Rev 4.0 article on TheServerSide

[Bernard Devlin]

I don't think we should get too concerned that the marketing of a
product we like gets mocked on Slashdot or TheServerSide.  The code
samples might not be the best examples of each particular language,
but they are probably representative of the code that novice
programmers would create.  My understanding is that these new entrants
into programming have always been the target market for RunRev.  I
can't see how any novice would prefer the samples given in those other
languages - after years of programming in Java it still makes me
regurgitate my last meal whenever I have to look at some Java code.

For the last 10 years the people on theserverside.com have _viciously
attacked anything_ that is not Java.  I used to visit that site daily
when I was doing Java programming.  (I was always looking for better
alternatives to the tools and frameworks we were using at work).  The
company behind that non-java-specific website even had to set up a
different website to discuss .Net (http://www.theserverside.net),
because there would have been blood spilt (and possibly
assassinations) if Java programmers had to evaluate the merits of
anything other than Java.

Compared to the history of theserverside.*, here we have wide-ranging
and fair discussions of options other than Rev.  And ironically we are
on runrev-hosted and runrev-managed fora (they are not a Sun-hosted
forum).  Theserverside.* sites are the very definition of
narrow-minded, and that narrow-mindedness does not come from the
provider of the site, but from the users.  Despite my wide interests
in programming, I only revisit theserverside.com about once every year
- only to confirm my view that they are deeply mining a very narrow
strip.

I always imagine that the people on theserverside.* are corporate
drones who love their dronehood and will defend their shackles when
offered freedom.  I visualise them as the kind of prisoner in The Life
of Brian who says how his Roman torturers are very fair people.  (If I
remember rightly, Python also mocked that kind of drone in The Holy
Grail.)  Corporate drones maintaining that Java or .Net is the only
way to program are exhibiting some form of Stockholm Syndrome.

I think Rev got off quite lightly there - maybe the drones are by now
all paunchy middle-aged men, looking forward to their retirement and
hoping they can get there without learning anything new.  I don't
think they ever got over the defections from Java of such luminaries
as Bruce Eckel and Bruce Tate.  (No disrespect to paunchy middle aged
men on here - I am one also.)

Instead I think we have to consider how far RunRev have come and what
a great job they have done to even get mentioned on theserverside.  I
believe it was RunRevKev who started the slashdot discussion - but the
mention on theserverside came from someone outside the company.  As
did the mention on the ziff davis site.  The problem for RunRev
marketing is to find some way to let the vast millions of
non-programmers find out what they could achieve with Rev.

I remember when I accidently heard of Revolution.  I then did some
searches for past discussions on the internet of Rev or MetaCard.  It
was very hard to find any discussion of them in some obscure usenet
group, let alone find a discussion on major sites such as slashdot,
ziff davis, or theserverside.

Theserverside.com is probably the last website in the world where I
would expect to see a discussion of Rev.  In fact, I'd genuinely be
less surprised if Rev was discussed on www.popularmechanics.com or
www.vogue.com.

I never expected to see a Rev browser plugin, so maybe I'll get to see
Rev on the catwalk.

Congratulations are in order.

Bernard