Question about the SimCity Tools

[joshriddle 29]

I haven't a problem with any SC4 Tools, the little apps such as the Startup Manager, or the DIC, Mapper, etc... and them using NET Framework as a dependency. However I noticed some use earlier or later versions of it, such as one uses 1.1, and another uses 2. Since it won't let you install 2 versions at a time, I was wondering, can I use a later version of the NET Framework for those tools that require earlier versions? Thanks.

[Vern 29]

I don't know if its app dependent but the apps I have that use the older version will still require it even after I've installed the newer version for another app. So it leaves me with a few different versions of .NET on my system.

I have v2 and v3 of .NET but not v1.1.  I believe I had the same situation as you and ended up ditching the app that needed the older one hence I kept v2.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

{rant}.NET Framework is yet another ingenious lock in from our friends at Microshaft.  They want people to use the latest Visual Studio development tools, which only generate code for the .NET interpreter.  This has advantages for developers in that a common set of Object Libraries (.NET Vx) can be made available as run-time only without much trouble.  It doesn't matter if your program used an earlier version because the package is cumulative.  I believe they are now in the neighborhood of .NET v3 but they could well be a later one with the introduction of Windows 7, and any related server products.

The rest of us use JAVA or another publicly available language such as C++, C, BCPL, COBOL, etc.  Most of these are available free from GNU or other freeware suppliers.  The one exception mentioned is COBOL.  The reason for this, and the reason that most software companies wish COBOL would die and go away, is that it is not, not, not a context free language.  This makes compiler construction very expensive, but the Naval Electonics Laboratory (the standard qualifier) doesn't care.  The U.S. Navy paid a lot for the development of COBOL, and when I started programming, Adm. Grace Hopper (then a commander, I think) was in charge.  A great lady, and an asset to the whole computer culture.  She is missed, and if I ever get to Arlington, I must go visit her.

There has been an explosion of languages since I started programming in the early 1960's.  When I started, for business stuff you wrote in COBOL.  In north america for scientific stuff you  wrote in FORTRAN, while the europeans used ALGOL.  Of course, there was always assembler and/or toggle it in yourself.  Dr. Corbato's project at MIT, Project MAC, wanted a marriage of business and scientific programming so that they would only have to support one language, so they came up with PL/1.  After that, when Bell Laboratories left Project MAC, they invented the B language for the PDP-10.  It was a simple, word-oriented language that replaced most assembler tasks. 

Bell Labs liked DEC, so when the first VAX came out, and was byte oriented, the reinvented B into C, which believed everything was a character rather than a word.  After that, with B and C as examples of context free languages that could be quickly developed using the development tools LEX, a grammar parser, and YACC (Yet Another Compiler Compiler), there was an explosion of context-free languages, including Eh (a Canadian version), and F a language that could be used to build Adventure games.  {Time to shut up, or you'll be typing until dinner time.}

{/rant}

[joshriddle 29]

I don't know if its app dependent but the apps I have that use the older version will still require it even after I've installed the newer version for another app. So it leaves me with a few different versions of .NET on my system.

I have v2 and v3 of .NET but not v1.1.  I believe I had the same situation as you and ended up ditching the app that needed the older one hence I kept v2.

NET will only let me install one version at a time according to the description at Microsoft's download center. i don't see how you can run several versions

[SC4BOY 20]

I have at least 3 versions simultaneously installed.. no idea why you're having problems.. further you MUST have more than one if you update as they are not "uninstallable".. well I suppose you could do a new build, but that's hardly uninstalling.. I have 2, 3, and 3.5 along with many updates and patches all installed at once ..  I've not had a tool ask for anything else, but if it does (and I verify it won't work with what I have) I'll put in whatever else is needed..