Are we are going to learn that "Application = Code + Markup"?
Following on from my previous post where I spoke of a growing affection for the Silverlight 1.1 Platform, I want to quickly discuss a phrase I've heard a lot of over the past year or so "Application = Code + Markup". (referring to the appearance of XAML in the .NET GUI strategy space)
With the advent of CLR Languages running in the browser with Silverlight 1.1: are we starting to see a single CLR language across all tiers of your application?
To have a single language that spans every tier of an application and targets all platforms certainly has it's advantages, you can see the .NET vision forming as it begins to emerge from the mist!
- SQL2005 CLR Extensions for Data Tier (not mentioning LINQ as a unified query language/ORM)
- The established .NET Framework for the application services and communication channels (WCF, Web Service, or Remoting)
- and now... Silverlight 1.1 finally slots a CLR language into the most accessible UI delivery vehicle, the web browser!
From a development management and methodology standpoint, having a single mature development language utilised across all application tiers has got to provide a few benefits. A single set of coding standards, code analysis tools, unit testing tools/processes, and resulting maturing reusable code libraries. Perhaps reducing overall costs with fewer ranging (if perhaps more skilled) disciplines and reduced development time. And when this delivery provides a highly usable interface to the business, is this not a compelling argument when considering building a development capability.
Will this situation ever truly arise, I've learned never to say never (it usually comes back to bite you) and am hopeful that this new development in the Microsoft Technology Stack will lead us somewhere down this route. We cannot forget about Markup's major role in all of this, the apparent provider of the new "high fidelity" User Experience, as XAML seems to be the current Markup buzz word, so are we are starting to learn "Application = Code + Markup"...? I certainly am!