>Agreed, but have damn practical question: could you imagine VB developer suggesting to use VFP as middle-tier extension of his VB front-end?

Edward,

We can equally ask, "Can you imagine a VFP developer suggesting to use VB for the front end on his VFP middle tier project?"

The issue here is that MS is promoting componentization, that is using different development tools for different parts of a system. There will be developer's who embrace this idea and they will investigate the best tool for each part. There will also be "tool-bigots" who will force their favorite tool to do everything even when that is contrary to the best interests of the client.