DevX Home    Premier Club    Search    RFP Exchange    eLearning    Code Library    Help    Locator+    Shop DevX

January 2001

EDITOR'S NOTE

Elden Nelson Editor in Chief The world of development is evolving fast. VCDJ is making some changes to help you keep up.     T   A L K   B A C K What would you like to see more of in VCDJ? What would you like to see less? E-mail me or join the Talk to the Editors discussion.

Bring in the New Hey, it's 2001—HAL's year, and the start of the new millennium. We're making some changes to VCDJ with this issue, and I suppose I could try to tie them into how this is a perfect time to talk about new beginnings, turning over a new leaf, starting fresh, blah, blah, blah. The truth is, though, that while this issue does contain many changes, we're just doing this because it needs to be done. How's that for sentimental? The first change I want to call to your attention is one of our new columns, "C# Explorer." At all the developer conferences I go to, there's one thing you can count on: packed C# sessions. Similarly, more than half the e-mail I receive each month is about C#. Obviously, this language has got you interested. So, each month this column will discuss C# syntax and theory in the context of practical applications. For example, this month, Mark Schmidt talks about how you can make your C# apps self-documenting. It's cool, and it's useful. Follow this column along each month, and by the time VS.NET ships, you'll be ready to write production-quality code in this language. If you've been reading our Letters section, you've probably noticed that some developers aren't completely sold on C# (to put it mildly). I've noticed, though, that most of the people who thumb their noses at C# haven't done a lot of development with it. Those who have actually been coding in C#, on the other hand, seem to love it. That said, this is obviously a 1.0 language, and there are going to be problems and shortcomings with it. As we come across these inevitable pitfalls, we'll talk about how to either avoid or work around them. We're jumping into the C# pool, but we're doing it with our eyes open. So, for the majority of you who are excited about C# and have been asking for more, you'll dig C# Explorer. For those of you who are reluctant to try this language out, let's make a deal: You can continue scoffing at C# and sending e-mail about it being a sissy-boy language, but you've also got to read the C# Explorer column, download the VS.NET beta, and write some code in C#. E-mail me (vcdjedit@fawcette.com) in a year and tell me if I was right or wrong. If I'm wrong, I'll admit it. If I'm right, I'll crow from the rooftops. Even if you choose to ignore my wisdom and skip the C# column, you'll want to make sure and read the new monthly ".NET Developer" column. So far, there seems to be a lot of vague promises and starry-eyed gazing about .NET, and what you've told me you want is solid examples and clear explanation. That's where Dr. Richard Grimes comes in. Each month he'll give you real-world development strategies that help you understand and leverage this new set of technologies. This month, for instance, he clears up the heretofore murky Managed Extensions aspect of VC++, showing how you can use it in conjunction with your native C++ code to give unprecedented flexibility to your apps. To one extent or another, all VC++ developers are going to need to understand developing to .NET; this is a great place to get your arms around it. I'm also pleased to introduce a new columnist to go with a slightly renamed column. Juval Lowy—who groks COM+ and its future as well as anyone I've ever met (see his Guest Opinion ".NET: Vision, Technology, Agenda" in the October 2000 issue of VCDJ)—will be authoring "Productive COM+." In his monthly space, Juval will help you get every last bit of power and functionality out of COM technologies. Be sure to read this month's installment, where he shows how to use COM+ events helper objects to ease interacting with the COM+ catalog. Will VCDJ keep changing? Only as long as development techniques and strategies change. I'm interested in what you think of these changes. Let me know at vcdjedit@fawcette.com.

Sponsored Links Download your FREE PentiumŪ 4 Processor White Paper! Register NOW for IntelŪ Developer Services. Click here for your FREE Unbreakable Security eKit. Explore the New Worlds of .NET; take the .NET Web Services Challenge TODAY! WIN One of Five BIG Prizes-Take the New Worlds .NET Challenge! Take the New Worlds Challenge and enter to WIN a Harley-Davidson V-Rod!