# Slow Chat Archives > Slow Chat: Visual C++: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow >  [RESOLVED] Leave 'as is'

## enierop

Hi,

I used VC 7 and 8 and also 6 a short time. I use VC because it is no option for me, to add mixed code, or a dotnet assembly with wrappers only to COM interfaces, while I must be sure, that my clients =will be= supporting DotNet 2.0 down to windows 2000. 
So I use VC++ 8.0

My biggest advise: Don't *touch* VC syntax anymore!

I used to have big chunks of code in VC 7, and it used attributes. Some guys found those attributes not OK, so everything has been modified (ole db templates, COM attributes etc).
Where the attributes in VC 8 a success? Not at all. So I had to modify my code to non-attributed and this led to bugs again, in my code.

I would like to see that ATL would be updated to using newest APIS if the environment is compiled for XP and higher.



Thanks!

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## AymanS

Point taken and will be considered.

Thanks,
Ayman Shoukry
VC++ Team

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## Siddhartha

> I used to have big chunks of code in VC 7, and it used attributes. Some guys found those attributes not OK, so everything has been modified (ole db templates, COM attributes etc).


From my perspective - Attributed ATL programming didn't turn out to be the success it was anticipated to be.

One indicator of this is that attributes on ATL projects were the default option in VC++ 7.x and made non-default for VC++ 8.0. I personally too find Attributed COM Programming a real tedium, and was happy to note that it was not default any more. 

It will be great if somebody from Microsoft clarified on the company's stance on the future of Attributed ATL Programming - if there is any? Will any more effort be put into it?

Speaking for myself and many I know - we would not miss it in any way - in it's current state.

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## tarekmadkour

Your observations are certainly correct. There are no plans to improve the programming model for native C++ attributes in the future. 

Thanks,
Tarek Madkour
Lead Program Manager
Microsoft Visual C++

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## Siddhartha

> Your observations are certainly correct. There are no plans to improve the programming model for native C++ attributes in the future.


Thanks for that confirmation, Tarek.

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## (thatsalok)

> My biggest advise: Don't *touch* VC syntax anymore!


  If this can be done, then it will be boon for VC programmer! really it's very difficult to keep up with rapidly changing VC++ syntax.. IMHO it getting more VB'ss then C++.

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## Siddhartha

I am wondering what makes you say this...


> If this can be done, then it will be boon for VC programmer! really it's very difficult to keep up with rapidly changing VC++ syntax.. IMHO it getting more VB'ss then C++.


My observation is that subsequent versions of VC++ are shipped with compilers that are better compliant to the C++ standards, and an STL Library that has so far seen an improvement over previous one.

Perhaps, you need to elaborate...

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