Interesting comments on the Borland newsgroup from Rick Rogers. Notice his opinion of Java.
I believe Borland/Corel's emphasis on Linux will be *great* for Windows developers, for several reasons:
1) Linux is the current "hot technology" in the marketplace right now, which means focusing on Linux makes it easier to get positive press coverage and higher share prices, both of which will help bolsterperceptions about the company;
2) A successful Kylix project will attract more developers to Delphi (for example, people who currently use MS tools for Windows development, and aren't getting a Linux solution from MS), and more developers in our language is good in a host of ways (more books, more mindshare, more jobs, more components);
3) having Delphi work on two platforms reduces some of the (largely illogical) concerns about it being a "proprietary" language in IS shops;
4) A successful Kylix should help overcome the mistaken impression that Delphi is only a "database", which is how many people in the United States (and perhaps elsewhere) have pigeon-holed it.
5) Borland has already demonstrated an ability to leverage features developed for one product (example: C++ Builder) in another (example: Delphi), and we can expect this to continue with Kylix; for example, I believe that the refactoring of the VCL to be less OS dependent will result in large benefits for Delphi/Windows;
6) Linux tools is supposedly a growing market, and it just makes good business sense to leverage your current strengths to enter a growing market.
Do I think Linux is the current trendy over-hyped buzzword, and that it will fade in a few years just as Java was over-hyped then faded? Possibly (perhaps even probably). But over-hyped marketing and being in the forefront of popular trends is how companies grow, and it seems bizarre to complain that Borland/Corel are taking advantage of marketing hype now, after people have spent so many years complaining that Borland hasn't been marketing properly.
I'm also not worried about the future of Delphi/Windows. Delphi is Borland's flagship product, and Windows dev tools are Borland's primary revenue source. Delphi is driving this train. I think the only chance that Delphi/Windows will wither away in the near-to-medium future is if Windows also withers away, and I don't think the latter is very likely at all.
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Rick Rogers (TeamB)
www.fenestra.com and www.componentfactory.com
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