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Microsoft May Back Off of .NET Languages

Posted by Soulskill on from the lost-the-spark dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Though Microsoft had initially made a commitment to create versions of dynamic languages that are customized for .NET, recent reports make it clear that the company may be stepping back from this plan. Much early speculation on this change in focus comes from Jim Schementi, previously the program manager in charge of Microsoft's implementation of the Ruby software known as IronRuby. Schementi reports on his blog that the team dedicated to working on IronRuby has decreased to one employee. According to Schementi, his departure from the company came as Microsoft began to display a 'serious lack of commitment' to any .NETized dynamic languages, including IronRuby."

8 of 443 comments (clear)

  1. Getting screwed in both directions by bbtom · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, Oracle are suing Google and making the JVM a less viable platform.

    And Microsoft are pulling back on resources for IronRuby.

    Looks like it may finally be time for the LLVM to step up to the plate and provide an open source alternative. Here's hoping...

    --
    catch (HumourFailureException e) { e.user.send("You, sir, are a humourless idiot."); }
    1. Re:Getting screwed in both directions by not+already+in+use · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think the reason for this is that a lot of web programming isn't overly complex and the brevity of a dynamic language is an advantage in these cases because you can't code something up pretty quickly. Anyone writing any sort of really complex web app in a dynamically typed language is just asking for trouble.

      --
      Similes are like metaphors
    2. Re:Getting screwed in both directions by Bill_the_Engineer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So, Oracle are suing Google and making the JVM a less viable platform.

      What?

      Oracle is suing Google for making a non-compatible VM call Dalvik that uses technology found in the JVM without paying a license. Since Google wasn't using JVM, how does Oracle's actions against Google make JVM less viable?

      Looks like it may finally be time for the LLVM to step up to the plate and provide an open source alternative.

      LLVM is a low level virtual machine used to optimize compiler operations and runtime linking. JVM is a high level virtual machine providing objects, garbage collection, and according to Oracle technology patented by Sun. From LLVM website:

      The LLVM Project is a collection of modular and reusable compiler and toolchain technologies. Despite its name, LLVM has little to do with traditional virtual machines, though it does provide helpful libraries that can be used to build them.

      LLVM is not a drop in replacement for JVM.

      --
      These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
    3. Re:Getting screwed in both directions by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It wouldn't be a drop-in replacement but there is no reason that a Java front-end couldn't be created and combined with the LLVM JIT compiler.

    4. Re:Getting screwed in both directions by scot4875 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's pretty much a wash, as "Controlled by Sun" isn't much better.

      --Jeremy

      --
      Jesus was a liberal
    5. Re:Getting screwed in both directions by mldi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's "Controlled by Oracle", which is far worse than "Controlled by Sun", at least for viability.

      --
      If you aren't suspicious of your government's actions, you aren't doing your job as a responsible citizen.
  2. Using them? by 0racle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Was anyone actually using them? We have Python and Perl scripts running on windows and always preferred ActivePython and ActivePerl.

    --
    "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
  3. Harder than you think by cracauer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The truth of the matter is that it is very hard to support random other languages on VMs written for certain languages.

    All these dynamic languages do one thing or another that puts a hole in your plan. Ruby with it's continuations is right up there but Python with "modify anything fundamental anytime" isn't much better. The native environment has a huge headstart.

    We should all move to LLVM.