>>>>From Sunday's NYT.
>>>>
>>>>How about this guy!!!
>>>>
>>>>http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/business/bill-mcdermott-of-sap-on-knowing-what-you-want.html?ref=business&_r=0
>>>
>>>Seems a bit like saying 'Want to get ahead in the deli world - write software' ?
>>
>>That sounds more natural.
>>After 20+ years of writing software, restaurant or deli sounds like more exciting prospect.
>>Perhaps it would take 10 years of running restaurant in order to get excited again about writing software. {g}
>>
>>Unless you are young hipster developing for android/mobile market, the way the things are going on in software development world,
>>just sleeping for 10 years seems like better prospect then doing what we do.
>>
>>If someone told me 20 years ago that one day most exciting 'development' in my life
>>will be that of my own GARDEN I would probably became gardener right away! ;))
>
>I suppose that depends on why you went into the business of writing software.
>A while ago a woman at a client called and told me that she had been spending two days a month preparing that spreadsheet to email to one of their clients and wanted to know if there was any way that the computer could do it.
>The source data was in SQL Server tables in her main VFP processing system, so it was a snap to add a VFP program to her menu that she can run every month to create that spreadsheet and email it. ( once again I used the invaluable book on Office Automation co-authored by Tamar Granor and Della Martin)
>That woman is stretched thin, so any time she can save is especially valuable.
>I walked her through the program yesterday and when we were finished she let out a yelp and said:
>"Bill, that's fantastic."
>I'll present a nice bill for it and the client will be very happy to pay it.
>That's why I went into this business and that's why I still love it.

That part of the job I still enjoy as well :) VFP indeed does some little miracles of which I can provide you myself with about 6-7 tons of (anegdotal) evidence. {g} That is why I love it and still use it on a daily bases :)

However, (besides the age) my tiredness and boredom comes from the feeling that today development has been made so so complex and constrained that almost kills all the joy of doing it. General direction is web development / cloud (in a sandbox / detached from database) and strongly typed languages (NET). As result you have what you have;
Elephant size frameworks, restrictive languages and technologies that are IMO detached from real essence of applying computers and software which is to make day2day things more simple and foremost cost effective. Compare the complexities and costs of developing/deploying/maintaining an average suite of typical business apps (ERP solution) between (proper) VFP approach and what is today in fashion like NET/JAVA/SAP/DYNAMICS etc and you will understand what I am talking about. The way things are done nowadays I prefer becoming full time gardener or restaurateur... {g}

My prediction is that in about 5-10 years time things will progress (self-correct) in a way that either M$/NET platforms will get adjusted to make more business sense (and)or there will be some new technologies emerging that make things possible in a much more practical/cheaper ways.
Till then long live VFP!

Cheers :)