Miscellaneous

What does Clarion.NET *really* offer over C#?

What does Clarion.Net *really* offer over C# or put another way I might ask how do you go about choosing which .Net language to develop in?  If I were to compare two languages to decide which one is better, the most important factor for me is the runtime libraries delivered with the language. To be really productive with a language means mastering the supporting libraries and classes, and that mastery is the result of experience.  Learning the syntax of any language is not much of a problem. But knowing the functions and classes that exist in the runtime library is more important then syntax because that knowledge can save you hours (or even days) of coding.  And  having a runtime library suited for a specific task (creating database  applications) is equally important.

Now consider the .Net libraries and classes.  All .Net languages use the same .Net Framework Class Library (FCL).  For us developers this means whether you develop in Clarion.Net, C# or VB.Net, when you display a window or a dialog box you are getting a Winform created from the System.Windows.Forms.Form namespace of the .NET framework class library (FCL).  And a Winform has the same methods, properties and events available regardless of the language used to create it.

So does it matter which language you choose for your .NET development?  Yes, it definitely matters. Why?  Because two different languages that both support the .NET framework are just that, different. The important difference is the runtime libraries.  Clarion.Net has full support for the .NET FCL, just as any first-class .NET language must, but it also has the .NET version of the Clarion runtime library (RTL), which means it has the familiar built-in data access methods, the Clarion database Drivers, the View Engine, the Report engine, Queues, Groups, and everything else that defines Clarion.

So what does Clarion.Net really offer over C# or VB.Net?  Here’s my answer to that question.

1) A Runtime library that you already know (and one that’s been designed for building database applications).

Clarion knowledge and experience transfer quite nicely to Clarion.Net.  So much so, that even if you learned Clarion back in the days of DOS, dropped out of development and just came back recently, your knowledge of the Clarion RTL would make you immediately comfortable and productive in the .Net world. 

2) A language designed for Database Applications

 Clarion was designed from day one to build business applications, the same can’t be said about general purpose languages.  And using Clarion.Net you have complete flexibility to code it your way, using PROCEDURES and ROUTINES, or completely Class-based code, or a mix of the two.

 But I’d guess that at this point many of you are raising your hand and shouting “wait you forgot the most important thing!”  And you’re right, because I haven’t mentioned Clarion’s ace-in-the-hole, its legacy and trademark feature; Code Generation. 

 Even if all other things are equal, the productivity gains that the Application Generator and the Templates deliver tip the scales heavily in favor of the Clarion language and IDE.  Take a Clarion developer familiar with the Win32 version of the RTL,  add just a little bit of new knowledge on the .Net changes in the RTL, and point at a spec for any database application. The Clarion developer will complete the .Net application significantly faster, and with much less custom code than any VB.Net or C# developer.   And did I mention ongoing maintenance of the application?  I'll leave that subject for another post.

One final comment, there are other code gen products out there today, and still others coming that will do their very best to mimic Clarion.  But don't be fooled, twenty years experience in Code Gen technology is not something you pickup at the local grocer.  If you look at any of those other products you’ll find they don’t support round-trip code generation, you generate and use it, or you re-generate and start making your changes all over again. And they also don’t integrate with a Data Dictionary. The Templates, if they even exist, are a watered down imitation of what you’re accustomed to. They don't have the concept of .App and .Dct files, and most important from where I sit, they don’t do the Clarion language!

What do you think?   You can post a comment right here, or sound off over in the Clarion.Net forum.

posted on Sunday, November 06, 2005 6:00 PM by Robert Zaunere