From: MikkelFJ Date: 2001-10-04T05:05:57+09:00 Subject: [ruby-talk:22024] Re: Let's work on Windows support > I have briefly tried to understand .NET, and don't, so I may be wrong. > But judging from the fact that there are .NET versions of different > languages, I have to assume that .NET is yet another attempt by > Micros**t to make everything run only on MS, and to destroy all > branches of computer culture which don't rely on MS and use MS > proprietary standards. Unless there's been a shift in their corporate > strategy unlike any other such shift in the history of corporations, > that would be a reasonable assumption. ..NET was developed primarily by a Dane named Anders Hejlsberg. He worked on the Delphi project and earlier on the Turbo Pascal compiler. With .NET he has taken the easy of software development a large step further. I also believe that Microsoft to some extend has changed their cooperate strategy because Linux and Java platforms are becoming increasingly attractive for developers. Microsoft beds heavily on .NET primarily because Sun was right when they said that the network is the computer. If Microsoft wants to keep influencing the market, it most control the platform where software is developed. And this now the net, not a particular operating system. This does not necessarily make .NET at bad place to be for developers. It is more like a common interest. > Therefore, I don't see how it can be good for Ruby. I'm not trying to > start an argument here; I'm just reasoning from what we know about > Micros**t. What is good for Microsoft is not necessarily bad for everyone else. Indeed if you can make Ruby run equally well on all platforms Microsoft may gain by selling servers with Microsoft server software, driven by Ruby, while Ruby developers can just focus on developing applications - be it for Microsoft, Sun, IBM, Linux - who cares. But it is up to us to avoid the lock-in by having equally good support on all platforms. Avoiding Microsoft alltogether would probably not be a wise strategy. Avoiding Microsoft is like avoiding combustion engines at the start of the century because it can't possibly be good to depend on oil producing countries. Mikkel