commentzorro

No wait ... now that I think about it I'm more saddened that even our spammy Mechanical Turks who might have been paid a penny for each review are now being replaced with bots.

For me, a successful desktop application has the following traits:

-- A nice specific vertical that is deep and complex to process,

-- Complex entry screens with lots of necessary rules and data validation,

-- Lots of manual data manipulation during the events,

-- Substantial benefit from ability to take advantage of desktop level mouse and keyboard actions,

-- Some complex grid based screens that can be tailored by each user,

-- Fairly complex reporting after the events.

These requirements are still too much for browsers to handle well. The grid based screens are especially horrible in browsers. And browser apps are still pretty horrible for complex data entry screens that want to be customized by the user.

That said, I'm porting the first to a mixed mode where the engine will be internet based but the primary interface will still be the "normal" download and install desktop model. This is to allow some portions to be used in a browser, but the main application still keep the full desktop power.

FWIW: my original apps were Delphi based, but the language long ago stagnated and had become tedious (comparatively). Since I'd switched to .NET for contract work, I started my rewrite in C#. But but I ended up hating the server deployment crap with .NET and also of got really tired the direction Microsoft is going in general. I've now switched C# for the desktop side and Google's Go language for the web/model portion. I picked Go primarily for the trivial single executable deployment. While I don't really get much enjoyment out of coding in Go, it is eminently practical for this type of work. (Note for Gophers: I don't think Go is bad either ... just sort of there. I do use it quite a bit these day and do get the "fun vs practical" trade-offs the Go team made.)

But the future may be bleak with Microsoft moving to an app store. Why the F do I want Microsoft sitting between me and my customers. It adds no benefit to me and provides no benefit to my customers for a portable or unzip and go desktop application. Plus they, like Apple and Google, want to become effectively the worlds most expensive payment processors.

From the FAQ:

4. Are the documents complete?

All of the documents in possession of Greenpeace Netherlands are complete.

The documents represent a substantial part of the negotiating texts, 13 of 17 chapters believed to have reached the consolidation phase of negotiations.

Chapters believed to be in the consolidation phase, but not in possession of Greenpeace Netherlands, are those concerning __e-commerce__, financial services, rules of origin and trade remedies.

Chapters which are not yet believed to have reached the consolidation phase, also not in possession of Greenpeace Netherlands, are those covering: energy and raw materials, investment protection, __intellectual property__ rights, legal and institutional issues, subsidies, sustainable development, textiles and apparel, and other sectors.

I'll give you my speed filter when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

If Snapchat is outlawed, only outlaws will have Snapchat.

Tipping will take Uber from a nice no-personality no-thought experience to an annoying "do I want to deal with all that" mental decision each and every time.

From the employers point of view you appear to have the opinion that most jobs are in startups. In reality, the huge quiet slowly moving employer base is below the visible portion of iceberg. These are the businesses that just need coders to keep things moving from day to day. They are not startups, never will be, and don't even exist in the world where founders are wanted or needed. There needs in a coder is not a superstar, it's someone who can learn to tow the line, get things done, and keep their heads down and code. A average coder is fine here as long as they fill a niche.

Finally, how could you develop a standardized test for all these below the waterline businesses? If a business needs to fill a slot for a person to crank out Java reports for a few years do you test the same as one who needs to fill a position interfacing C++ to POS/IoT devices?

Not that idea is a bad way to make money. It's just that you'll likely need to move into a niche and then you'll need to drive test retakes, release cram books, and become another paper certificate mill. Remember when paper CNAs and such were all the rage.

Way more often than not I am annoyed that life works like this.

Of course, Claritin does nothing to help a stuffy nose. It's the wrong class of medicine. True pseudoephedrine (from behind the counter) is the go to for increasing drainage. The new stuff (OTC with phenylephrine) only works as well as a placebo.

I'm not pissed about the anti ad-block. I'm pissed because the sites show up when I'm searching in the first place. I'm pissed because I go to the site thinking I can get the information I was teased with in my search only to find out I've been tricked. I'm forced to do something (unblock the ads), accept some fake implicit agreement (you agree to look at our ads), and be spied on (all the trackers) before I can get to the content I was lead to believe was there.

The fix is to remove all blocked content from the search so we won't even know it exists in the first place. We won't get upset, we won't get blocked, the sites won't get content "stolen" by those who won't view or click the ads to being with. Everybody's happy. Win Win.

Also, bringing a developer without .NET experience into a project means 6 months before they can do most anything and a good year to be truly up to speed. The ramp-up time for both C# and Java applications are now about as long as C++.

I had high hopes for .NET core. I saw it as a way to start over creating a Go like situation on top of the C# language. But it's still about two years from being production ready and its already gotten complex and bloaty. Just to install the development tools and environment means multiple downloads, dependencies, and install scripts. Download a zipped file, extract to the directory of your choice, and set a few environment variables. That's the way to ensure reducing complexity.

For me, the ultimate test is can I copy my application to a flash drive, walk it to a new clean system, and "paste" it to that new system. Go really does let me do that.

> But i didn't find any mature libraries like Phoenix.

Yup. But then I tend not to need larger frameworks with my Go apps. Like you allude to, Go apps tend to be less monolithic.

I do have fun bashing Go, but I also use it. It's too practical not to. And the Go team, above all other of the latest wave of language that are ready for production, got that 100% right. I just can't overstate how simple Go makes setup, deployment, and updates. And how complex Elixir is in comparison.

I wish Elixir et al. could have a zero dependency, zero external configuration, and single/xcopy file deployment too.

Edit. Also, "This site exists to promote languages which are in development or have not yet reached a wider audience." I'd agree that none of the listed languages have reached a wide audience in (terms of usage anyway) regardless of the other criteria. But it's all relative and I do really like the site.