Dotnet development

[Pauly]

Hi all,

We've been developing software since the late eighties using a
'data-centric' development system that has served us very well up until now.
Unfortunately, the developers of this system have dropped that ball in
regard to timelines and communications and it has us persuing our options.

What we need it a system that allows rapid application development for a
medium sized MS-SQL database application deployable to numerous sites with
minimal downtime due to 'undocumented features' and problems with the
(development) product.

I know it's a very general question, but will MS dotnet allow us to develop
a commercial quality application quickly (once we know what we're doing with
it) and get it to market?

Also..(while you're being so generous with information), what 'version' of
the product would you reccomend, and what 3rd party extension products do
you consider 'must haves' for development of a sturdy database application?

Thanks.

Pauly

 

[Eric Cadwell]

Is your scope well defined?

My team (3 developers) just completed a redesign of a significant internal
VB6 application to C# (6 dll's, 1 exe). We eliminated all third party
dependencies and got the job done in 3 months end to end. We have been in
production for about a month and haven't had any significant issues only
minor logic errors. We have not had any issues with the Framework libraries
or CLR.

We improved performance by 50% (at a minimum) - mostly through design. The
most productive person on the team had no previous C# or .NET Framework
experience. C# and .NET is an extremely productive environment. We used
VS.NET 2002 and 1.0 Framework, VS.NET 2003 is even more efficient.

As far as deployment goes, we have had absolutely zero issues with
deployment to end users. This is where .NET really shines. If you can avoid
COM Interop, deployment can be as easy as copy and paste! Of course, with
VS.NET you can also create MSI packages for distribution (as we have).

A strong technical lead is very important. You need someone who can get the
project rolling in the right direction.

HTH;
-Eric

 

[Pauly]

Thanks Eric,

I was starting to wonder if I'd get any replies at all!

As you would have gathered from my earlier post, we are certainly not
newcomers to the software industry. We are however newcomers to the tools
currently available and where to start in thier evaluation. Do you have any
advice on what steps to take to evaluate .NET development tools and where
to start?

Thanks again
Pauly

 

[Eric Cadwell]

I've always used the Microsoft tools. Get a few copies of VS.NET and build a
small production application.

We ended up using log4net, nunit, and nant but we could have done without
it. The Framework is so complete that you won't need many other tools.

Get on gotdotnet and run through the "common tasks" examples. You've got to
leverage the Framework as much as possible - that's where you're true
savings are. It's also where the learning curve is. Knowing what the base
class libraries can do for you is key. In fact, the gotdotnet samples seem
to be designed to be run with the .NET Framework SDK. You won't even need
VS.NET to get rolling. You can compile and run everything at the command
line using Notepad to write code.

-Eric

 

[M]

Is your scope well defined?

My team (3 developers) just completed a redesign of a significant internal
VB6 application to C# (6 dll's, 1 exe). We eliminated all third party
dependencies and got the job done in 3 months end to end. We have been in
production for about a month and haven't had any significant issues only
minor logic errors. We have not had any issues with the Framework libraries
or CLR.

We improved performance by 50% (at a minimum) - mostly through design. The
most productive person on the team had no previous C# or .NET Framework
experience. C# and .NET is an extremely productive environment. We used
VS.NET 2002 and 1.0 Framework, VS.NET 2003 is even more efficient.

As far as deployment goes, we have had absolutely zero issues with
deployment to end users. This is where .NET really shines. If you can avoid
COM Interop, deployment can be as easy as copy and paste! Of course, with
VS.NET you can also create MSI packages for distribution (as we have).

A strong technical lead is very important. You need someone who can get the
project rolling in the right direction.

HTH;
-Eric

Are you talking about production within a company or a commerical product?

Thanks

 

[Eric Cadwell]

An internal application.

-Eric

 

[Sahil Malik]

I know it's a very general question, but will MS dotnet allow us to
develop

a commercial quality application quickly (once we know what we're doing with
it) and get it to market?

YUP. Thats about your only choice frankly, with a very distant #2.

Also..(while you're being so generous with information), what 'version' of
the product would you reccomend, and what 3rd party extension products do
you consider 'must haves' for development of a sturdy database

application?

Version - as of today - 2003, but buy an MSDN Universal subscription for
your developers so you get all the development tools, latest documentation
all the time. Stay updated. Also design your app today, for what you know
will come tommorow (Whidbey/Longhorn).

3rd party extensions - nothing major to stop you from starting your project.
You might decide at a later point that you want to use 3rd party user
controls for say reporting, better UI etc. They are not too expensive, and
they are not tough to use, and your app will gain immensly by not
re-inventing the wheel.

You need a good .NET architect though to lead your team. Don't "badly
architect" your design - .NET or anything doesn't prevent you from doing so.

- Sahil Malik
Independent Consultant
You can reach me thru my blog - http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/sahilmalik/

 

[Sahil Malik]

Wait let me re-iterate what Eric just said -

A strong technical lead is very important. You need someone who can get the
project rolling in the right direction.

- Sahil Malik
Independent Consultant
You can reach me thru my blog - http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/sahilmalik/