characteristics into their development tools. For example, Borland (Inprise) Delphi development tools are two years later than VB, but they have often exceed VB when achieving new features. Today's total time to develop and implement a set of scheduled features is an important consideration for you decide which development tool.
Unacceptable, integrated development environments provides an easy way to control all aspects of the development project (even multiple projects). They are also scalable, allowing such as integrated BUG tracking and reporting, debuggers and code generators, such as additional tools, regardless of their compiler manufacturers or third-party manufacturers.
"The only one of IDE is the ability to have a multi-window that opens immediately," Coplien said. When each matter is completed in sequence, developers can see each matter to replace the past batch. "When developers do large design, they can immediately observe several views. Then look at different modules or configuration management very well, and also look at the code and test scripts. Vb is not only a pioneer developed by Windows applications, but also a popular founder for integrated development environment. The RAD masked the developer's detail like a lead hammer, and IDE optimizes the development process to make programmers focus on development, rather than doing trivial housework (SDK style). Since such simple reforms, such as the entire visible system, the project file manager, the project file manager has become universal, and the developer productivity has never become so high.
Third-party components and tools
This extremely 10 outstanding achievements are not isolated. When many are interdependent, there is no more need to interdependent than today's robust third-party components and tool markets. As the RAD development tool, Visual Basic occupies a major market share, as a platform, Windows has absolute advantages, and as a wide adopted promotion of components-based development OOP, in the past decade, these for the framework assembly, these It is perfect.
Today, programmers can choose from interface widgets (for example, a good grid control for VB), or in high performance components (such as image display and manipulation or bar-code translation). Each is provided by a vendor's huge array, or large or small. Today's tool market reflects today's development status: more high-stability and high reliability tools - just rapidly growing fragments such as Internet, Web and XML engineering support.
But the components are just half of the painting. In the past decade, traditional (non-PC) developers have a robust tool to promote development in all the steps of the process. Because RAD encourages rapid prototypes, it encourages these prototypes to become the basis of product applications, not to pay attention to key design reviews. At the same time, debugging and testing tools for RAD construction applications are still in the embryonic period. Today, some powerful tools for all steps for design processes will penetrate the RAD into enterprise applications, and make VB applications and old school's COBOL applications can survive in business, or critical task codes.
A key to solve the problem, a remote survival cycle tool: source code management. The code management should be obtained in the computer industry to be equivalent to Oscar's best supporting angle. Just like there is no source code management, trying to write the most fundamental software. Commercial and open source products have made life many, and many of the main projects have been helped. "The items that do not have source management tools cannot be released," Coplien said.
"Code management is one of the behind-the-scenes heroes of the software over the past 10 years," said pHIPPS. "CVS is one of the miracles. It is not very magical, but today has a great source management system to create an open source code world." [to be continued]
