Why?

[Buffaloe]

I'm the kinda guy who, given enough time, would build his own car.
So, I ask, Why tools?
Why not build it all from scratch?
Like when all we had was CGI-Perl.
Or like ASP 3.0.

Maybe it is a control issue.
Knowing exactly what is happening under the hood gives me warm fuzzies.

But, I'd like to hear from other developers who have found a justification for tools. How you have integrated them into your own coding. I don't think I'll ever adopt an all tool approach. I require too much customization.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-tool. I can see an advantage to dragging and dropping. I just remember the junk that hit the streets when MS Visual Basic 3.0 hit the ground.

Bill Rishsew

[Todd Anglin]

Bill,

I understand where you are coming from, but I think if you use the telerik tools for a while you'll quickly understand "why" you don't want to do everything yourself.

As developers, one of our key limits is time. We need to create a web application that does something and we have x amount of time to get it done. Well, I could spend 80 hours trying to build and debug ASP.NET components that are cross browser compatible and have half of the bells and whistles as telerik's and THEN integrate them into the actual application I'm building. OR I could leverage telerik's amazing controls, support, and active community to get my "basic" advanced tool set and spend more of my time building superior applications.

It all comes down to what you "do". Is your core business building controls that other developers use? If yes, then you probably don't start with a drag and drop toolset (though telerik's controls are MUCH more than drag and drop!). Is your core business building web applications that solve business problems? If yes, then why waste your time reinventing the wheel? Spend your time where you can really add value to the business project, and that's probably not developing advanced UI controls.

Think of telerik's controls as "Bentleys"- very beautiful and full-featured tools that make your life easy. While you could build your own car and it may be fun, it definitely wouldn't be a Bentley (if it would be, you're in the wrong business). =)

My life has been infinitely easier since I began using telerik's controls and my projects have been better than ever. I'd love to help make your life easier, so let me know if you have any concerns about telerik's controls and I'll be happy to discuss them with you.

Thanks~

[Stuart Hemming]

I'm with Todd; life's too short and the deadlines are too tight.

If you're surrounded with bright, shiny round objects, why try and build your own wheel?

--
Stuart

[Rumen]

I do understand your point and I do see the pros in this approach. It is more exciting, you feel you have more control, you are in charge, you know your stuff.

However, a project typically revolves around making a business idea happen. Cost, deadlines, ROI are all included in the formula. Usually, you need to provide the best ROI path to your client in order to win the contract.

In this case I've found r.a.d.controls to be of great use, since I can concentrate on my business logic and leave the UI stuff to the experts. The cost is well justified and licensing is good (single developer license subscription does not limit the number of projects you are using the controls in).

It might not be very obvious from your initial impression of telerik products, but I have found out that a massive amount of time and effort has been put in testing the products, making sure they work in all major browsers and in their skinning/appearance. It is not very easy to make sure an advanced feature works equally well in Safari, IE7 / 6, Opera, etc. It is not very easy to provide multiple professionally looking Skins.

So there you go - the pros and cons. It really depends on your project, but for me the pros of using telerik radControls clearly outweight the cons.

Best