February 11, 2010
Detroit Area Fox User Group (DAFUG) presents:
"VFP and MySQL: Case Study for Remote Data"

1) "VFP and MySQL: Case Study for Remote Data", by Rick Schummer

For many years Visual FoxPro developers have found backend databases to be a compelling alternative to the DBF data store. There are many good reasons to move to a backend database. The business model of distributed locations and facilities is not uncommon. Because of the way Visual FoxPro caches tables and indexes, DBF data does not scale well over the WAN, pushing people to a backend data store. Another business concern is the security of the DBF files and easy access to anyone with network/workstation access to the folder where they are stored. Businesses cannot afford to have their competitive advantage walk out the door on a thumb drive. Then there is the ever unpopular technical limitation of the two gigabyte table size limit. There are lots of good reasons you or your customer might want to migrate to a server-based backend database.

Visual FoxPro is very flexible in working with backend data. In fact, even though Visual FoxPro has a long history deeply seeded with the DBF standard, the development environment and the language is really data store agnostic. In this session, you'll see how you can leverage MySQL (or for that matter, any backend data) to have data sit on a server (Web, file, or data), and have a Web application and a VFP desktop application both access the same database. The demonstrations will be performed on a live application developed as a prototype for two production applications created for actual customers that fit this model. The session is filled with real world experience and the wisdom shared should give developers a huge head start if they are just getting started with remote data, and some things to consider even if you have experience working with backend databases.

You will learn:

- Fundamentals of working with MySQL and other backend databases
- Pros and cons to different access techniques to remote data (remote views, cursoradapters, SQL passthrough)
- Performance vs. ease of use vs. flexibility considerations approaching backend data
- Simple model for architecting a distributed application
- Lessons learned in setting up a distributed application
- Challenges to consider before you decide to make the jump to a backend database

2) Anything else people want to talk about.

- Open discussion and the other normal chatter of tips and tricks.
- Anything else people want to talk about.

3) DOOR PRIZES (one of each):

- Office 2007 Standard
- Halo 3 ODST (Xbox)
- Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox)
- Word of Mouth Marketing (Book)
- Introducing Windows 7 for Developers (Book)
- How We Test Software at Microsoft (Book)

We are always looking for volunteers and topics (please email Dale Zimmer or Rick Schummer)

Meetings are typically followed by food, FoxPro, and developer discussion at a local restaurant.

Holiday Inn Express - Southfield
25100 Northwestern HWY
Southfield, MI 48075

Small Meeting Room on 1st Floor

Hope to see you there.
More DAFUG details at http://www.dafug.org