Q: Why and how have you created Dotnetguru (www.dotnetguru.org)? Sami: Being a JAVA and J2EE architect for many years I had an urge to gain insight into the .NET technology and framework. I decided to approach this new framework with an open mind to positively investigate the possibilities. I had a feeling that the .NET technology was something that we would have to relate to because it is a Microsoft initiative and thereby backed by enormous funding and will. In fact, you could say that the purpose of the site is two-fold -to auto-train ourselves and to create a community for developers and architects alike.

Sami Jaber

Thomas: Sami actually began building the site. I joined the process later on as in the beginning of the year, we had the Microsoft partnership and CTEC certification for the training business here in France. I was on that team and had passed all the .NET exams by which I had gained a purely conceptual knowledge of .Net. We put that together with his knowledge to build dotnetguru.

Q: What can dotnetguru be used for?

Thomas: The central point of Dotnetguru is to provide highly technical articles that focus on a comparison between .NET and J2EE, or that deeply explore a .NET feature. People visit Dotnetguru to learn the aims of the .NET features such as ASP.NET, asynchronous architectures, .NET serviced components, WinForms, Garbage Collector and so on. To support that, we publish 1 to 2 articles on a weekly basis.

The second main activity on Dotnetguru is to maintain a forum where people can pose their technical questions and we try to provide valuable answers. This can target any topic, from architecture to design or coding in .NET (C#, VB.NET, Managed C++).

Q: What has been the result of your efforts?

Sami: We have developed into a reference website for the .NET technology in France, which is something we are very happy with. We have reached a level where the industry's media approach us for interviews and opinions and refer to us on a regular basis. In addition, our dream of creating a .NET community has come true. Architects and developers are familiar with the site and regularly visit to read about the latest developments.

Thomas Gil

Q: Does Microsoft sponsor you in any way? Thomas: No, up until now we have chosen to remain independent of sponsors simply because we wanted to have freedom to approach .NET in an objective yet critical fashion. We do of course have contact with Microsoft and they acknowledge us for what we have accomplished. A positive "side effect" is that when we go to sales meetings here in France, we often receive positive acknowledgement for the site from CTOs and architects. This is of course good for Valtech as well.

Q: Does Microsoft sponsor you in any way?

Thomas: No, up until now we have chosen to remain independent of sponsors simply because we wanted to have freedom to approach .NET in an objective yet critical fashion. We do of course have contact with Microsoft and they acknowledge us for what we have accomplished. A positive "side effect" is that when we go to sales meetings here in France, we often receive positive acknowledgement for the site from CTOs and architects. This is of course good for Valtech as well.

Q: What sort of conclusions have you reached concerning .NET alone and vs. J2EE - which do you prefer as a developer?

Sami: It depends on what you want to build really. If you were to build a strong tool for end users, we would choose .NET. A good example is ASP.NET for website development. It really is a good platform for execution. It is also a good tool for developers as there is only one central tool, which is VisualStudio.NET and it does everything!

Thomas: On the other hand, I would use J2EE for business components - EJBs. Currently, Microsoft does not have an equivalent for this although it will come - Servicecomponents.NET will be the name, but EJB is an exhaustive platform.

Q: Is the .NET technology fully mature yet?

Thomas: Not yet. Certain architectural layers are fully matured. Again, a good example is ASP.NET for website development. In our minds, however, .NET is not a full-scale alternative to J2EE and JAVA but eventually it will become one.

The challenge for .NET and Microsoft is to convince architects and developers with a J2EE background to keep an open mind towards this new framework. In general, people who have backgrounds in both Microsoft and JAVA are open to.NET technology. However, someone who is more J2EE orientated is more difficult to convince. At least that is what we experience on dotnetguru.

Q: When will you have an English version of the site?

Sami: (laughs) Once we have a sponsor???

Thomas: Forcing people to read French is good for "francophonie", i.e. to maintain the quality and interest in our mother tongue. People reading our articles are pleased to find some real stuff written in something else other than English. However, we would like to consider expanding the site one day…