Microsoft launches new developer support program

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Do people program for OS's anymore?

I am leaving out things like drivers, compatibility layers...

The trend is toward toolkits, frameworks, protocols ...apis (Java, CGI, .NET, XML, ...). Hasn't the OS more or less become irrelavent now a days? I am not saying it is wrong to program for an OS, just that the alternatives have come such a long way that the benefits more than out weigh the minor missing features.

And support would be easier too, you don't need to worry about the OS, just the stuff you use.

We have come to a point in programming where the backend database, the frontend GUI, and many of the middle area modules can be swapped and traded as needed. In many cases, I find that programming platform independently is easier. Isn't Qt better than using the Win32 or WinNT (?) graphics layer? Isn't programming for a RDBMS better than using a specific database?

Sure, you might miss the specific advantages that you get from choosing specific parts, but look at the long run. You are much more flexable to adapt to market changes. You still have only one product in a select environment to worry about so support isn't harder. Let those environment creators worry about porting it to new OSs. You have a potentially larger customer base.

Your customers are happier cause they got more control in customization. They can pick and choose the parts they are most comfortable with or get their job done best. For those who don't want all that, you can provide a "default" setup.

The way I see it, cross platform is just the next step in good programming and good business. It is just an extension of one of the base rules of having very efficient little pieces coming together to do a big job well.

Posted by: doe_z   Posted on: 07/12/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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