I don't think in those terms, and I agree with everything you said.

I think that for the "practical" developer, contrasted with the "professional" developer, Lianja (and other products that will surely come along behind it) is a breath of fresh air. As you pointed out was Fox.

And we will have to prove our worth as professional developers. That is as it should be, also. I've ranted for many years now that the job of a professional developer is to enable the work of practical developers, i.e., the domain experts who really know, at a pre-articulated level, what they need. That, in fact, has been my main job for the past 10 years. Lianja lets me continue the same, fun ride.

H

PS: thanks, it's on Page 1 of the book. Would you rather be quoted by name, or anonymously, or by email name? Either is OK with me.

>Hank, glad to be a source of amusement, and quote away!
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>Seems to me we are entering another cycle of change and Machiavelli tells us why developers need to take care of their own destinies rather than relying on patronage from the big vendors, even if that worked well in the last cycle that lasted a very long time. VFPers are in quite a good position- after years of sidelining there is no tendency to circle the wagons when customers aren't immediately impressed by vendor slogans. Whereas traditional vendors and their familiars seem to be trying to portray themselves as the safe choice in a world of savages- except that this time the savages are the customers who find they quite like galloping around issuing war whoops rather than enduring the expense, containment and mud inside the circled wagons.
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>Seems to me that the sorts of people who found Fox early and made a unexpected career of it have an opportunity to do it again: these new tools are not difficult, they make things easier as technology is meant to, meaning that developers need to demonstrate real value rather than relying on over-complexity as a barrier to entry. Some people are going to have a blast!