.NET Programmers In Demand, Despite MS Moves To Metro

mikejuk writes "Are you a newbie programmer looking for a job? It seems your best bet is to opt for .NET. According to technical jobs website Dice.com, companies in the U.S. have posted more than 10,000 positions requesting .NET experience — a 25 percent increase compared to last year's .NET job count. So Microsoft may want us to move on to Metro but the rest of the world seems to want to stay with .NET."

Well duh

[TheSpoom]

Nobody ever got fired for recommending IB^H^HMicrosoft.

Re:Confused

[derGoldstein]

It's this type of attitude that separates programmers into idiotic "camps". I'm not talking about MS behaving weirdly and making nonsensical decisions -- that's a given. I mean making it sound like C# is oceans apart from modern C++. When you're programming in C++ and STL (along with some Boost, as required), most programs are going to be almost identical in structure. I know this because I've had to port code back and forth from C# to ANSI C++, and apart from some specific, easy-to-isolate areas (like interfacing with the GUI), the structure of the programs remains the same. You should be separating the code that talks with the GUI no matter what language you use, unless your program is heavily intertwined with the GUI (like graphics programs or visualizers).

You should be comfortable using both languages. If you're coming from C# to C++, then check out Accelerated C++ [acceleratedcpp.com], and (some time later) follow that up with this advice [stackoverflow.com].

This isn't like moving from C# to C, it's much closer. Also, you should aim to be a Programmer, rather than a (C++ || Java || C# || Python) Programmer. It'll make your life easier and make you better at your job.

Re:Confused

[PhrostyMcByte]

WinRT doesn't replace .NET or the Win32 API, nor is it a second-class citizen when used from C#.

Metro apps are intended to be small—about the size of a cell phone app. They aren't made to replace full desktop apps meant to get work done. The .NET APIs you get for Metro apps have been scrubbed, getting rid of "insecure" APIs as well as ones that WinRT made redundant. A lot of the .NET API you've become used to is still available, though.

It uses COM behind the scenes, but there's no hint of COM in the API -- in fact, people in the Mono project have already begun work on a purely managed WinRT implementation. It definitely doesn't feel like a second-class citizen while using it. I'll be curious to see how much overhead it introduces.

WinRT in C++ is a little weird. There are two ways to use it: WinRTL, which is written in standard C++ but has all the verbosity of COM, or C++/CX, some extensions to C++ that make using it a breeze if you don't care about portability. It doesn't replace the Win32 API either. They encourage you to use WinRT when possible, but the entire Win32 API is still available. It's not clear if they'll be filtering the APIs you're allowed to use during the review process.

The biggest problem with Metro apps is that you can't just distribute an exe—all distribution needs to go through the Windows app store, complete with $100/year fees and review process. I'm sure a hack will come out, but this might make life a bit more difficult for many hobby developers trying to reach the common user.