Isn't part of modernization moving to tools that can run on multiple
platforms? I >>hope so.
I not sure that I agree with statement Kelly.
If all software runs on all platforms, why do we need multiple platforms?
Everything becomes the same, and, it is Intel based platforms (being the
lowest common denominator) that are likely to win in this scenario.
If everything can run on a single platform (Intel) then we don't need IBM -
they cease to be a hardware company. All the research into new technology -
is it going to have a market?? Similarly, we don't need HP or Sun or any of
the other platform manufacturers, the only thing we need are companies that
manufacture Intel boxes.
The whole point of being different is to create a marketing edge. Something
that these hardware platforms have that others don't, and something that
customers want to buy. Under this scenario, there will never be software
that can run or develop for all platforms (and nor should there be). It is
also this competitive market place that drives technological evolution. If
everything becomes the same there is no real driving force for change or
improvement, there would be little or no evolution.
I see this lack of evolution even now. We still tie our applications
together with pieces of string (connection strings, strings in various text
files, etc). I was using these techniques over twenty years ago - things
haven't changed much. I was probably using these techniques before some of
the contributors to this list were even born. There has to be a better way
than this! It is like knitting waiting to unravel. I believe I have moved
on, I use a more advanced system - the system I - and have little need for
"strings".
All this "New" stuff. Seems like the world is going backwards, much of it I
have seen before in a different guise, under a different wrapper. I don't
want to see a world that is going backwards, I want to move forwards. Many
years a go it was .ini files in Windows, now we have the equivalent "ini"
files in applications like Apache with their config files. Nothing changes
-- it just becomes more awkward and less simple, requiring a PhD in "String"
technology to get things to work.
Perhaps I am getting too old for this game, too old and grumpy!!
Syd
midrange.com
