Oh, yeah. Conceptually, you can write .NET stuff with notepad and the framework downloaded and installed, doing command line compiling and such.

So, you're not necessarily bound to the IDE for development with .NET.

Find one of those free MS "training" (*cough*marketing*cough) classes somewhere nearby and attend. For a few hours of napping with your chin on your chest, you usually get a free trial version of .NET (VS.NET, the framework and the component updates). It's worth it to pick up and dink around with it. I love that kinda stuff, myself.



-Jason

Oh, sure. In .NET everything compiles down to .DLL's once it gets past the CLR. So, I'm sure it's doing the same thing OLE/COM did in the background.

The only difference they've done is implemented Java's model of compiling down to bytecode (IL in M$ speak), and run it through a CLR (aka the JVM/JRE in the Java world).

Of course, in .NET they still have COM-Interop, which lets you work through .NET with your legacy COM objects (consider this equivalent to CORBA or JNI, but flakier).

They've stolen some of the compile-on-the-fly concepts from the Java world, as well, now that all ASPX's are compiled on their first hit.

etc...

But, at the end of the day, you still have a directory full of .DLL's.

Makes it easier for me, who loved the Java world, to deal with going back to the dark side. Looks like Java; Smells like Java; No, it's C#.

Unfortunately, it seems like every damn geek around went to Java (at least in the Dallas market) during the downward slop of the .COM's. So, there's less competition for me over in the MS world. And, I'm fairly competent that I'll be able to make jumps back and forth, when needed. For now, I'll take that blue pill and remain in the matrix until I've weathered the storm.

Hrm, that was off the subject, but what the hell. ;)

-Jason