[phomer]

Interesting. The boss gives a very specific set of requirements, then the programmer disobeys this direct order, goes behind his back to do it differently and has essentially been lying to him or her for months.

It doesn't matter if it's the right or wrong technology choice, this is really an issue of 'work ethic'. Perhaps if the language was left unspecified, or it was a suggestion to use C rather than a requirement then it might be different, but this sounds like a rather blatant violation of trust based on a lack of respect.

I'd have no problems removing the programmer from the project, even if the software was awesome.

[bmj]

Yeah, I think this is an important point. If you don't agree with your bosses architectural decisions, you probably should have discussed those initially. If you feel like your boss wasn't listening to reason, does he have a boss? Simply going off and doing your own thing seems like a particularly bad idea, and I'm not sure I'd want someone on my team acting in the same manner.