| Re: IDL 7.0 Preview Review [message #56820 is a reply to message #56744] |
Wed, 14 November 2007 15:45   |
David Fanning
Messages: 11724
Registered: August 2001
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Kenneth P. Bowman writes:
> This sounds good ...
>
>> I detected a new and refreshing openness on the part of
>> IDL developers at this meeting to interact and engage
>> customers in what they really wanted. There is an openness
>> to working with 3rd party developers and consultants
>> that I have never seen before. I certainly came away
>> feeling that the ITTVIS people are smart, capable,
>> and ready to listen to user feedback.
>
> but this does not ...
>
>> After the IDL Workbench demo we got an update on where IDL is headed
>> in the next 3-4 years. The target audience "doesn't want to read a
>> manual", "wants something that looks like his Java or C++ environment",
>> "wants to focus on the task at hand", and "wants to get away from
>> programming". And--I was thinking--is dumb as a stone, but they didn't
>> say that.
>
> They saw no irony in IDL programmers wanting to get away from programming?
Well, I have been thinking about this today. Mike is absolutely
right, ITTVIS is not thinking of current license holders (and
they claim they have 150K "seats" of IDL out there and another
25K "seats" of ENVI). They are thinking about who they might be
able to sell IDL to in the future.
They coo and cluck and make you feel good, of course, since
they still need your maintenance dollars, but their eyes are
focused somewhere over your left shoulder, looking out into the
middle distance for the lower fifty percent of your IDL class
who could no more write an IDL program than they could live
without their iPhone. Those people still have to do science,
God help us. (Does it surprise you in the same ironic way
that half the Republicans running for President in the US
don't believe in evolution?)
So maybe ITTVIS *is* being smart about this. Why worry about
dinosaurs like us? Heck, I'm going to be happy if I can just
keep from deleting all the files off my disk when I fire up
that monster application! And, anyway, I'm thinking its time
to look for a small village in South America where I can
practice my Spanish and go fishing. There's irony for you,
an IDL programmer who is thinking of getting away from
programming. :-)
Cheers,
David
P.S. Let's just say, I've read Ronn's book cover to cover
more than once, getting ready for this big boy.
--
David Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting, Inc.
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/
Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.")
|
|
|
|
comp.lang.idl-pvwave archive
Members
Search
Help
Login
Home
