xsharp.eu

As a Business Software Development Language X# is on track to becoming not only the best software of its class, but also by maintaining focus, the easiest, future-proof, package to use.
Unfortunately, the name itself carries no such connotations.
Is it time for a name change?
Terry

Terry,
Changing a name is usually not a good idea, unless the new name is much better.
What did you have in mind ?

Robert

Robert,
I leave the exact name, if there is a better one, open to discussion. But my thinking goes along the following lines:

X implies XBase – may not be meaningful to (younger) newcomers. (XSharp is the future)
# is sharp and potential users will probably look directly at C#.

Something with “Business” and “Simplified” in the name. Perhaps it’s just a marketing point – but may make it easier to “sell” to those who pull the purse strings in organisations which do not have their own dedicated IT depts.

“Straightforward Business Sharp” perhaps does not have the right “ring” about it, but it conveys the message.

Terry

And one more candidate name: Roslyn For Business

I personally think X# is just the right name. It is the perfect combination of C#, which is considered the most general modern language, and it also shows the connection to supporting the xBase world. Don't change it I'd say....

Dick

HI Terry,

It´s not a good idea to change brand names, especially if they are already well chosen and introduced. "X" means Xbase-dialect and no matter how it´s named, if somebody doesn´t like the Xbase dialect he doesn´t use X#, so what

Almost forgot to mention the real big difference: "c#" is also a musical note, but "x#" not

regards
Karl-Heinz

Hi All

Guess it was a bad idea.

Terry

Hi all,

personally I don't think the name should be changed - but maybe an attribute could be added, like "Xbase for .NET".

The term "xBase" IMHO is very important because it is the language itself.

Wolfgang

When I first saw the same, I was very impressed and a bit excited. Just the name gave me confidence, and got me interested. Seems very modern and new which xSharp is, yet also remembers its roots.

Think its a home run.


Cheers,

Paul

Hi Paul

Yes – I do see your take on it.

For some long time now I have been using C#. For even longer I have been very conscious of the difficulties, challenges and consequent time needed to learn the complex tasks associated with the development of Business-targeted applications.

I also remember the number of good, sometimes even brilliant, ideas I have had with respect to coding things up. The sad fact however, is that most of these ideas have morphed into very bad ones: some have morphed bad quickly so can be forgotten. Some have morphed not so quickly but before any real damage. But some, seeming both good initially and for a longer period have been used as a basis for an application which has grown to a point where that basis itself limits further development. (“if only I’d known that at the start”).

You may not be surprised, therefore, that my thinking has concentrated on two basic factors:

How can we make the learning curve easier/more efficient?
How can we change things retrospectively from the start?

Taking the last point first: Any “Sharp” language, due to programable nature of the Roslyn based compiler, can potentially change initial concepts across the whole code base. This would negate any restrictions on future application growth both in breadth and detail.

But doing this is complex – and will take time and usage to learn and do. There is ample evidence to support this as we see more and more and bigger books on the market covering Roslyn.

Now for the second point: XSharp is far easier to use (for business apps), due to its narrower focus than say C#. A single module program can itself produce highly capable applications. The learning curve to multi-module (X-Sharp) apps is relatively modest, and subsequent progression to multi-module-multi-language apps, again, a relatively modest step.
So, rather than just a convenient tool for development, I see XSharp, for newcomers at any rate, as Spearheading the way of getting to grips with the development of Business Software.
None of this, to my mind, comes across in the name and, of course, each of us will “see” things in a different way.

Hope that makes a bit of sense.

Terry

Terry,

To make it easier for people to start using X# we have started a Youtube Channel "XSharp Academy" . We are working on videos that demonstrate various language features but also on subjects such as migrating from VO to X#.
The first episode (which shows how to install X# and VS) is already available. More will follow shortly.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFqLBM ... 4xRxFGLiVA

Robert