Microsoft, which has been pursuing concurrent improvements for its Visual Basic and C# programming languages, plans to open up compilers for the languages and add capabilities for asynchronous programming and immutability.
Discussed at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles today, the blueprint for the two languages will feature compilers as services and accommodations for multicore processors, said Luca Bolognese, program manager for the languages group at Microsoft.
[ See InfoWorld's report on the convergence of the Visual Basic and C#. | Follow our ongoning coverage of the PDC 009 event. ]
With the opening of the compilers, Microsoft will move away from a "black box" mode and let developers see what is going on inside, offering programming benefits. "Using the same data structures that the compiler users is incredibly useful," Bolognese said. With increased insight into the compilers, developers could, for example, parse code or simplify the building of refactorings, he said.
Asynchronous programming and immutability "allow you to write easier parallel code," benefitting applications running on multicore processors, Bolognese said. With asynchronous programming, he added, threads are freed up for processing of different operations.
Meanwhile, the planned Visual Studio 2010 software development platform, due in March 2010, offers declarative and dynamic programming as well as concurrency for C# and Visual Basic. "In Visual Studio 2010, we move the two languages much closer together, so now we are in a good spot co-evolve them as one," Bolognese said. "In the future, you won't see any big feature inserted in one language and not in the other," he said.
This article, "Microsoft to open up compilers for Visual Basic, C#," originally appeared at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in application development and multicore processing at InfoWorld.com.
Read more about developer world in InfoWorld's Developer World Channel.
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »
Sign up to receive InfoWorld Resource Alerts
36 Recommendations
