.NET Only A Hype
by Cecille Ramirez on January 20th, 2010
I heard this from a student. .NET is just the same as C++, COBOL and other programming languages wherein popular during their time but after awhile was retired and gone. He even said, .NET will also be the same so why all the excitement, the hype and stuff?
C++ and COBOL as said by that student are in fact still there. I just don’t know if he knows though. There is a Managed Extension to C++ while there is a COBOL .NET.
Bottom-line, programming languages are never retired most of the time. I said most of the time for I can only speak for these languages based on my research and background. They are still technically alive and been improved.
Isn’t that the idea of coming up with a new technology? To improve in some aspects and at the same address the needs of the users to better their experience of the product? Some will say, Microsoft is just making money. Everyone who does business is not crazy enough to do it for charity work so YES, just like Microsoft; everyone who develops technology, gadget, and products, the real intention is to make money. Who doesn’t? By the way, let’s stick with the hype and the excitement.
In old C++ and other similar languages, when you write an object in your code, for example, an object to connect to the database, as a programmer, you still have to worry writing additional code to kill the object once no longer in used. This is so true with older programming languages, the pain of coming up with another set of logic just to manage clean up. Why worry about cleaning in the first place? Programmers know if they don’t, those objects declared in their code are left hanging in the process and will slow down the system overall. Users will technically feel it and complain.
Therefore, in the new age of programming just like in .NET and Java, this was addressed thru the Garbage Collector. No extra work for programmers to write more logic just to clean up. Isn’t that cool? But there’s more to this though like when does it collect? What if it collects so late? Can I still write my own killing process if in case? There are lots of questions from newbies on this one. All these questions can be answered when you join any of my .NET class.