>Alejandro,
>
>You can definitely use VFP as a server app for a NET front end, or for any sort of front end. That's pretty much all I do these days.
>
>I'd recommend setting it up as a HTTP server - i.e. a request is sent to your VFP app via http and the response is returned as XML or some other defined format. Check out http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?Wiki~ComparisonOfVFPWebTools~VFP for a few options.

Thanks, John. What you suggest sounds logical, plus it's already tested by you :)

However, as I contemplate setting up an HTTP server at each of our clients it becomes clear that would not be fun or even necessary since in 80% of the cases the server will be accesed through a LAN.

So I go back to the beginning and ask you, how do you design a server that lives in same machine as data and responds to messages from clients mostly through the LAN but sometimes across internet? The first reaction is to use a data access layer with two options at the calling end. But how should the server end be accessed in the case of LAN?

Thank you very much for you help.

Alex