We are nearing the end of an interesting 2006. While some businesses are closing for the holidays, CodeGear is revving up for 2007. Our web site is live at www.codegear.com. We are putting the finishing touches on our plans for 2007. While we haven’t crossed all the T’s and dotted all of the I’s on the plan, I want to share with you the “watchwords“ that are driving us forward.
But first, what is a "watchword"? Several Internet sites define it as "a slogan used to rally support for a cause" and "a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group". The CodeGear community is the perfect “restricted group“ to see the words that are driving us forward.
The CodeGear watchwords for 2007:
- Quality - in everything we do (thanks Kyle and DelphiGearHead)
- Community - helping you, doing more with you.
- RAD - in everything we do.
- Innovation - for Delphi, C++ and Java languages.
- Web - Web 2.0, AJAX.
- Dynamic - PHP, Ruby, etc.
- Database - InterBase, DataStore, and support for other databases.
- Open Source - using open source, leveraging open source, supporting open source.
- Team - new capabilities for developers working as individuals, in small teams, and large teams.
- Fun - if it isn’t fun, why do it?
Stay tuned for more information and updated roadmaps in early 2007.
{ 18 } Comments
I think you missed an opportunity to have an awesome Acronym here.
With only a couple of additions (and re-ordering) you could have had:
W R I T e C O D e.
with two D’s of course.
The E’s could be Extensible and Energising.
Free for you to use!
If CodeGear will be so committed to open source, how about joining force with Firebird team to produce even better database system?
> how about joining force with Firebird team to produce even better database system?
Hmm, interesting idea. What would you like to see us do with Firebird - drivers, components, sql engine, tools? Answering all of the above is okay, but better would be some specific thoughts.
Community - hopefully a link on the turbo and CodeGear websites that show current user groups. I have emailed Nick, Anders, and John all about getting this added several times over the course of 4 months. Still nothing.
Innovation - I would love to see some changes in GUI tools. GUIs are becoming less control oriented even in desktop apps and look more weblike with links, graphics, and tables. I am sure Ray Konopka can give some ideas. It would be great to see something using XML and CSS for layout and rendering using maybe XUL. For my read only display of data, I am already allowing users to create HTML templates for the layout of data and graphics and then render all the data to an embedded browser in my desktop app.
Open Source - support in IDE for pluggable version control Subversion and PerForce (they offer free tool for single developers). Better support of the FastCode project (donating hardware). More involvement in JEDI project (documentation, merging other libs into it like systools stuff, etc). Also hope to see involvement like this (http://www.wintellect.com/PowerCollections.aspx) which is a project Microsoft sponsored and even Anders himself contributed some code.
Database - hopefully see ECO support for local database engines in the Pro versions. XML only is very limiting.
I am very excited and optimistic about CodeGear.
Thanks for the list David. I would like to a word important to many (I think): Quality.
In regards to Firebird support, I would like to see official BDP & ECO persistence mapper support on the .NET side and official support in IBExpress on the Win32 side.
Looking forward to Highlander! Just please get here before my contract has to renew.
I’d watch out for Web 2.0… It has as much excitement as web 1.0 and will probably turn out about as well. All sound, no fury.
Don’t forget the most important watchword to get all of the above accomplished: caffeine.
New Windows, Office, Delphi, etc. It is going to be a cool year for developers, but especially for CodeGear developers!
It would be great if you guys could write native Linux support up there too.
Would be great if the IDE could use the Freepascal compiler, for example.
Also I see a very good movement to join forces with the Firebird team. A more specific answer:
1. Because one of the main reasons for choosing Delphi is Firebird and for choosing Firebird is Delphi (see the _entire_ page at http://www.firebirdnews.org/?cat=8) I think that one of the priorities is to ‘validate’ the Firebrid ie. to add support in all Delphi SKU on all platforms. This isn’t so hard to do it, IMHO.
2. Because now Firebird is #1 free sql db on Windows after the MySQL’s eclipse and until Postgres catch up (IF it catch up) you can help a lot Delphi by helping Fb with _many_ _small_ features. (You can help Delphi because M$ VS never will favor Fb (or any other open source db) against their SQL Server. "_many_ _small_ features" means many features which looks good on paper an are easy to implement. Different functions for ex. Or SMP in SuperServer. (You are done with it in IB, they are done with it in Vulcan. Helping them in the merge process will be regarded as a very positive move). Because, for example, now IB/Fb is ACID compilant, very easy deployable, a very well balanced engine (3 features - but crucial ones), but many users, especially newcomers, go with other DB because they have SIN, COS, SHA, …. and other 200 functions/features. Of course, is plenty of marketing there. Also, one can build UDFs but this for a newcomer is quite hard and scary. ("Wh/if in the future my small library will be not supported anymore?"). Also, if you manage to ‘fix’ the relations with Fb team you can leverage on their knowledge to move Ib to the ‘few features but certified’ using their work and also helphing them to have ‘many features, free and appealing for the masses’. The same thing which Sun did with OpenOffice, RedHad with FedoraCore aso. Now, sorry that I’m saying this, I cannot see much users using Ib. And the number will, most probably, decrease. IMHO, You’ll save the Ib only if you’ll help Fb to be a successfull db and present Ib as a commercial, certified version of Fb. And, IMHO, is crucial for CodeGear to have a trusty db engine to rely on it. MySQL is out of control (both community and developement team), Postgres is a baby on Windows (I have 8.2 installed on my machine) and no Delphi heritage to build upon it.
…so, another watchword: ‘Realistic’
Ib cannot fight neither with the closed-source propietary db neither with the open-source ones. Frankly, I have Ib (bundled with BDS2006) but I never installed it. Also, I read about Ib2007 but nothing from there attracts me. Fb has already all the features (or similar) or better ones. And MySQL/Postgres are further…
my 2c,
m. th.
- Not forget python
- Wiki-style help documentation
- Let the community localize the IDE!
- In www.clubdelphi.com some users complain that in turbo explorer version can’t use (easily) any reporting solution…. if I have a database and I’m building a aplication, but not have reporting?
Or if you have a info about how integrate it I can write a article for the spanish community
> Open Source - using open source, leveraging open source, supporting open source.
I would like to see the CodeGear-Team writes a complete DelphiFitServer for automatic acceptance tests with FitNesse (http://www.fitnesse.org). Automatic acceptance tests like UnitTest very helpfull but I haven’t enough time or perhaps not enough knowledge to write the FitServer by my self.
More Details on http://www.fitnesse.org/FitServers.DelphiFit
Now this is a good list. Please do at least first three of them good, and we will do the rest.
# Community - helping you, doing more with you.
Please start listening to your user base. We may sound negative for the most part (especially myself), but that is why we still care. If we didn’t care, we shouldn’t follow or post your personal blogs.
# Innovation - for Delphi, C++ and Java languages.
This is the most wanted thing since years! You guys were the best, and there is no reason to do the same again..
I really liked these watchwords, and I hope that you will do everything you can to make them all better.
P.S. I still hate .NET. Please extract and burn that crap from my precious IDE..
Correction: There is no reason for NOT to do same again..
QUALITY. Given your poor product reputation that should be your FIRST watchword. Shipping another Delphi 2005 would be the death of CodeGear.
Recently you started mentioning PHP, but searching through the blogs i cant find anything more detailed about PHP area plans. Can you give us some pointers here?
thanks.
Recently you started mentioning PHP, but searching through the blogs i cant find anything more detailed about PHP area plans. Can you give us some pointers here?
thanks.
> Kyle A. Miller - Posted @ 12/19/2006 8:51 PM - Thanks for the list David. I would like to a word important to many (I think): Quality.
Kyle - you are right, Quality is our most important word, especially given some of the past versions of some of our products. We have made important process improvements, devoted more engineering and quality people, and more testing.
I think of quality in everything we do, in each of the watchword areas. Thanks for noting it! There are so many important words to run our business (and live) by, I could have gone on and on, but given some of the missteps in some of the products, I am happy to add it to the list!
A very good words which are forgotten theese days: FAST and SMALL. I used Borland Pascal 7.0 for my coding purposes until year 2001 when XP came out and DOS software started working a bit clumsy. Then I changed to Delphi 5/6 and I liked it even more because of Code Insight which greatly improves work efficiency. I still use Delphi 7 for many purposes like a text editor.
And the product I dream about is tiny and insanely fast text editor with some IDE features like Code Insight and multiple language support. Why won’t You release such product? Strip off all .NET stuff, help system, WYSIWYG, inspectors and all that RAD/big IDE stuff and make nice and fast editor.
Oh well, that just my feelings and dreams…
Post a Comment