>>I believe that it is strongly arguable that MS has been solely responsible >>for the demise of the FP/VFP developer population, and this really has little >>or nothing to do with promotion.

I think the issue has more to do with the XBase langauge as a whole. A standard was never created and the language became fragmented. Perhaps if the xBase vendors got thier act together back in the mid-eighties - it would be a different story. Keep in mind. MS did not by Fox until 1992. By then, the damage was done. So, why did MS buy Fox - for the engine of course. VB was already entrenched as the langauge of choice and the first version of Access was shipped. By then, the game was over.