>Hmmmm..... SQL syntax vs. USE, REPLACE SKIP, et al. I don't use SQL syntax and with several thousand users for the last sixteen years can't recall an instance of inexplicable database corruption. So, I think VFP is inherently very reliable. OTOH, I process transactions in a conservative, and inefficient, manner just to be on the cautious side in case something does go wrong. Assuming if it can go wrong it will, there is a process that rebuilds index keys and cleans up predictable messes in case of some sort of a failure - like turning a PC off midstream during transaction processing (that's happened a few times). To my knowledge there never has been an instance where a database simply could not be accessed and had to be restored.
> Thinking about problems that have occurred, the application has a very detailed Event Log. "Events", for example, are when a user logs in or out, whenever a procedure is entered/exited, all sorts of detail during transaction processing, errors detected, and so forth. When an oddball problem does occur the Event Log allows customer support to usually pinpoint the cause and deal with the problem expeditiously. So, when there is what some may call undetermined database corruption, we usually call it user creativity and deal with it.
I also have never had any problems with xbase syntax causing any corruption, but I have stopped using it to ease a possible upgrade to a SQL server backend. Honestly, I once had more than 5000 customer running one of my applications, which used a mixture of xbase and SQL syntax, and I never, not even once, had any problems with data corruption. So my thought is that if you have frequent data corruption, it's most likely a hardware problem or some code which is "on the edge". So I don't understand why someone will waste so much time and efforts, hoping that adding another software in addition to VFP will solve any problem. I would spend 100% of my time finding the reason for the problem.
Just like when you have problems with your brakes, it won't really help much to add another horn. Adding an anchor would be a better solution, but then you must also add stronger safety belts. :-)
