The answer is no. I have used Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 to build a Melative Scrobbler for Windows users in Visual Basic… The result… It took 2 1/2 days estimated to make a fully functional scrobbler that included music and anime detection and with Visual Basic 2008, it was pretty simple since the syntax is similar to RealBasic and I have used it back in 2006 when I was developing stuff on the same platform, except with a older version of Visual Studio.
The problem lies with people spreading FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) about Microsoft .NET. MAL Updater go so far and bashing it saying it uses too much memory and requires a user to install a 30 MB .NET Framework on the computer. However, it is not a big drawback at all. Here are some common FUD spread about .NET.
- .NET Uses too much memory! – This is bullshit on top of the gun. With my written application, MelScrobble, it only used around 8 MB – 11 MB on Windows 7, as much used in MAL Lite and also Melative Library, both programs that are not written in .NET, but in RealBasic 2009 which uses native code. Keep in mind that the memory shown in the Task Manager is not the actual memory used in the program since the newer versions of Windows preallocate the memory so that the program will run faster on the fly, just like in Mac OS X and Linux does with memory allocation.
- .NET is bloated and requires one to install a huge .NET framework: Also, another fear tactic used by anti-DOT NET users and is hardly a issue these days. Vista Service Pack 2 and 7 comes with .NET 3.5 preinstalled. The only people that are complaining are the Windows XP users… so just install it… Other programs are going to use it anyways.
- .NET is SLOW and Shitty: No it’s not… It runs just as fast for general purpose application. If you are writing a program that requires native code, you would be using C++ or C, not C# and VB.NET. It is hardly an issue since most people have fast computers and have 2-4 GB memory standard on their computers.
- Lastly, you aren’t developing programs, I am. You shouldn’t dictate to me what I should use or not.
Dot NET is a powerful platform and can also be used in Mono as well, meaning you can use it on Mac OS X, Linux, you name it… not just Windows… so I don’t see what is the fuss with Dot NET…. Not convinced still, I will write MelScrobble in Delphi 7 to prove a point, but believe me… it is not going to be any different from the one written in Visual Basic 2008.