BorCon - Closing Session...Resistance is Futile

A few things to share regarding the closing session. John Kaster (DevRel) mentioned that there would be a forth coming update to the BDN --- it wouldn't be static any more. Some of the beta sites under dev include...

http://news.borland.com
http://blogs.borland.com
http://ec.borland.com/ec/index.faces (a Community calendar beta built using JBuilder, which is live now).

Dale Fuller had a few words worth repeating, “I said that in 1999 that we are a family and that we can never turn on our backs on each other." He emphasized that was still true, and added, "our focus is on the developer and developer productivity...Because it's all about the code... Hope this year you were pleasantly surprised again with Borland."

At that point the give away festivities began. It was quite amusing this year. More play among David I and Dale than usual. Lots of shirts being launched. Including a moment with David I dual armed with shirt launchers on an elevated platform (and smoke rising in midst).

This year I was fortunate to get drawn for a give away bag, which included a JSP book, some software, a mug, and a very cool Bluetooth handsfree headset. However, earlier in the day (in the exhibit hall) I was 20 yards away from winning an X-box from ATOZED software (www.atozed.com), but failed to hear my name called. Seriously. I was chating with a Borland employee about ALM. Oh well. At least it keeps me from having to buy games. (Just don't tell my kids!)

At least one person I know was affected by the conference. Likely influenced by the closing session fan fare!!! No word on where BorCon will be next. :-(

That's probably it for me for awhile on posts. But I'm sure I'll have something to share in the near future regarding the Open Letter mentioned previously in this post. Currently talking with Alain "Lino" Tadros of Falafel to see if their CodeFez site can be used to facilitate the creation of this open letter. We should know something within a few weeks. But, first back home and back to work!

BorCon - Press Clippings

There's some activity in the press worth hyperlinking here regading this week's BorCon.

I especially liked InfoWorld's article regading Diamondback.

There's a quote from Michael Swindell, Borland director of product management for developer tools, that I found encouraging.

"With Diamondback, users do not need separate development environments for C# and Delphi. All of the team members can share the Delphi environment."

It adds...

A host of other improvements also await Diamondback users.

Futher hope for BCB!!

Other article related to this year's BorCon can be found at the following:

ZDNET: Borland Lifecycle Tools
INFOWORLD: Borland's Software Delivery Optimization (SDO)
INFOWORLD: More SDO
INFOWORLD: Borland's tools for building Microsoft Apps

BorCon - C++ Meet The Team!

Maybe I should have called this C++ Beat the Team... Actually, it turned out slightly better than anticipated.. but of course not as good as the Delphi event 24 hours prior (where we all walked away with a interim build copy of Diamondback).

John Ray Thomas (JT) was the host of the meet the team. It's always great to see and hear from JT, as he's got a pretty good read of what we want and need. The problem, he's not one of the decision makers on what Borland does. More on that later. JT came prepared for the arrows as reflected in his opening remarks... "It was funny as we were preparing for this session at Johnny Rockets someone mentioned that the last public hanging was right across the street." He added, "but we've come prepared to provide some honest upfront answers regarding...

• The Open Letter
• The future of C++Builder
• CBX
• C++ support for .NET"

I should mention JT also had George Paulini, his boss, by his side, with a few of the C++ team members in the audience, as well as DavidI, Michael Swindell, Allen Bauer, Danny Thorpe, and others.

JT shared that since last year they have gone through a re-org. With George as head of all the developer tools (Java, Delphi, C++). Boz Elloy is his boss at the executive level. Scott Arnold, incidentally, also weighs in as he "is responsible for shaping the company’s business strategy [Borland web site]" - thus holds the purse strings. Incidentally, JP LeBlanc, the former C++ exec product manager and principle decision maker in the team going from BCB6(VCL) to CBX, took a job in France, for those that didn't know.

On the topic of the Open Letter. JT shared that it was ready to go several times, but held back by the executive team (legal) at the last minute for further deliberation. DavidI piped in, jokingly of course, that it was "still being spell checked."

You could tell from JT's physical demeanor that he was a bit disappointed that the Open Letters didn't go out because of the change in direction from the top. However, in the midst of uncertain "product planning" decisions being made by the Management Team, George didn't want to send mix signals (flip flopping); which he states would have occurred if they had released the open letters. In fact, that "product planning", which is influenced by the Sales Force field, is still being deliberated by Management (more on that in a moment). The biggest gripe from the audience on this is that they could have done a much better job of communicating --- at least showing some heartbeat C++ was still alive. Certainly, the lack of acknowledgment that something / anything was being worked on, was poor execution on their part. It was made quiet clear that this silence has been perceived as abandonment of their C++ product line and it's users.

The good news is that we learned that Borland, at least their development team, has no intention to abandon C++, and, at least for the development team, they do have had game plan! It's just that that game plan must be finalized by the Management team. (Thus it's still Jello)...

JT shared that between last year and this year they (the development team) recognized that a new version of BCB was needed!" However, after months of development, the field (sales force) came back and told them that they needed CBX first. So at this point (today), they are still investigating how to deliver BCB!

As proof of the ongoing effort, JT switched out of PowerPoint and loaded Borland Developer Studio (Diamondback) with C++Builder integrated into the IDE. That's right. BCB inside Diamondback. He then proceeded to build a simple One Button App. Upon execution of the app, Michael Swindell injected from his seat, "Ship It!!!"

With that, JT mentioned that their intention is to integrate C++Builder (VCL) into Borland Developer Studio. However, they need to finish detailed planning. With that, he mentioned that we will know a final "answer" by no later than December 15, 2004!

I later asked JT if he could create a TurboDemo of his demo and stick it out on the web. He liked the idea. We'll see if it happens though!!! (translate: if the powers that be let him)

At this point there were a whole lot of discussion / comments /arrows being flown etc... from a very well attended Meet the Team (better than expected). It would take too much time to rehash all the comments. But I'll boil it down. The majority of people in the room want Borland to communicate better and want Borland to update C++Builder (VCL). Only two people in the room indicated strong interest in C++BuilderX. Essentially many folks have apps built and maintained using C++Builder, it's their lifeblood and they don't want to not have support from Borland nor do they want to resort to Microsoft Visual C++.

They key, in all of this, is persuading the Management Team, which the Development Team needs help at doing. So I inquired if perhaps the Management Team needs an Open Letter from us - the community (of evangelists) who uses and needs C++Builder (VCL). That seemed to strike a chord. So, over the next few weeks check back here and, certainly, use the news groups to help fashion the key elements that will go into this Open Letter from the Community.

Okay, back to JT's presentation. Currently, Borland is preparing to ship a free update to CBX users code named Boomerang. It will be more stable and include Code Complete. Then there's another build coming, called Didgeridoo (sp?), which will have more features. Again, this product is intended to support multiplatform deployment. One thing worth noting is that they are putting wxWidgets designer on hold. It will not be the RAD tool Windows developers are used to, but it will be a significant tool of worthy consideration for those creating console and mobile applications to different platforms.

After hearing this, I commented to JT that they should probably call this something other than C++BuilderX - and suggested the name TurboC++X :-D [a few chuckles] He agreed the name should change.

Finally, there is good news from the world of Microsoft regarding C++ support for .Net. This actually creates a bigger window of opportunity for Borland in putting out a C++Builder version that not only supports Win32 but also .NET (especially since Borland already has Delphi.NET components!!!) So, June 2005 Microsoft will have compiler, which one would hope Borland would be able to use, that provides the C++ managed support for .Net. Borland is participating in the standardization of this and JT mentioned that Borland’s extension could map nicely.

That's the meat of the content. What you’re not getting in this report is the entire dialog that occurred between all of us, JT, George and the Borland crew. This went on not only during the session, but well after the session (for quite sometime). Unfortunately, Dale Fuller was not there. He was with some power Wall Streeters -- likely trying to keep them away from the C++Builder meet the team session. However, Boz Elloy and Scott Arnold did arrive afterwards and a mess of us cornered them to share our frustrations, requirements and needs.

Incidentally, this open letter I mentioned from Us to Management is seen by the Developer team (including George) as a viable approach and is highly encouraged. There's some hope!!! So, we should definitely put something together in regard to that. Stay tuned for more (and certainly use the newsgroups). But there's no doubt in my mind that the C++ develpoment team (and their Delphi counterparts) would love to deliver BCB and and also include it in a future build of Diamond back (aka Borland Developer Studio).

BorCon - Taiko -vs- Bug Spray

Perhaps the funniest line for me at the conference came not from a speaker, or a conference attendee but my wife who I was IMing with during the Monday morning session. Hope you enjoy this little dialog that I though I’d share…

hi - I am live at the BorCon opening morning session!!!!
American Indians now on the stage! Banging drums!!! They look like they also know kung fu!

So they're having a pow-wow. Hope it's not an Indian rain dance or a war dance: D

lol -
Actually I think they are Japanese not American Indians but it's like an oriental river dance

Japanese and Indians don't exactly look alike.

They are wearing martial art out fits. One white guy in the mix the rest Asian
This is highly unusual for a BorCon. This is pretty cool!

Are you sure you're in the right place?

Now David I is banging the drum -- he's the conference host. So yes, I'm at the right conference!

Does it sound like Jimangi?

Yes - like Jimangi

San Jose Taiko - is their name.
Were told this type of music is used to chase spirits and insects from the field...Used to pray for rain, and give thanks to a bountiful harvest

I guess they don't believe in bug spray : D

lols

BorCon - Kylix! / DiamondBack!!! / C++?

I'm blogging live from the BorCon Diamondback Preview. The room is packed.

Remember Kylix? Believe it or not, Michael Swindoll has just announced that Borland has initiated the Kylix Community Project. The admin team for this includes Borland and key members of the Borland Community (including Chad Hower) with the goal to update the CLX library. Good news, eh? :-)

Nick, who just won the Spirit of Delphi Award, is providing real-time blogs regarding the Diamondback Preview. Be sure to check it out!

Diamondback is VERY cool. My hope, for my fellow C++ comrades, is that BCB will one day, become a part of the DiamondBack IDE!!!! Wouldn't that be awesome?

BTW - Everyone was given a Friday build of the DiamondBack beta!!!! Much joy! We'll see what tomorrow night has in store for the C++ meet the team. Let's hope that C++ inside DiamondBack could be a real option!

BorCon - Welcome Reception

Here's a run down of the Welcome Reception (at least for the time I was there).

• Mardi gras theme
• Video games
• Air Hockey
• Pool
• Foosball
• Casino Tables / Slots
• Live Band
• Fajitas
• Roast Turkey
• Roast Beef
• Open Bar (2 tickets)
• David I handing out (BORL) stickers
• Dale F handing out Borland hats.

BorCon - Sunday Part II - Opening Session

"If you're paying attention, please yell!" That is a chant from the techno song looping prior to the start of the BorCon 2004 opening session. Our MC, David I then came out and lead the audience from the floor in what I would call "developer aerobics" to a similar beat-based techo number with lyrics I don’t remember. You could tell he was hurtin' -- utterly exhausted -- once he took the stage kicking us off with an "Unleash the Power!" declaration. With all his energy -- I guess you could say he is Borland's princal Power source for the community of Borland users.

We were told by David I that the Monday AM session will have something special (indeed it would be), and added that on Wednesday they will have "something special for everyone."

Dale Fuller came out, with David I staying on stage and gave us the spin on Borland's Vision for the Future. It was a three fold discussion featuring Borland's Past, Present and Future. Some of the D.F. quotes include the following:

"[We will] never abandon the developers"
"[We're] focused on developer productivity"
"The past is really our future"
"It's all about the code"
"We focus on the code... up"

Hot new emerging technology for this conference: DiamondBack – Borland’s Visual Studio IDE match that integrates Win32 and .NET development with tools like Delphi, and C# (not mention of C++) with tools like Together, StarTeam and Caliber.

I learned a new politically correct term coined by the Borland CTO (I don't remember his name -- but it's not Blake Stone) who joined Dale on the stage, which is “Long live assets = legacy software.”

This year, Allen Bauer won the President award! Honestly, my bet had been on Michael Swindell (Oh well, maybe next year Michael). But there is no doubt Allen was certainly worthy of it. Congratualations Allen!!

Missing this year … No Q&A with Dale Fuller. :-( & No Ray Lischner.

BorCon Unleashed - Sunday - Part I

Well, 30 minutes away from the Opening Keynote... should be interesting. I'll report all about it tonite.

For those curious, my Conference Multiplicity app needs some fine tuning. I had my sites set on several sessions, but I managed one morning session -- a tutorial on "Model-driven Development with Together" and was only able to catch the end of the Redskins game (they won!). In the afternoon, I sat in Malcolm Groves "ECO Boot Camp." If you're curious, ECO (Enterprise Core Objects) is Borland's MDA framework for .NET -- pretty cool stuf!

Spotted Blake Stone today in the shadows (former Borland Chief Technologist). Actually he was standing in front of the registration booth. I'll take it as a positive sign that there are no burned bridges.

Well, sorry this is brief, but I'll have more to share later! Time to head on over!

BorCon Unleashed - Saturday (9/11)

Today was a precon BorCon day. I sat in the "Introduction to UML2 Features in Together" tutorial by Karl Frank of Borland (no relation to Frank Borland). It was a good session that highlighted some of the new things in UML 2.0 as well as the forthcoming Together product. Key take aways: Pins, Ports, Activities, and Actions. All of which provided me some ammo for my Monday night session.

While I was in the UML session, I engineered a conceptual application (using Together of course) that I call Conference Multiplicity, because I had a big desire to also be sitting in Danny Thorpe's "Get Ready for Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0" discussion, which was being conducted at the same time. Fortunantely, Nick Hodges has provided a stack dump for us on what Danny shared.

So after lunch, I gave a test run of my Conference Multiplicity app and attended both Alain Tadros' talk titled "ASP.NET: Fasten your Seat Belt!" and Robert Love's "XML in the Microsoft .NET Framework" presentation. As always, I enjoyed hearing Alain's jabs, tips and wit. Incidentally he's got a web site geared for the Borland development community called CodeFez – just released. Be sure to check it out in the near future.

Halfway through Alain's talk I moved over to Robert's talk on XML (thus the use of my Conference Multiplicity app). Using Delphi, Robert showed how XMLWriter and XMLDocument can be used to manage XML documents plus some on XML Serialization and XSLT. Most of it was pretty routine stuff, but still useful for any modern day developer.

During lunch I bumped into David I. (sorry for the name dropping). We had a good chat about software design and unique ways for getting audience participation. For those curious, Fear Factor was one consideration – but not for this BorCon. I’m going to see how my Trading Spaces approach works on Monday night. As always, David I was engaging and friendly. Just talking with him gets the old BorCon excitement rolling again. My biggest curiosity for this BorCon, however, is hearing something (anything) regarding C++. On that, I guess we’ll find out by Tuesday night!!!!

I’ll report again tomorrow on all the happenings. Hopefully I can get my Conference Multiplicity app upgraded to bridge wirelessly between the convention center and my hotel, so I can catch the Redskins game from the hotel and sit in both John Kasters’ session on “ALM for .NET” and Tom Gullion’s session on “MDA using Together” in the morning. More tomorrow!!!

Prologue - On this 3rd anniversary of 9-11 my thoughts and prayers go out to the soldiers fighting the war on terror, and certainly the families who have been victims of terror.

Unleash the BorCon

Here I am at another BorCon! This time it's a encore performance in San Jose. I just picked up my registration packet this evening, and for those interested, here's the low down of what you get!

Once again a black Borland backpack is provided - this one is unique from last year's though. Contents this year include:

T-Shirt: Navy blue, featuring 3D visual models of the ALM elements on the front with red text underneath that says UNLEASH THE POWER

Borland Software: None (This is disappointing, but to be fair though, many of the papers/presentations are available via the web to conference attendees, and lab computers will have all the lastest products)

Microsoft Software:

• ASP.net Resource Kit;
• Windows XP Serice Pack 2;
• Microsoft Tablet PC Developer Start CD;
• Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition Beta CD*

Literature:

• BorCon Program Guide
• BorCon Product Discount Sheet
• HP Software Developer Program Cutsheet
• PROCESSExchange presentation chutsheet featuring "David I doing yoga"
• Delphi Informant Magazine
• asp.net PRO Magazine (*includes Visual Web Dev Beta CD mentioned above)

Keynote Addresses:

• Monday: Rick LaPlante (Microsoft) - To talk about Software Development lifecycle tools (for .NET) and how Microsoft and Borland will deliver the [needed] software...
• Tuesday: Onno Kluyt (Sun) - To talk about Java happenings (JCP, Jini, J2EE).

Monday Night Event: Delphi Diamondback Preview

Tuesday Night Event: Tech Museum of Innovation (sponsored by Microsoft) - deja vu

Noteworthy Exhibitors (38 total):

• Borland (of course)
• Microsoft
• DigitalGuru Bookstore
• HP
• Sun
• eBay
• Advantage Database
• ComponentOne
• Falafel
• Raize Sofware

That's it. Hopefully more material (i.e. software/sweat-ware) will be distributed during the course of the week. Stay tuned for more, and, as always, check Dr.Bob's site for his BorCon Analysis!!!

Future of C++Builder?

For quite sometime I openly wondered about the future of Borland's C++ product line. As an avid user of C++Builder and a co-author of the last two books on C++Builder, I had much at stake in the decision and direction Borland would take with C++. Would it be the new C++BuilderX (CBX), a Java-based, VCL-less IDE, or would the windows-based, VCL-driven C++Builder (BCB) make a return? After hardly a mention over the last 9 months from the folks at Borland, I had placed this concern on the bottom of my list of matters. Instead, other products such as Borland’s Together tied with Microsoft’s Visual Studio (C#) have become prominent tools in my toolbox. But now, just weeks before the upcoming BorCon event in San Jose, I wonder again.

There are rumblings that an announcement will be made. I have no idea what the decision will be. However, what I do know is that the lack of announcement might equate to a decision not to continue with the production of a C++ product, which would be another major disappointment at best.

Instead, what I hope to see at Borland is a rally by the community for Borland to focus again on the C++ product line. And for Borland to respond with a genuine concern, a favorable decision, and clear direction! Part of that desired response, however, may be contingent upon our approach.

While it will be easy and tempting to beat up Borland regarding their lack of action and communication, as well as sharing of their vision, I think the more appropriate approach would be to show a unified front of what our needs and wants are as a community. Criticism, if it’s not constructive, will likely continue to keep the Borland C++ Bus at bay. However, a unified front can result in mutual encouragement for the community of developers and Borland giving them clear direction and confidence in knowing how they should proceed.

So, in one of my next Blog posts, I hope to share what I think are some of the important wants and needs are as far as C++; issues that we can rally behind. I will also scan the Borland newsgroups for your takes and desires.

Be sure to check back here again soon for those thoughts!!! Also I encourage you to bookmark Dr.Bob's Programming Clinic for current insights regarding C++Builder, Delphi and other Borland products & happenings.

Welcome to my Blog

Well, after much deliberation, I've decided to join the BLOG ranks. Mainly for the purpose of collecting, and managing my own thoughts, desires and discoveries. Furthermore, a BLOG provides an ideal mechanism for collecting appropriate feedback. So, if what I share over the coming months makes sense and/or you have something constructive to add, I'd be interested in in hearing your thoughts!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared do not necessarily state or reflect the opinion of SimVentions or its sponsors.