A Simple Request

GuestOpinion

ASimple Request

The companythat makes programming as easy as Word will capture the next wave ofprogrammers.

By Mike Riley

A coupleyears ago, I was honored with an invitation from Microsoft to participate inits Visual Studio Strategic Design Review (SDR) process. The fate of VisualInterDev had not been decided yet, and the world at large was unaware ofMicrosoft's Common Language Runtime (CLR) efforts. When those of usparticipating in the SDR were given an early glimpse of what would becomeVisual Studio .NET, we were pleasantly surprised by the streamlined, new feelof the IDE. One thing that bothered me, though, was how overwhelming all theoptions might be to a newcomer. The several steps required to link to a datasource and bind it to a Windows Forms object were nothing like the first time Ihad used data-aware controls in Visual Basic 3.0.

InMicrosoft's defense, the world of distributed n-tier architectures isvastly different from the desktop islands of yesteryear. And yet, given all theamazing advances in computer science, life for developers is getting moredifficult and complex.

Oneobjective I had hoped Visual Studio .NET would accomplish is to makeprogramming as easy as it was back in the VB3 days. The code stubs the VS .NETwizards have generated certainly help, but they're not a quantum leap insimplicity. As Microsoft solidifies its new desktop around the .NET Framework,I believe there is an opportunity to create a new programming paradigm for thenext generation of business users. Like the early VB adopters of the 1990s, thenext generation will become captivated by the simplicity of instructing thecomputer to do meaningful things.

Onepossibility is to consider the Lego block approach - that is, constructapplications visually using a symbolic graphic-object approach. Severalcompanies have attempted this in the past, the most recent example beingSoftwire's SoftWIRE 4 for Visual Studio .NET (http://www.softwire.com/prod_intro-4.html).However, these solutions will struggle for a sizable user base until Microsoftincorporates them into a code-visualization environment that is as friendly andapproachable as Microsoft Word.

I hopesome groups at Microsoft are working toward this goal, particularly becauseJames "Java Man" Gosling is busy designing a Java equivalent of this idea, inthe form of his Jackpot project (http://research.sun.com/projects.html).The company that gets there first will capture the next wave of 21st-centurycomputer users.

Mike Riley is a chief scientist with RR Donnelley, one ofNorth America's largest printers. He participates in the company's emergingtechnology strategies using a wide variety of distributed network technologies.Reach him at mailto:[email protected].