RE: opinions on "good news/bad news"... picking Websphere or MS.ASPor .NET

From: richard@xxxxxxxxxxx

Don't shake your head too sadly.  Remember because of our product sets we
have to be very conversant in both Java and .Net stuff.

Seriously, I will be bugging you no this stuff.  For example, do you have a
fairly simple layman's explanation of how to convert the JT400 jar file?
Should I be able to just read the IKVM docs and do it, or are there any
gotchas?

Besides I still love you man !! :-)

Damn, I'm blushing...

My new mantra lately has been interoperability between platforms.

That's always been my mantra; I just haven't coded PC stuff professionally
since the days of The IBM PC OS That Shall Not Be Named.

1.) You're right on the RCP client stuff.  That looks cool.  Haven't had
much time to play with it yet, so this could have some merit. The only
problem is that all your apps will look Eclipsish from what I've seen :-)

If by "Eclipsish" you mean that you have sizable, movable, stackable views
with tabs and context-sensitive menus and user-defined perspectives and Fast
Views and tear-off menus, and this is all standard and consistent AND RUNS
ON MULTIPLE PLATFORMS, then I guess, yes, it's Eclipsish.

If, on the other hand, you mean that everything looks like Eclipse, then you
should take a look at the RCP galleries.  Start here:

http://www.eclipse.org/community/Example%20RCP%20Applications%20v2.pdf

Admittedly some of these applications are indeed Eclipse-like, but how big a
divergence do you want from a standard menu/window concept do you want?  Do
you want to return to the days of the big red X and big green checkmark?
And some of the applications are pretty awesome, especially the more
graphical ones.

Here's another cool one:

http://udig.refractions.net/confluence/download/attachments/6182/geodss.jpg

Besides, how many VB programs were on the Mars project?

Oh yeah, and you're not locked into Microsoft <grin>.

7.) Well, so far the IKVM stuff with our compiled version of JT400 has
been ROCK solid.  You're using JT400 in your Java apps, right ?   Well
we're using it in our .Net apps and since we do have access to the source
if needed we can support it ourselves.  Not all shops can do that but
since we develop commercial software and also understand the IKVM/JT400
stuff I think it's safe to say that we can commercially support it.

Like I said, point me to how to get started in IKVM.  I have a lot to do
this summer.

Even though RPG isn't dead and never will be, we need to keep modernizing
our skills.

Yup.  Although I'm not sure I'll go so far as C#.  VB.NET, on the other
hand... 

Joe