Products

We started a search for new components as we switch away from VB/C++ development to .Net, and felt it was time to re-evaluate all controls we commonly use.

I started the evaluation by looking at all charting controls available on Component Source. (The product we currently have used is [by another leading vendor]).

The initial evaluation took the form of creating a simple x-y chart with a x-axis with a lot of times along it, and passing in random y values, and then formatting the chart to look reasonable. This is a good test of ease of use, documentation, examples provided etc. The C# samples provided were excellent!

This amazingly reduced the choice down to just three. The next step was to look at cost. You had a sensible pricing policy, which is where [the other leading vendor] lost out on it's deployment costs. We wanted a WinForms solution, but with a possibility of Web Forms too, without having to go through another big investment.

The final points that swung it for us were...
- Great looks.
- A company that makes and concentrates on a few good products, rather than tens of mediocre ones.
- A good website, where you can get the info you want.