Craig,

I stopped the conversion of FPD to VFP. The conversion cost was too high because I had to rewrite everything, and the time that takes is simply horrendous. It would probably be very similar to rewrite in another language.

And here lies the key...

The company would have had a major rewrite of their programs completed by 1999, in VFP. With the doubtful future of VFP, I had to change my strategy.

This is just a case in point, you cannot generalise, but I do not think it is unique either. I took my decision not because VFP would not do the job. It would be perfect. But I think that delivering a project of that size in an environment for which programmers are hard find in Belgium, would not have been a good service to the company. I'm not sure I could have gone away with this unnoticed.

Do not get me wrong, it is not management that stopped me. I took my decision on my own and mostly (but not exclusively) for the reasons stated above.

And converting something that works is very difficult, even if you can find the budgets. Mostly for users, and specifically in keyboard intensive applications, like the one I am referring to. They (the users) acquired what Allan Cooper calls "flow" after having used the system for more than 5 years.

John, NOTHING BEATS DOS, if it can do the job. That is my conclusion. A keyboard intensive application is one where the users do not even bother to look to the screen anymore.

My version in Windows has been acclaimed as technically very good. It's robust, it's nice, it enhances functionally (allthough marginally so), and it is also a wee bit slower, not much, but enough to be irritating at some moments.

The users are lukewarm (after a month of use). The client is skeptical. The project is not a success in terms of dollars spent for results. And look at my profile, I work for an American company whose trucks you watch daily bringing the green stuff from one bank agency to another.

My case.

Craig, I'm on your side, and that is precisely why I took the liberty to explain this. There is a need to formally recognise foxpro by MS, a statement by Billy would do, and that would cost nothing. But it should be something that you can read in Time magazine, the Wallstreet Journal etc.

Marc


>>>>>
>>>>>Then my question is "Why are you still in DOS?" With the cost of hardware today, I'm hardpressed to see a reason to still be there.
>>>>
>>>>Because our regional offices can't afford the hardware and usually take the castoffs from the State offices.....Even now, we STILL have people running on 386's. But we DID get rid of the 286's......
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>>>This is an issue for your state legislature. The increases in productivity will be amazing....and pay for the new hardware in no time.
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>>I am sorry here Craig, but there are still cases where a DOS based app will probably suffice, even on the newer machines... I can see some apps that are VERY keyboard input intensive not needing the VFP treatment..
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>I can make a keyboard intensive appliation in VFP. DOS doesn't really give me any advantage here.