J
JZimmermann
Guest
Coming a little bit late to this discussion 
In my opinion Gus is perfectly right - many of this extensions will make ABL more like Java or C#. While this is not necessarily a bad thing (we really want SOME of them, too) Gus already mentioned it - if I want to code in Java, I can do, because Java already exists. In my opinion Progress should rethink the AB in ABL - as far as I know this means "Advanced Business" ... so it is worth thinking of what Business Software looks like and how you can help developers in writing this kind of software - and there are many concepts out there and there is a lot Progress could improve on the current language constructs. What troubles me: while Gus is perfectly right I can't really see that Progress has a vision towards this. I am very fine with the statement, that Progress does not aim to mimic Java or C# - but then we need a vision from Progress! I am thankfull for language extensions like generics and annotations, but what I would like to see most is a broader vision about the "Advanced Business Language" and how to keep on top of languages like Java or C# in terms of Business Software. Another Topic: Sorry - I don't know how to cite here, now I am reffering to a post from danielb on 7th of August ... Most of the points in there are about tools and the tool chain ... Of course danielb is right, Progress is lacking many of those tools. And it would be great, if Progress would provide some of these. And although I really think Progress should carefully check, what kind of tools are out there in other languages and should give us at least some of them, we should not be unfair ... if you look at languages like C# or Java, many, many of these tools are created and maintained by the community. Progress Community will never get as big as the C# or Java community, but still - we could do better ... I had an interesting discussion last week about this topic. I think, part of the problem is that most of the Progress Customers are coming from commercial companies. I am sure, there are many frameworks and little helpers out there, but as they are created from employes during their work time they are seldom published. That is a pity and it might be worth to discuss this topic somehow ... I have no idea how to even start a good discussion about that, because of the reason I gave above, but perhaps someone else has a good idea. At least I will try to start a discussion in my company, as I really think we should do something about it, but this would also need some help from the community, some infrastructure like Repos, or a Package Manager or ... I don't know
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In my opinion Gus is perfectly right - many of this extensions will make ABL more like Java or C#. While this is not necessarily a bad thing (we really want SOME of them, too) Gus already mentioned it - if I want to code in Java, I can do, because Java already exists. In my opinion Progress should rethink the AB in ABL - as far as I know this means "Advanced Business" ... so it is worth thinking of what Business Software looks like and how you can help developers in writing this kind of software - and there are many concepts out there and there is a lot Progress could improve on the current language constructs. What troubles me: while Gus is perfectly right I can't really see that Progress has a vision towards this. I am very fine with the statement, that Progress does not aim to mimic Java or C# - but then we need a vision from Progress! I am thankfull for language extensions like generics and annotations, but what I would like to see most is a broader vision about the "Advanced Business Language" and how to keep on top of languages like Java or C# in terms of Business Software. Another Topic: Sorry - I don't know how to cite here, now I am reffering to a post from danielb on 7th of August ... Most of the points in there are about tools and the tool chain ... Of course danielb is right, Progress is lacking many of those tools. And it would be great, if Progress would provide some of these. And although I really think Progress should carefully check, what kind of tools are out there in other languages and should give us at least some of them, we should not be unfair ... if you look at languages like C# or Java, many, many of these tools are created and maintained by the community. Progress Community will never get as big as the C# or Java community, but still - we could do better ... I had an interesting discussion last week about this topic. I think, part of the problem is that most of the Progress Customers are coming from commercial companies. I am sure, there are many frameworks and little helpers out there, but as they are created from employes during their work time they are seldom published. That is a pity and it might be worth to discuss this topic somehow ... I have no idea how to even start a good discussion about that, because of the reason I gave above, but perhaps someone else has a good idea. At least I will try to start a discussion in my company, as I really think we should do something about it, but this would also need some help from the community, some infrastructure like Repos, or a Package Manager or ... I don't know Continue reading...