I think one needs to learn enough about VFP to make an informed decision about the framework to choose, if choosing one.

To use a commercial framework or roll your own depends on several factors.
1. Are you getting paid while you develop your own framework ?
2. Do you have enough knowledge to design your own framework ?
3. Will anyone else be working on any apps you write and, if so,
will there be any turnover in other development staff.
4. Are you an independant developer (ie one-person shop) or a developer
employee of a company ?
If you are an independant developer, would you like to have a life ?
(creating a solid framework is very time consuming)
5. If you are developing a vertical/commercial app, is there a chance
that you'll want to sell it off lock, stock & barrel ?
If so, using a known framework will make it easier to sell. After
all, who wants you learn your unique framework ?

I think that dissatisfaction with a commercial framework can only be
due to being...
1. Significantly more experienced/knowledgeable than the developer
and recognizing the shortcomings. In this case, roll your own.
or
2. Inexperienced to the point of having a hard time understanding
the framework. In this case, keep learning - the framework
will get better as your knowledge increases <g>.

Personally, I'm not smart enough to design my own framework but I am
smart enough to realize that. One must be cautious to not embark on
designing a framework due to pride or ego. And, if you REALLY do have
enough expertise with VFP to make your own framework that is better
than those available for purchase, you are definitely not a newbie.
Of course, I'm using the term "you" collectively here.

So, should a newbie use a commercial framework ?
In my opinon, you should start with framework after having gained a basic understanding of VFP and can make an informed choice. Then stick with it until you have a REALLY compelling reason to abandon it.


Carl


>Should a newbee start developing with the basics of VFP, or first of all choose a framework and start developing with that framework? In other words, what are the pros and cons for a newbee of working with a framework from the beginning? This is a recurring theme, but a controversy that has never been settled well, so opinions please.
>
>Here's my opinion:
>I made the oo-jump (from FoxPro Windows to Visual FoxPro) with Visual Maxframe. Later I had to learn Codebook. Neither VMF, nor Codebook made me happy. In my private projects I abandoned both frameworks and started to develop with the basics of Visual FoxPro. Only after I learned the basics I had enough knowledge to understand what VMF and Codebook were about. The point is, developing with a framework is fine, but only until something goes wrong. At that moment you have to dig into the sourcecode of the framework, which, by nature, is completely vague to a starter. You're lost in (caught by) the framework.
>
>But I'm not saying here that frameworks are worthless. I only want to warn newbees that it's risky to choose a (costly) framework now (based on what knowledge is that choice?), spend a lot of energy to learn the concepts of the one framework, and later having to admit that this did not imply that learning Visual FoxPro itself could be skipped. No, I think it's better to first learn the basics of Visual FoxPro and only then eventually buy and learn a framework, eventually...