Great
Plains was originally written in Dexterity, a 4GL tool set based on
Microsoft’s Visual C++. Visual C++ is a solid, mature, mainstream tool
which is very popular among programmers(1). According to
Microsoft, nearly all world-class software, from the leading Web
Browsers to mission-critical corporate applications, is built using the
Microsoft Visual C++ development system (2). Visual C++ is
the most productive C++ tool for the highest-performance development for
Windows and the Web. For example, Microsoft Excel is written in C++.
While C++ is an object-oriented programming language, many people
utilize C++ as a more powerful form of the C programming language, and
therefore fail to take full advantage of the object-oriented techniques
that are the best way to develop large, complex software applications
and systems. 
C++ has been
standardized by ANSI (The American National Standards Organization), BSI
(The British Standards Institute), DIN (The German National Standards
Organization), several other national standards bodies, and ISO (The
International Standards Organization). The ISO standard has been
finalized and adopted by unanimous vote Nov 14, 1997.
Most recently,
Microsoft has enhanced the Great Plains product using a variety of
programming tools and controls including .NET. The .NET environment is
widely respected as a superior architecture which has the capability to
tie together differing and remote database systems. Microsoft has
invested billions of dollars into developing this programming
environment, and all indications are that .NET has become the new
standard for developing a new round of superior applications.
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