If MSFT were to make VFP9 free (like the express versions of C#, VB.NET, etc - ok they are not databases as well, but you get the picture) then just imagine... it might actually survive and flourish. However, there would always be that pesky web app problem - not to mention the cool new stuff you can do with wpf now... an open source version of VFP9 just might though... it would need a LOT of new blood...


>Perhaps the same things that made them excited about and successful with foxpro are the very reasons they have become excited about another tool which is in a different phase of its lifecycle.
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>Sure. Some of these people have made a career out of being a guru. The easiest way to become a guru in IT is to get in early, giving enthusiastic presentations and writing books at a time when most of the market is ignorant.
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>It's worth comparing to the process of becoming a guru in (say) medicine or law. If you're a physician who seizes a new product and promotes/parrots enthusiastically before there is any real-world proof as to its efficacy, you are more likely to be regarded as a dangerous crank rather than as an expert. You risk being struck off. Whereas in IT you're likely to be given a prestigious award from the vendor and opportunities to promote yourself as an expert. On this basis, it's easy to rationalize enthusiasm about new IT trends- e.g. NET in previous iterations when it was frankly awful at things like data manipulation. I agree that NET is a lot better at data stuff these days but if you go back and review some of the claims made since 2001... sheesh.
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>Also I agree that VFP can't be expected to return to its glory days. However, the latest trend (Cloud/SaaS) de-emphasizes technology, meaning that niche players who want to keep using VFP or cobol or VB6 or Lisp or whatever, aren't going to be penalized by the market. But various experts still seem convinced that the market is fascinated by choice of technology and will penalize practitioners who don't gallop with the herd. As usual, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. Certainly those who gallop with the herd will want to criticize alternative choices made by competitors.
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>Then there's a lot of valid gloom about the lack of new blood in VFP. This matters a great deal. However, in 2008 the question has to be "how much truly new development should we expect and of that, how much requires highly specialized niche expertize against which learning a 4GL is as nothing." IMHO the latest trends mean that more and more development will be commodity with an API to allow overlays that deliver niche business advantage. IMHO many people who make a living cutting code have already figured this out and are looking at ways to position themselves safely for whatever future period makes sense to them. For some of them, this means being able to add "NET" to their CV. For others it means being able to add "Speedway racing systems" or "Project Planning" or "Database Admin."