[fpc-pascal] .NET FAQ

[Marco van de Voort]

> On Fri, 29 Sep 2006, Bisma Jayadi wrote:
 
> The .NET CLR does not know the 'untyped pointer' type. That means that a
> lot of RTL code must be rewritten; if not most of it. I'm not saying it
> can't be done, but none of the core developers sees this as a need or even
> a challenge.

Moreover, you then still only have a basic ported app in native Delphi
style. To benefit from .NET fully, you need another migration/rewrite.

And there lies the core for the problem for FPC. For Borland the whole dual
platform strategy is a migratory thing (look how neglected win32 is). It
makes business sense to make the migration easy, to hold on to old win32
clients.

Our "customer" base is largely not interested in .NET though (starting with
the fact that half or more of the serious users don't even use windows). And
we can't get the dual platform (native/.NET) traject up and running as fast
as Borland. There is a fair chance that when we get there, it will be
irrelevant, and a split between native and non-native will have occured
again. 

A dual codebase puts limitations on both sides. Native can't use what it is
good at (lowlevel interfacing, optimizing stuff for performance), and .NET
can't access the gigantic .NET framework because it is not portable to
native.

Regardless what you think of .NET, I think the dual platform stategy is only
a transition horse in time.