Thread: compiler specific

how about bringing back the compiler specific boards?

personally i think that the divisions between boards should be even (i think you'd all agree)... and having compiler specific boards, unless there were but a few major compilers which were mainstream, would not help the traffic distribution. also, we aren't doing that bad without them are we? since this _is_ a programming language board, the major questions should not be ncesarily about how to implement the laguage in your setup, but rather how to implement the language itself. but have at it nonetheless... more the wiser...

I think the number of boards is fine at the moment. I welcome the new Linux board ( even though I doubt I'd use it) because it was probably something the site was missing.

If we start going down the road of compiler specific boards, and boards for any language that members might have an interest in then I think it will end up as a mess. IE Programmers Heaven.

Well, I've thrown my hat in......

More boards is a bad idea IMO

1. Basic questions about the language (those that lie within the scope of the ANSI standards) do not care which compiler you are using. A good proportion of questions fall into this category. Does the poor newbie ask in the general board, or the compiler specific board. Practical experience seems to suggest that they either choose the general board (because it has the most traffic, hence the impression that its most likely to deliver a timely answer), or they choose both (and cross post).

2. More complex questions are more likely to be operating system specific than compiler specific (how do I find all files), and we already have a number of operating system sub-boards. So long as they mention their compiler, that's usually enough to be going on with.

3. Each time a new board is added, the proponents of some minority raise their voices and say "you've added X, why can't we have Y?". Before you know what's happened, everything is fragmented, and some boards fall into dis-use after some initial enthusiasm.

4. We even have one application specific board (the Game board). The number of application specific boards we could have (net programming, database programming etc etc) could go on forever. Personally, I think the Game Programming board should be renamed the Game/Graphics programming board, given the number of questions about OpenGL/Allegro/DirectX which appear there.

I don't think that there should be any compiler specific boards either, however a couple of the boards on this site are useless such as the 'DOS board' and soon to be the 'Windows board' due to the fact that VC++ is being dis-continued.

Adding a C# board would be a good idea because it is the native language being build into all Microsoft operating systems as part of the .NET framework. This is more than just 'another language' because Win32 is going to be ousted.

>>soon to be the 'Windows board' due to the fact that VC++ is being dis-continued.

So therefore we should dump any cover of WinApi32??

About the other C++ compilers??

Its laughable to think that if M$ does dump VC++ then thats the end of Windows Programming.

MS has a new solution to Win32/COM, of which we will know more about by the end of the year. Windows board should be dumped in the future but ofcourse not right away. By the middle of next year, could be that VC++ will not be used very much. All I'm saying is that I wouldn't be surprised if it became obsolete. Something most people didn't think of, including myself.

>>By the middle of next year, could be that VC++ will not be used very much.

The notion that a windows board will not be needed within a year is I feel a little shortsighted.
Ok, maybe M$ will dump VC++ and expect us all to be led into .NET (though I hope this is not true), but I feel that if this is the future, it will take quite a bit more time than 12 months. M$ would also have to tred this path very carefully.

Also, even if this is how things will turn out, there will still be a need to code for Winapi32 for quite some time yet. It's not as if everyone in the world will upgrade to XP the very moment it is released.

Sorry Dean (err... Witch_King), the Windows board still has a lot of life left in it yet!

Yeah Vs.net may overtake windows programming as we know it and may (read will) render it obsolete, but not everyone is going to rush ou and buy the o/s and software that support the net framework. THink of the people still running 98, 95 and even 3.1 (shudder)

Well, .NET is aimed at business development and it is bringing home users along as well. Part of the purpose of learning programming is for job training. Microsoft systems development is not going to be restricted to home users because it will be a cost effective solution for the global internet. Read about project 'Hailstorm'.

BTW, C# will be managed by a non-proprietary, independant standards organization.

C# and .NET information @:
http://www.softsteel.co.uk/tutorials/cSharp/cIndex.html

The notion that just because MS dumps a product, all things realted to that field go belly-up are so incredibly ludicrous.