RE: Trend towards platform specific languages

-----Original Message-----
From: Jon Paris [mailto:Jon.Paris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, October 07, 2005 10:17 AM
To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: Trend towards platform specific languages


 >> And Microsoft is a very innovative company to this day and it also sets
its own standards.

>OK Steve - I can't resist.  Name a Microsoft innovation.  Apart from Bob -
>and even MS don't want to remember that one!  Anything gained by purchasing
>another company, "stealing" the concept, etc. doesn't count.  That leaves
>out Windows, .Net, Excel, Word, .....

here is the latest innovation.  It is called LINQ - language integrated query.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/future/linq/

As I understand LINQ, it allows SQL like syntax to be used against any 
collection object.  It builds on the generics feature of .NET 2.0, itself an 
innovation from the base line Java like .NET managed memory model.

MS is innovating on the OS front by integrating the .NET/Java memory model 
throughout the OS. The reference memory model of .NET and Java is far superior 
to the heap and stack based memory models used in traditional languages and 
operating systems.  It allows objects to be added to collections and returned 
from procedure calls without the expense of copying the object. A real big 
deal!  Linux and OS400 dont appear to know this memory model. Windows, with the 
.NET  interface to all its APIs, does.

I dont follow why IBMers retreat from this fight. MS is innovating, but what 
they are doing is not rocket science. It just takes a few smart people, a lot 
of money and hard work. IBM used to match that criteria, what happened to 
change them?

-Steve