I recently came into some blogs saying that Linq to Sql is dead. and a few days ago I saw a discussion with some people saying that Silverlight maybe will take ASP.net place! ...
I don't want to ask if they are true or not but it is so annoying when you wake up and found your languages and informations in the casket! (I think that Microsoft languages have the big part of this words).
So what should I do in this case ? drop every thing back and start again with the new techniques or keep using the old stuff or what ?
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319answers:
11
+5
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Nothing ever really dies. Especially Microsoft stuff. I thought I had wasted 10 years as a FoxPro dev (not even VFP!), but this helped me get jobs, even in related technologies like dBASE and Clipper, since those skills are harder to find.
Having said that, by all means keep up with the mainstream. Continuous learning is expected in this field.
In any case, neither of those claims (re Linq to Sql and Silverlight) is true.
harpo
2010-08-27 18:50:01
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Don't jump to conclusions based on (non-authoritative) blogs. People have opinions, and that's all they are. Until the vendors of the technologies you're using come out and say it, proceed with caution.
Mark
2010-08-27 18:50:23
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I'm not a .Net expert by any means but I think there's a reason for not using Linq for SQL queries since a dedicated ORM approach will most likely be faster and more configurable. As far as Silverlight, it's just a subset of WPF which is a GUI framework. They possibly wish that silverlight would take over some processing from the server side but I doubt they'll get that sort of market penetration.
Novikov
2010-08-27 18:51:04
It's not linq that is the problem - Entity Framework, NHibernate and Subsonic all have linq providers. The reason Linq-to-Sql is 'dead' is that Microsoft are not actively developing it and pushing people towards Entity Framework instead.
Lee
2010-08-27 19:10:19
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A platform isn't dead because someone says it's dead. It's dead when it's no longer used, and in that case, it's obvious you shouldn't be using it either. Unless, of course, you're employed by a big company that has a big legacy system that needs further development using that "dead" technology.
Philippe Leybaert
2010-08-27 18:51:10
Just think of how many of those big companies are still using COBOL and FORTRAN....
JohnK813
2010-08-27 18:55:19
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First off, dont immediately jump to the assumption that what you read in a blog or in a tech magazine is true. If the 'old stuff' still works, whats the compelling reason to change? Basically its just keeping up with fashion. Use what you want to use. If you understand the basics of programming, you can adapt as needed when presented with new technologies.
GrandmasterB
2010-08-27 18:51:11
Compelling reason to change could be bugs not fixed, performance problems not addressed, new technologies not incorporated in the older technology, etc.
snemarch
2010-08-27 20:17:22
That would then not fall into the 'old stuff still works' category. No one's said dont change technology. They're just saying dont change something simply because you read something on a blog. Thats what you do in the fashion industry, not in the software industry.
GrandmasterB
2010-08-27 20:42:36
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That's life on the cutting edge... You got into this business because you liked the latest technology, right? Well, don't look back, look forward. Before your favorite technology even has the sniffles, you should be looking at what's going up. If you study up on the latest technology, you won't even notice when the old stuff go away.
James Curran
2010-08-27 18:54:01
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Neither ASP.NET or Linq-to-SQL appear to be vanishing any time soon; however, this advice always applies:
Put pressure on Microsoft (or any other vendor, for that matter) to support products your business depends on.
If your business regularly purchases upgrades to its Microsoft stack, MS will want to make you happy. Get involved at Microsoft Connect, contact your MS representative, and be involved. The safest path to maintaining support from MS is by participating in their process. (It's why Windows XP remained supported long after MS announced support would end.)
kbrimington
2010-08-27 18:56:12
This is also why IE6 will end up being supported for nearly 13 years. I generally agree with you, but sometimes it would be better for everyone if businesses would allow Microsoft to let old products die. ;)
mlms13
2010-08-27 19:29:18
Agreed, with respect to IE6. MS listens to the attitudes of its programmers, though; at least enough that if a sufficient number of people falsely claim that "This-or-that is dead", then they'll move on to other investments in the hope of boosting their clientele.
kbrimington
2010-08-27 19:47:22
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Simple answer: Be sufficiently broad in your technical abilities.
As a hiring manager, I'm more concerned that you know how to write good programs and that you know how to get answers to your questions, than I am that you spent 10 years focusing on a specific technology.
For example: If I'm hiring for an MVC2 position, I would gladly take a seasoned Microsoft web developer with webforms experience and some MVC2 exposure over an unseasoned and unskilled programmer that's been working in MVC2 since it came out.
Robaticus
2010-08-27 19:03:41
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Software development is all about learning things so that you can build things that will be thrown away and replaced with newer things some day! If you don't want to commit to continuous change, you're in the wrong field! :-)
Brian Knoblauch
2010-08-27 19:10:14
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Many programmers are keen to try out new things. The statement "Technique X is dead", means just that someone tries to convince himself or a group, that investing more time into something else seems worthwhile.
To really kill a technology you would need to remove all related downloads and available knowledge or relicense the software in some form that makes usage impossible.
When a group of people shout that X is dead, they are just moving to Y. If you can still hire X programmers, you are not in big trouble.
Timo Westkämper
2010-08-27 19:10:53
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Don Box once said "If your this kind of people that start working with a technology when it's dead, it time for you to start using COM". He said that to introduced .net an confirm that way that COM won't be further improved. See ? "Dead" means it won't evolve as much as other anymore but definitely not that we should't use anymore.
VdesmedT
2010-08-27 19:30:57