Denis,

>What really decided to go with WinDev? Is there one main thing or is it a mixture of cool things?

Here are some primary things, but there are many others;

1) The similarity in syntax to VFP.
2) The similarity in the way you build an app (design a table - visually like using a super VFP table designer, design a form, drag drop controls on it, link them to database fields, specify the events and methods, add procedures/functions. Your WInDev project in the IDE looks like a VFP project ,almost item to item.
3) The built in, standalone database (like DBF/CDX but called HyperFile FIC/NDX) with all VFP limitations resolved; 2Gb limit surpassed, solid, fast. Plus can connect to any other database including directly to DBF/CDX if you want to.
4) Ability to learn one language but output to Windows, Linux, Web, Mobile
5) Absolutely complete with everything I can think of, from Ajax to XML
6) Complete documentation including examples.
7) Royalty free distribution of the app and the HyperFile database
8) Total integration with other languages and databases.
9) 32/64 bit


> I saw their demonstration and it was awesome. But then again I look at it and they don't seem to have a big market share. So leaving VFP to go with WinDev could be a risky move.

They have been going for 25 years, focus on this one product (made of 3 separately purchasable sub-products), have over 120,000 developers worldwide. An annual upgrade costs, if you choose to take it, Euro1000+/-. Choose a percentage of up-graders and do the math...


> Then again it depends on what someone is building with it. I mean if it's to build apps to resell to customers then it's not a big deal but if it's to offer your services to eventual enterprises then that market share thing could be a show stopper.

Correct, this is the choice - If you are a contractor or employee to the corporate world then go with .Net or one of the very mainstream tools (PHP, Java). By the way, you can compile a WinDev to Java archive for browser distribution. If you want to develop apps for resale or offer services to clients who are less concerned with the tool that MS promote then WinDev is worth considering/exploring/evaluating, especially for a VFP developer. And especially if you are a French speaker.


>By the way a friend told me that the performance (data processing) was not that good with WinDev. What can you say about that?

What is your friend comparing? HyperFile vs. MSSQL or other database? It makes no sense because WinDev is not a database, it is a development language. It has a database built in but it is not a database. If you want to compare database performance then the correct comparison would be WinDev + Database XYZ vs. Other Language + Database XYZ.

I have understood that HyperFile, the built in database of WinDev, is very fast up to about 30 or 40 concurrent users, depending on load, scenario specific I guess. Thereafter you should move to client/server solutions such as MS SQL, Oracle, Postgres, MySQL, etc. all of which WinDev can directly, natively talk to. I guess that just makes sense and the same applies to VFP. In terms of code performance it is as fast as VFP easily but again you can include C or other language code directly in WinDev for specific areas where code execution is critical. Also, the built in HyperFile can run in standalone mode (i.e. like VFP) or in client/server configuration as well.