VBscript vs Python (was Re: [5th Draft] Open Letter to CNRI: Request for clarification)

[Mark Hammond]

"Alex Martelli" <alex at magenta.com> wrote in message
news:8m8k5r01qpk at news2.newsguy.com...

> Take care!!!  Microsoft has announced, buried somewhere in the folds of
> the many .NET things, that VBscript will shortly *DISAPPEAR*.  I'm sure
> you can find all the how's and why's in the 'scripting' section of MSDN,
> but,
> basically, they want to add to Visual Basic (the for-$$$ product) what
few
> features VBscript (the free thingy) has extra today, and kill VBscript
as a
> separate entity.

Obviously I can not speak for anyone in this regard.  I have no inside
information (that I will admit to <wink>)

But - I would not be too alarmed about this.  The whole .NET architecture
means the distinction between VBScript and VB should not exist.  .NET has
effectively removed the requirement for the 2 discrete products - any
language compiler is a script engine, and any script engine is a language
compiler.

I dont believe MS have their charging model worked out, but I believe we
will find VB becoming "just" the language, and the VB IDE rolled into
VS7 - meaning C#, VB and C++ are truly first class citizens in their IDE.
Python and other 3rd party languages are unlikely to be first class in the
first release (simply because that is a hard problem to solve!)

I would _guess_ that we will actually find their language compilers freely
distributable, but their IDE tightly controlled - after all, without the
IDE, VB would be pretty useless, and _should_ be freely given away.  Ditto
for VBA - it is not the language that holds the value, but the IDE.

Not-speaking-for-anyone-including-myself ly,

Mark.