What does .NET (Managed) really have over Win32 (UnManaged)?

[Chesso]

Iv'e been trying to find this information for quite along time.

Alot of people are saying .NET has this and .NET has that...... but from what I am reading, there not thinking about what Win32 COULD ALSO DO if MS would get off there arse and actually work on it..... instead of completely replacing it.

The Win32 API still has bugs from Windows 95 that I could fix myself :|.

And the .NET language and how it's handled seems very different, annoying for transition, seems more bloated without anything that couldn't be done by Win32 (or a compiled/ide combo for it).

Plus it looks like Win32 is eventually going to go bye-bye, if it wasn't, then why don't they improve the darn thing, unless they have and aren't making a big spectacle about it lol (for Vista).

[dmantione]

In principle, Win32/Win64 can do anything .NET can do (after all, .NET is a Win32 application), only with much lower system requirements. But .NET has some libraries, designed to increase the hype. For example, Windows Presentation Foundation, which should be the next big thing in UI design, is available only in .NET.

Of course, nothing prevents you to build the same UI in Win32, but you can't design it the .NET way. Without doubt the bookstores will be filled with books that explain how to build a cool UI using WPF and C#.

If Borland is smart, they build a competitor to WPF, only Delphi Win32 based, it would be a big smacker hit. But they don't, they put all their energy in Delphi .NET.

[Chesso]

Well as far as I know they may have something going with Microsoft, or they don't want to risk losing big developers and companys that use all the *latest* hype lol.


It's nice that they still support plain Delphi Win32 even though they don't seem to improve on it really, although the IDE seems to be getting better.

Unfortunately some thigns about D2006 really peeve me off, leave a bigger memory footprint and doesn't compile half of my programs lol.

[dmantione]

Well as far as I know they may have something going with Microsoft, or they don't want to risk losing big developers and companys that use all the *latest* hype lol.


Microsoft has nothing to do with it. The Win32 API will still be MS their main API, to be ultimately succeeded by Win64. Regarding Microsoft, their is no reason to stop using Win32. .NET is just to push their own developer tools.

Pascal code on .NET is legacy code, because of the thick VCL emulation. Sooner or later the code will be rewritten, in C#, to really "take advantage" of .NET. Some developers might run their existing Pascal code on .NET, because they don't have the time to rewrite it, but that will only benefit Borland in the short term.

Delphi code kicks ass on Win32. However, Delphi is still a tool of the 1990s. To secure the future of Delphi, it must have new innovative ways to develop that set it apart from other tools.

Note that Lazarus, while it is easily viewed as a Delphi clone, does IMO bring some of those innovations. For example. the ability to compile for multiple platforms is a much desired feature of the 21 century. The ability to switch between GUI toolkits is another.

[Chesso]

So Win32 will continue and I'm assuming Win64 won't bring a big programming difference (well thinking about Delphi and how much it can handle for you).

Iv'e been hearing alot of .NET is basically going to fully replace Win32.

It's weird that they have two api's (sort of) side by side when they could just use one.....

Do they ever do anything that makes sense, other than to fill there pockets or some other annoying reason lol.

It just seems that Win32 development tools are going nowhere and .NET is going weeeeeeeeeeeee. lol. (As well as the API itself.... Win32 API is still filled with veryyyyy old bugs.... and yet there on and above with this .NET stuff).