More on “Actions”, or as WPF has it “Commands” “Multi-touch interactive research”

The Register reports that:

Smaller REAL Software is targeting Delphi users with the offer of a free license for its REALbasic 2003 for Windows Standard Edition.

Sun hopes to tempt the Delphi users with Java. Specifically, Sun is pitching its drag-and-drop Java Studio Creator environment.

Ok, neither of these companies understands what Delphi developers want.

Let’s take REAL first. After years out in the wilderness dealing with the stigma of using Pascal, Delphi developers are hardly going to trade that stigma for a worse one in the shape of a BASIC variant (it just doesn’t matter how good it is). Aeons ago I was a Visual Basic developer (not by choice) – the moment I got my hands on the compiled loveliness of Delphi, my self-esteem rocketed. I’m sorry, REAL, your BASIC implementation could be as good as, say, the venerable BlitzBasic on the Amiga, but you’re just asking developers to take a self-imposed self-worth cut. Anybody considering BASIC in the web age should just go and look at Ruby/Rails – you’ll get more done and you’ll have the smugness that comes with working with the tech du jour.

Secondly, Sun. Delphi developers are categorically not going to want to move to Java, especially when their ex-Delphi Deity, Anders Hejlsberg, has designed something in .NET which is similar in enough key respects to Delphi to smooth their passage to a .NET career. For heaven’s sake, Delphi (since version 8, which is now three versions old) is a .NET IDE. Why toss that experience away? And you just haven’t considered how attached Delphi developers really are to properly compiled code (they’ve been clamouring for an x64 compiler for a very long time now).

Both companies are picking at scraps here.

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