>>>>>>>Hi Gang!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Well, I was asked to see what we (as the the Company I work for) need to do to convert over our VFP programs to dotNET.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I was specifically asked to see if there was anything out there that would AUTOMATICALLY convert all or part of the code over to .NET and then we could convert the rest over by hand......
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>'Thanks for the info....
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Tommy
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Tommy,
>>>>>>I would echo the advice you have gotten from others on this issue. I would consider anything you do in the way of an "automatic" conversion as buying time to do a complete rewrite. Whenever I look at old programs, there are plenty of things I would change, even without the need to go to a new language and platform. As someone mentioned earlier, you are changing platforms and, accordingly, the best thing is to redesign the program to take full advantage of the new platform. You are bound to have a long list of things that you'd like to have the opportunity to change -- this is it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>There are three things that have helped me enormously in making the transition from VFP to .NET and a fourth that I am going to be trying soon.
>>>>>>1 - I purchased the Mere Mortals Framework for .NET. Part of my reason for choosing that one is that it was developed by a former VFP developer. It really helps to be able to ask someone like that how to do something that you have done in VFP. Kevin McNeish, the developer, has excellent and reasonably priced training courses, available live and on line. It also gives you a lot of help on the learning curve.
>>>>>>2 - I started working with a mentor. I wish I had done this much sooner. When I first started out, I could get so frustrated in a matter of minutes and spent hours trying to do the simplest things. To some degree you have to go through some of this but it is amazing how much it helps your productivity and mental health to be able to call someone and get a quick answer for something that has you hopelessly stuck.
>>>>>>3 - The Universal Thread premiere membership. I have been astounded at the quality and timeliness of the help I have received from the Universal Thread. I believe that not only is this the best of the .NET forums, it has the added advantage of having a bunch of folks who have made the switch or are in the process of switching from VFP to .NET.
>>>>>>4 - EPS Software offers training classes for VFP programmers who want to convert old VFP programs to .NET. Their website provides a detailed outline of what the class includes. I think they also have some conversion tools. I am signed up for the May class so I can't provide any reviews at this point. I am looking forward to being able to get more information about the changes in strategy and new tools available from people who are familiar with both environments.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Good luck.
>>>>>
>>>>>Thanks a bunch for the advice !
>>>>
>>>>A few years ago (I think the first year he was doing it) I took Kevin McNeish's training course - flew out to California to take it. I had never really even looked at a .NET program prior to taking his course and it was VERY VERY helpful. In my case I never followed up with the training because the .NET project I was planning got abandoned. Anyway it was reasonably priced and for sure worth the $.
>>>
>>>We will definitely look at this! Thanks.....
>>
>>I attended Kevin McNeish's VFP2NET training (twice). Once was the standard training and the 2nd time was more customized to our requirements. It was very valuable training. I recommend it. Following that, (it will give you a great overview of vfp-->net differences which is the biggest mind shift IMHO), I recommend a more intensive language/tool specific training in whichever language/technology you will be using (vb.net, C#.net, winforms, webforms, wpf, silverlight, etc).
>
>I too (two) attended Kevin McNeish's training, standard and advanced. I highly recommend it. It is less intimidating knowing Kevin is a Foxer, and he is quick to see points where you may be looking at an issue through a Fox eye, and he can show you how to open your .net eye too (two).
>
>Al Allison

Thanks !