With SQL7 it will not be a need for Foxpro database engine. DE will be independent and sharable by any platform (VB, VJ or others) and most people will have good DE designer. Yes, we had it in VFP for years, now other people will also have it. A lot of things will be common to most MSFT platforms: IDE, DE, SourceSafe and others. It will be much easy to switch from one platform to another and select a right tool for the task.
I actually really like Java and like it more than VB and VFP because it is really "very nice, cleaned-up languge with good balance between object-orientedness and built-in types". So what is wrong with this? With good database connections it will be perfect choice for developing REAL OOP applications. It has late binding, interfases, inner classes and other good stuff.

>>I thought I'd ask you a question directly since you have alot of knowledge >about ADO. I saw a demo of the VS DE Tool at PC Expo. The presenters were >using it in VB6 and I believe VJ++6. It looked like, from what I saw, you >could create an ADO/COM object from a VS DE object that could be accessed by >any of the languages. Is that correct? If so, what are your thoughts on >using this tool as opposed to VFP's own DE object (advantages/disadvantages).
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>I think the DE designer for VS/VI/VJ is pretty cool. For those that have been looking for a graphical way to work work with ADO - that's the tool. I have worked with it for months - but could not say anything about it up here due to my NDA. Now that the cat is out of the back , all is fair game<g>.
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>The big advantages to the VB DE are these IMO:
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>1. The DE is not tied to a form. A project can have multiple DE's. A DE object is very much akin to a private DS. When you need - just create it.
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>2. DE's can be stored and re-used. How long have we been asking for that??? If you create a DE object, it can be stored in the Repository and used by other tools or by another VB project. To me, this is one of the big things that hurts VFP - the fact that it does not play in the Repository sandbox.
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>3. VB's new integrated object-based report writer can work with the DE.
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>4. Like VFP, the VB DE allows you to map specific controls to fields for the purposes of drag and drop - much like VFP's IntelliDrop.
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>5. If you learn how to use the DE - you will know how to use it when it is hosted by any other tool in VS.
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>In terms of comparibility - I think it stacks up well against VFP. In many ways, it is superior to VFP's.