Hello Joel;

Somehow it seems simple to me. There will not be additional versions of VFP. How many ways can you say no, and what does it mean? I guess I am willing to accept what happens without a fight.

Have a good week. We all need it! :)

Tom



>Hi Peter,
>
>>
>>I have POLITELY asked Alan Griver to mention the reasons. Reasons we need for several reasons. First, we have customers who want to know why. At the moment I do NOT have a single good argument. (Don't expect me to say to that customer: "MS no longer sees it as a strategic product". The resulting debate might become troublesome.) Second, I need to know before I can make a grounded strategic decision for my own company.
>>
>
>It appears that MS is not going to provide a more detailed answer. It's up to you to decide how much detail you need to make decisions, and whether the lack of detail coming from MS affects your decision. However, the more I think about it, it always boils down to YAG's answer ("We've said for years that VFP wasn't a strategic product."), and that makes it the REAL reason. For example, you could say:
>
>a) The number of Fox developers has declined to the point where a new version of VFP is no longer viable.
>b) The decline occurred, at least in part, because Microsoft did not adequately market VFP.
>c) Microsoft did not market VFP because it wasn't a "strategic product."
>
>You can fill in a) or b) with whatever reasonable details you like, but c) is a constant. That is not a good thing for us, and there is no good way for MS to say it. The Fox community has complained about it for years, but there it is.
>
>On the other hand, I think it's impressive that MS continued to produce new versions of VFP, even though it was not a strategic product. I'll credit the Fox Team for making that happen, but MS had to do the funding, and that shows they have at least some level of concern for the Fox community and their customers. Would you get that level of support somewhere else?
>
>It's a mixed bag, to be sure. The strategic decision regarding VFP was enough for some developers to leave MS, while others see MS as the safest bet. While making your decision, also consider where MS is heading in the future. They seem to be getting more focused on their .NET strategy (which may be another reason the announcement was made now), so you should take a look and decide if that's for you. As others have said, sticking with VFP is another option, at least for several years. There are no easy answers, but I hope this helps a little.