.Net Visual Studio Convention
March 20, 2002 by daynah
Filed under Geek Get-Togethers
Last nite, we attended one of the Visual Studio.NET Academic Launch Events. The one we went to was at Cal State Fullerton. We arrived on campus around 5:30pm and there were already guest walking around with their .Net bags. The first thing we had to do was sign in at the tables in front. The lady then gave us a bag of goodies. Some people were already leaving with their bags and didn’t even bother to stay for the presentation.
So what was in the bag? Well, a t-shirt, brochures on their products, pen, highlighter, a legal copy of XP, a package with the .Net software, and even mints. Yes, mints. Now who would have known that Microsoft also made mints? :)
We waited a bit in front until they were ready for us to enter the conference room. As the doors opened, you can hear a live band playing and the scent of delicious food filling up the room. Ahh, nothing like a free dinner, a really tasteful dinner too I might add. The caters laid out many hor’derve type of food on the tables and the crowd got in line. It was nearly 6pm, just in time for dinner.
Al and I got our food and we sat down and ate. More and more people were coming in as it got closer to 6:30pm. The presentation started just a few minutes after everyone settled down. The man up front first introduced us to something called .Net.
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET is the revolutionary new development tool that will enable you to rapidly build next generation applications that can target any Internet device and integrate with any platform.
I wasn’t sure what it was until I came to this presentation. From what I can tell, it was a software that was able to compile 5 different languages together. Wow. That’s amazing. You no longer have to write everything in one language. You can write it in 5. And the best part is, you can import and reference them to each other. I was just in awe at that moment. Compilers have come a long way. I remember back in college (it hasn’t been that long ago :) ) when we had to write our own java compilers. It was basically taking a simple language called jlex (I think) and the Java compiler would make it into an executable. Anyways, sounds fun eh? :)
The presentation went on and I learned the real power of XML. Code written in XML can be used in various applications, platforms, and well, practically anywhere… even your cellphone. After the presentation was over, I felt like I just walked out with a huge chunk of knowledge. It’s amazing how the world is changing so quickly today. You really don’t know what to expect. What was impossible back then has turned into something very possible now. Just like the other day when Al showed me he could read etext (books in electronic format) from his pocket PC, I remember one of my professors mentioning that in class. He said, “one day, books will become obsolete, and we will be using tiny computers to read our books. Some students laughed. Others debated that it wasn’t the same as holding a book in your hand. And most people thought books will last forever. But my professor insisted, what about the trees you’re saving? Plus think of how portable and convient it would be. My professor was right. The future is here, today.
