First, GM.....I think this is a case of a company with lots and lots of problems looking for any solution they can find other then just making better cars. I've tried to google a couple articles. Best guess is that they have some systems that use java. Embedded systems.

So they are looking at the corporation as a whole and saying that because they must use Java on some systems, and they can use Java on others, it makes sense to use just one type of development platform.

Second, Dotnet as overkill.....If you are talking about creating a system from scratch, you could probably develop a simple system quicker then dotnet. However, developers don't develop dotnet apps from scratch. They have developed libraries that make development much quicker.

Aren't you curious at all as too why so many have left VFP?

PF

>Hey Perry,
>
>It's been a while since our last confrontation ;-)
>
>First a simple question. Do you agree with me that in some cases .Net is overkill?
>
>To me it looks pretty easy. Either you stick with VFP because you're not scared by the different tactics used by those pushing .Net or either you decide to jump on the train.
>
>Once you're on the train you do as many others. You shout as loud as you can ".Net is just fantastic" and you repeat as often as you can. Doing so hoping other will also get on the train. And one day everybody should be a .Net developer. At that point it does'nt matter if the product is good or bad 'cause everybody's using it and there's no alternative.
>
>And no complain because there's no getting back to VFP. No mercy from colleagues. To the scaring crowd it does'nt look good to stick with VFP. But to them the VFP freaks just look funny. They'll probably think "poor souls they don't know what they're missing". But can you imagine how offensive it could look if somebody that made the move to .Net came back to VFP.
>
>Unforgettable. Perhaps some made that move but we never heard from them again over here ;-)
>
>So in the meantime there are still many businesses that can be targeted by VFP developers. The .Net crowd does'nt like that because it could be interpreted by many as .Net not being perfect. So we enter into the scary stories contest.
>
>Booohooohoooo VFP is not secure enough
>Booohooohoooo VFP's index can get corrupted
>Booohooohoooo whatever...
>
>Oh and by the way how do you interpret the move by GM to go toward Java?
>
>Booohooohoooo .Net is not perfect.
>
>
>
>>I know you are reciting this from impressions only. Here's my impression:
>>
>>I have not talked to one single person doing dotnet development who is having problems with the tool. Not one. And since I have a VFP background, quite a few of these folks came from the VFP world. I don't hear any complaints.
>
>>
>>And I don't think that history is quite as you propose it is. I really don't think that the decrease in the usage of VFP that began 10 years ago is totally the fault of MS marketing.
>>
>>Many corporation's quit using VFP because they wanted a more robust database environment. Such as Oracle, SQL Server, etc. They also found that VB functioned just as well as a front-end as VFP could.
>>
>>Not that I would support his speaking tactics and style, but John Petersen made some posts here about how he was able to accomplish his goals quite nicely with SQL Server/VB. There were many here who wanted to learn from his experience and many here who just wanted to slam him at that point.
>>
>>I just don't buy your views on this.
>>
>>
>>
>>>What you do is not really important Dan. because it's in VFP.
>>>
>>>What I do is not important. Because it's in VFP.
>>>
>>>.Net has to be pushed and that by all means. And to get it their way many will scare people. Usually when you don't have solid arguments you scare people.
>>>
>>>A friend of mine told me this. He read a book (I think Bill G. Book). That book was made before .net was known. In that book there was a mention of GM being a huge user of MS technologies.
>>>
>>>Just recently GM decided to go with Java. What is it they did'nt like about .Net?
>>>
>>>Perhaps we could do some searching on the reasons and use those to scare business about .Net and propose VFP ;-)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>>Yeah - that Security Fear really sells.
>>>>
>>>>Yeah, people turn down Fox due to security concerns.
>>>>
>>>>They seem to forget that there has only been one security alert/patch for VFP in the history of the product, and THAT was to turn off ActiveDoc support which had two years earlier been a big marketing feature!
>>>>
>>>>Instead, they'll use SQL-Server without a second thought. Does anyone remember Blaster?!?!?!?!?!
>>>>
>>>>(shaking head)
>>>>
>>>>We fight it all the time, but we're big enough in our market niche that everyone comes back to us eventually. It's actually funny to watch. Some IT goon will turn us down because we're Fox-based, and the company is back two years later. Invariably we've already written the data conversion program from whoever they've been using since we get conversions from EVERY ONE of our competitors on a regular basis. (And some have paid us big bucks to convert from "us" to "them" because "them" can't quite bring it about.)
>>>>
>>>>(shaking head)
>>>>
>>>>The same IT goons that want to set up a SQL-Server are the guys who will set up a "file server" running WindowsXP and blame *us* when it crashes with 100 users hitting it. We're supposed to trust them to set up and properly administer a SQL-Server?!?!?!
>>>>
>>>>(shaking head)
>>>>
>>>>There's just entirely too much idiocy in the business world.