(This one's not directed to you Craig, just throwing in my 2 cents at the end of the thread)

Sorry all, I just can't keep the duct tape over my mouth any longer! I wish I knew how many hours have been wasted on threads like this one (and now I'm expending a little myself). As an owner of an independent consulting company I wish I could have captured those hours and gotten paid my base rate for them... hell, I could probably take a week off!

I'm not slamming anyone for anything they've said in these type of threads, just commenting on the waste of time for them.

I have been involved with Fox since version 2 and love it. But, I know first hand (as I'm sure you all do too) that when it comes right down to it the customer (or boss) is who really drives the choices. It doesn't really matter what Robert Green or Bill Gates knows or doesn't know. I tow the Foxpro party line as much as I can, but when a client says "I want you to use ______" (fill in the blank with whatever you can imagine), and you've exhausted the Foxpro sales pitch, you either do the project in ________ and get paid for it, or you tell them to get someone else. Personally, I've made those choices in both ways, done it in something else and gotten paid, and I have turned down jobs because I just didn't want to use ________. So, my rant boils down to this, if you're in business to make a profit and you put your client's best interests first, while maybe bending your mindset a little to get the job done (and maybe learn something in the process... I love to get paid to learn), you're going to walk away with more money in your pocket, another item for the reference list you hand to future potential clients, and more knowledge. Yes, this might mean NOT using Foxpro for everything, but I think we all know that Foxpro won't work for everything anyway.

Nowdays, I generally tell clients "I primarily use Visual Studio". They don't know what that is actually, so I get the opportunity to explain it. But, I also use non-MS products as neeeded (I know, I know... "Traitor!").

You know what I'd really like to see on the UT? (if you care) When I clicked on "See entire thread" I got the message that this thread was over 50 messages. I wish I'd get that message on topics which we all learn something from. I think the horse has been beaten beyond death, to the point of pulveration and we've ground it's ashes back into the crust of the Earth! I plan to ignore future doomsday threads. I've got Fox applications at client sites that will likely be there for 5 to 10 years. How do I know this? Because the system(s) I replaced with those Fox app(s) were used for that long prior. I don't think many companies can afford to replace their database systems every couple years, in my experience after they've invested in something they'll use it and enhance it to death before they completely change it. I don't have the elusion that anyone really cares whether I continue to read these type of threads, but I do hope to see these die off and we all find better things to discuss about Fox.

In my toolbox VFP is my hammer, I use it to nail a database application solid. But, I have a pile of other tools in that toolbox because you can't use a hammer for everything. Personally, I'm interested in using VFP for everything I can, but more-so in making money... yes I'm shallow, but I like increases in income rather than decreases.

I've been around this business for 15 years and have seen lots of software come and go, completely or transform into something else. The one fact that remains constant is that you're either flexible enough to survive the changes or you go do something else.

If you've read this entire message, thanks for listening. I won't punish you with anymore like this one for a while! :)