VC++ in the modern era

Gurus,

Overhead a casual conversation among some architects in the cafeteria that VC++ was fast being replaced as .NET as a development platform.

Wonder what this statement was meant to be ? Does it mean that clients want modern applications to be built in .NET because it is a better development environment ? Or is it that they fear VC++ will soon go the VB way - where support is rare to find.

Just wanted to know your views on the future of VC++ developers in the era of .NET.

(P.S - Dont know much about .NET though)

VC also comes under .net vC.net i think you heard The name. So that's not a problem at all. and what else. Future is very bright .

Few days back Microsoft Visual C++ Team was having a slow chat on Codeguru Forums, a lot of people had same question, take a look.
http://www.codeguru.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=89

I came across this interesting link the other day :

http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn...8hnoopsla.html

Do you mean the language C++ is going to be taken over by the language C# or simply that VC 6.0 is going by the wayside and now we will switch over to vs7 or vs8?


The latter should happen because the new compilers are much nicer then VS6 even though they seem a little weird, it is just because old-school VS6 developers are just unfamiliar with them.

Also my project manager is a bit paranoid about going beyond VS6 because he is afraid .NET code will start sneaking its way into the codebase.


As far as the former scenario, until a language can offer the speed that C++ does, I can't see it ever being replaced by another language. For example, can you imagine a game rendering engine, or a device driver being written in C# or some other interpreted language?

Hi DeepT,

What I meant originally was VC++ being replaced by C#.

The client has given the option of converting a current project (front end VB with business logic in a Borland C++ Dll) into either VC++6.0 or C#.
There is a major argument going on over which one to choose. We have the VC++ expertise but not C# but hearing all this talk of .NET taking over tomorrow, we are a bit confused.

What would you recommend ?

Hi,

How long is your programming career going to continue until u move over
to management ? As long as you are going to code for less than 10 years
u should have no problem with VC++. ;)

Porting:
Agreed that its hard to find resources and that .Net is the way to go, But
the big question is who is going to port the existing apps to .Net. If u check,
a lot of applications are written in VC++ and nobody would want to write
the flows and logic again. It'd be easier for them to port the existing logic
to .Net. But again, for that, they need guys who know VC++.

Maintenance:
Maintenance of existing apps is again a good example. The industry needs
people to support existing apps and the rarer VC++ guys get, the better
the package is going to be ;)

One of my friends still works in Visual Foxpro and i thought that foxpro
was extinct many years ago ;)

Bottomline: If u are good at some technology, u r going to get good
opportunities no matter the market trend. The problem solving skills (logic) is
all that matters, not the language or OS.

Recommendation:

For experienced programmers: Having learnt VC++, learning .Net is going to
be a cakewalk. Learn a .Net language like C# for example additionally in
your spare time. The logic is the same in any language anyway.

For beginners: Its better that you move on to .Net just because of its
simplicity + advanced features + market trend + easy to get jobs.

p.s. These are my own views and i dont represent any group of people. I
may be wrong but i've just outlined my own belief here.

I want to add one more point here with VGirish

Product Enhancement
Some VC++ applications are now enhanced as per client's request and looking at the current situation. These enhancement work can be done only by the VC++ programmers only.