It all makes sense to me. As for the individual, I still wonder what the Android market will look like 10 years from now. Since it is Google's baby I think Android has 30 years in it. Look at M$. It has taken them 30+ years to become less relevant. Maybe the cycle is speeding up.... maybe it is now 15 years. 15 years is good enough for me. The other side is enjoyment. I cannot see myself working on something I do not like...... Maybe Android development might not be fulfilling.... I won't know until I get a chance to swim in it, and that might be after the new year. On 2014-08-04 15:41, David Schwartz wrote: > I understand your point, Keith, but even though Android uses Java, and > Java IS considered “mainstream”, that does not seem to be translating > into making it easy(er) to find Android mobile developers, is it? > > The ones out there ARE getting top-dollar, as well as iOS developers. > > C++ is also a mainstream language, and if you get RAD Studio, you get > C++, Pascal (Delphi) and php/HTML5 in the same box, at least two of > which ARE “mainstream”. > > There’s also their newest offering, AppMethod, which has a pricing > structure more similar to other RAD Mobile development tools. It’s > basically RAD Studio without the Windows-specific stuff (ie., it’s > mobile-centric rather than Windows-centric). > > Honestly, Embarcadero is taking a big gamble by investing in their > cross-platform strategy the way they are. Any company seriously > looking at developing the same app for both iOS and Android is stuck > hiring two development teams with two different development tacks and > two different sets of skill sets. > > Using RAD Studio or AppMethod, this can be narrowed down to one, eg., > Delphi/Pascal or C++, for both platforms. > > At some point, a not-too-dense CIO is going to ask, “Why do we need > two sets of developers at $100k PER PLATFORM that uses FREE tools when > we can spend $5k and only have to pay $100k for ONE developer?” > > It would seem that “free tools” are costing an extra $95k to reach > both platforms. > > Don’t you think $5k is a lot more affordable than $95k? > > (Ok, so if you’re REALLY CHEAP, it’s $50k rather than $100k, but … > that’s STILL at least 10x the cost of a dual-platform development tool > that ONE person can use!) > > -David > > > > On Aug 4, 2014, at 1:56 PM, techlists@phpcoderusa.com wrote: > >> >> In the 80's I began to develop using dBaseII, then dBaseIII... >> dBaseIII+, foxBase+, Clipper 87, Visual FoxPro..... It was a great >> file server database system that was probably the best tool on the >> market for developing small company database applications. >> >> The problem is it was a niche skill set. dBase jobs were few and far >> between. I would still be working with FoxPro if M$ had not bought it >> and everyone bailed. FoxPro is now dead thanks to M$. That was the >> tool of choice for me and I would still be developing with it if it >> was up to me. >> >> Having had that experience I am leery of tying my wagon to something >> like Delphi. I really enjoyed Turbo Pascal in the early to mid 80's. >> I'm sure I would enjoy object oriented Turbo Pascal ie Delphi. I've >> heard tons of good things about Dephi going back maybe 10 or 12 years, >> maybe longer. >> >> Unfortunately Delphi is not main stream enough for me. I do not want >> to tie my wagon to another FoxPro. >> >> >> >> >> On 2014-08-04 13:35, David Schwartz wrote: >>> Delphi is just as easy to use as VB, if not easier. >>> Have you looked at it lately? >>> It’s just not considered “mainstream” any longer. >>> People say, “Oh, is THAT still around?” >>> Yup. Check it out. >>> http://embarcadero.com >>> They also have a tool they now call HTML5Builder or something along >>> that line, which is an allusion to their C++ Builder app — a C++ >>> version of Delphi. HTML5Builder is a PHP/HTML5 version. >>> -David "The Tool Wiz" Schwartz >>> On Aug 4, 2014, at 11:40 AM, techlists@phpcoderusa.com wrote: >>>> On 2014-08-04 10:57, David Schwartz wrote: >>>>> Now we’ve got a new language: Apple introduced Swift and is making >>>>> it >>>>> available for free, like their other tools. This is going to >>>>> stimulate >>>>> a whole new generation of devleopers to jump into the fray and >>>>> start >>>>> building apps for iOS — apps that are going to be hard to “port” >>>>> over >>>>> to Android platforms, or even web platforms. >>>>> I’ve talked with Joe about his app. To his credit, he’s focused >>>>> mainly >>>>> on the app. But what he’s missed is the fact that, IMHO, he’s >>>>> over-spec’ed it to the point where you'd need so much custom code >>>>> to >>>>> impement what appears to be a simple tool that he’ll never be happy >>>>> with the end result. His UI design makes assumptions based on HIS >>>>> experience with *nix shell scripting, and he clearly explains this >>>>> in >>>>> the spec. There are no native widgets that work like “grep” in the >>>>> Android world! So he’ll be extremely hard-pressed to find anybody >>>>> who’ll build it for him within the budget he’s demanding. >>>>> I’ve worked with something called Delphi since Borland introduced >>>>> it >>>>> in 1995. Starting with the XE2 release a few years back, they’ve >>>>> been >>>>> embracing a multi-platform targeting strategy where you can develop >>>>> apps in one language that will run on any of the popular platforms: >>>>> Windows, OS X, iOS, and Android. And it actually WORKS! >>>> This is what we need - build once run everywhere. I personally >>>> think web development is way behind in they types of tools we have. >>>> I often wonder why we do not have something like VB that is drag and >>>> drop. Instead we build everything every time. The web dev model is >>>> very expensive. >>> --------------------------------------------------- >>> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org >>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >>> http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >> --------------------------------------------------- >> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss