Win32 is an ancient, kludged api, still showing its Win16 and OS2 Roots. In some cases, there are dozens of different calls that *can* be used to accomplish roughly the same task, each of which has its own dependencies and peculiarities. Walk through the API sometime - foo, fooEx, fooEx2, etc. It's a mess. The API and underlying system architecture was showing its age back in 99, and yet MS has continued to build more and more complex products upon this crumbling foundation.
Apple made a hard call from a business standpoint, not only coming to the realization that their existing APIs were horribly outdated but actually biting the bullet, tossing the whole enchilada out the window, and starting over from scratch (yes, they heavily leveraged BSD and NextStep). This is *extremely* unusual in this industry, especially in a marketing-driven company. They then provided a clear migration path (via Carbon) and designed some of the best frameworks available on any platform. Framework integration is a breeze, with a straightforward API, clear, complete, easily accessible documentation. Ever tried to add VBScript capabilities to a Win32 application? Massive licensing fees, terrible, outdated documentation, lack of knowledgeable technical support from the integration provider, and a buggy library implementation to boot. Adding AppleScript capabilities to a Cocoa application is a walk in the park in comparison, and much easier on the pocketbook - like the other frameworks available to Mac developers, it's license-free.
Besides, Visual Studio vs XCode? No contest. Like the aforementioned Win32 API, Visual Studio is terribly bloated, overly complex, poorly documented, and still carries early 90's baggage.
Sorry if I'm coming across as a slavering Apple fanboy - it's not my intent. Until very recently, I was exclusively a MS developer; I've paid my bills via MS-based x86 development for twenty years now, from DOS to Win16 to Win32, etc. There's really no excuse for MS to produce such a buggy, unstable product (Please, don't tell me about how "stable" Windoze has become; our windows 2003 data center servers still need to be power cycled at least once a week to avoid mysterious crashes, memory issues, etc, and they only run MS software.) I've switched from PC to Mac out of disgust, as each product released gets more bloated and unstable; meanwhile, MS hasn't addressed some of their worst problems (eg, system works great after a clean install, but six months later is slow as molasses and unstable as can be)
There is some indication that MS is willing to scrap existing technologies and start over from scratch, at least in the Mac Business Unit; Office 2008 is (supposedly) re-built from the ground up. Office for Mac was desperately in need of an overhaul. There's still a whole lot of us Mac users out there that need Exchange access, and Office is the only game in town (yes, you can get mail access with other products, but the existing calendaring integration solutions fall quite short).
If Apple was able to pull this off, MS could as well, but they would have to get over their not-invented-here mentality and embrace stable, mature technologies.
I second the recommendation for O'Brian - I am an avid sci-fi/fantasy reader, and I have really enjoyed his books. What I find most interesting (if somewhat frightening) is that they were recommended to me by my Dad (shudder)...
Start at the beginning of the Aubrey/Maturin series with "Master and Commander". More info at The world of Patrick O'Brian
I have recommended his books to several friends, and all have enjoyed reading them.
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It's the frameworks. Seriously.
Win32 is an ancient, kludged api, still showing its Win16 and OS2 Roots. In some cases, there are dozens of different calls that *can* be used to accomplish roughly the same task, each of which has its own dependencies and peculiarities. Walk through the API sometime - foo, fooEx, fooEx2, etc. It's a mess. The API and underlying system architecture was showing its age back in 99, and yet MS has continued to build more and more complex products upon this crumbling foundation.
Apple made a hard call from a business standpoint, not only coming to the realization that their existing APIs were horribly outdated but actually biting the bullet, tossing the whole enchilada out the window, and starting over from scratch (yes, they heavily leveraged BSD and NextStep). This is *extremely* unusual in this industry, especially in a marketing-driven company. They then provided a clear migration path (via Carbon) and designed some of the best frameworks available on any platform. Framework integration is a breeze, with a straightforward API, clear, complete, easily accessible documentation. Ever tried to add VBScript capabilities to a Win32 application? Massive licensing fees, terrible, outdated documentation, lack of knowledgeable technical support from the integration provider, and a buggy library implementation to boot. Adding AppleScript capabilities to a Cocoa application is a walk in the park in comparison, and much easier on the pocketbook - like the other frameworks available to Mac developers, it's license-free.
Besides, Visual Studio vs XCode? No contest. Like the aforementioned Win32 API, Visual Studio is terribly bloated, overly complex, poorly documented, and still carries early 90's baggage.
Sorry if I'm coming across as a slavering Apple fanboy - it's not my intent. Until very recently, I was exclusively a MS developer; I've paid my bills via MS-based x86 development for twenty years now, from DOS to Win16 to Win32, etc. There's really no excuse for MS to produce such a buggy, unstable product (Please, don't tell me about how "stable" Windoze has become; our windows 2003 data center servers still need to be power cycled at least once a week to avoid mysterious crashes, memory issues, etc, and they only run MS software.) I've switched from PC to Mac out of disgust, as each product released gets more bloated and unstable; meanwhile, MS hasn't addressed some of their worst problems (eg, system works great after a clean install, but six months later is slow as molasses and unstable as can be)
There is some indication that MS is willing to scrap existing technologies and start over from scratch, at least in the Mac Business Unit; Office 2008 is (supposedly) re-built from the ground up. Office for Mac was desperately in need of an overhaul. There's still a whole lot of us Mac users out there that need Exchange access, and Office is the only game in town (yes, you can get mail access with other products, but the existing calendaring integration solutions fall quite short).
If Apple was able to pull this off, MS could as well, but they would have to get over their not-invented-here mentality and embrace stable, mature technologies.
Ain't gonna happen.
I second the recommendation for O'Brian - I am an avid sci-fi/fantasy reader, and I have really enjoyed his books. What I find most interesting (if somewhat frightening) is that they were recommended to me by my Dad (shudder)...
Start at the beginning of the Aubrey/Maturin series with "Master and Commander". More info at The world of Patrick O'Brian I have recommended his books to several friends, and all have enjoyed reading them.
Also, a REALLY brief excerpt containing a reply from Creative:
9 9/20:31:52.shtml
http://www.ga-source.com/all/news/bits/05+11+19