>In foxpro this unique ability to:
>- hide deleted records (so users cannot see them, records are ignored in reports etc),
>- review them if needed (set dele off),
>- recall them if needed (recall command), etc.
>is very useful. You can review the history, fix if the record was deleted unintentionally, etc.

It's actually inherited from dBase. Clipper also had it, AFAIR.