>>In order to convert an application, there needs to be a sound business case. As others have mentioned, converting just for the sake of having a newer platform is not a legitimate reason; that reason often can be translated as 'developer trying to bill and create revenue.' Even if it is not that kind of situation, there is no excuse for an IT person to advocate moving a software application to a new platform for the sake of the platform. It is NEVER acceptable to rewrite an application solely for the sake of a new platform. The reason it is never acceptable is it is not possible to present a business case for such a conversion. (the most offensive example is a developer who wants to move to a new platform because they have skills in that particular platform as opposed to other platforms)
>>
>>Now for an actual business case for conversion, there would have to be a cost-benefit. First there would have to be a tangible goal or result(s) that would be accomplished by leaving platform A and recreating the application on platform B. Both leaving the current platform and the move to the new platform must be considered and must meet the business case. A conversion is by nature expensive and requires time, money, and effort. It affects typically many users. So one must ask - for spending this much money and expending this much effort and disrupting this many users, what is the exact detailed benefit? And then, is that benefit worth the cost?
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>>A business case by nature considers the only people whose needs matter - the end users/company/client.
>>
>>So a business case requires one to be able to clearly state:
>>a) the concrete end-user benefits of leaving platform A
>>b) the concrete end-user benefits of selecting platform B as a new platform
>>c) a comparison of possible platform B's and each of their concrete benefits to the end-user
>>d) the concrete end-user benefits of the new converted application as compared to the old application
>>e) the costs involved, including money, time, and disruption of moving to one of the potential platform B's.
>>f) whether the costs in e) are worth the benefits
>>
>>I have seen many potential conversion situations and have been responsible for analyzing and/or reviewing them. And I have yet to see an example of converting VFP to .Net that even comes close to meeting the business case requirements. Whether it is internal IT people or external consultants advocating a change, it is irresponsible -- and often immoral -- to implement a conversion that cannot be justified via a business case.
>>
>>I grant there may be somewhere out there a justifiable switch from a VFP app to .Net, but I have never seen one.
>>
>>
>Excellent points, Tuvia.
>Here's another factor that my clients raise.. availability of support for VFP applications.
>It's intangible, but it's what clients ask about.
>When I was aggressively selling Foxpro applications during the 1990's on Long Island, when a client asked about support if I hit the Lotto and retired to a beach in Hawaii, I'd quip:
>"Fire a rifle in any direction from the center of Long Island and you'll hit at least a dozen Foxpro programmers"
>That usually settled that issue in the client's mind.
>Today, that metaphorical shooter would have to take at least a dozen shots before hitting one VFP programmer who's working on learning another language.
>That's a real concern.
>
>I agree that I've never seen a case where the tangible benefits were worth the cost of a full conversion
>Also- full conversions often fail because business changes rapidly and major business changes usually happen during the course of the conversion and change all the specifications so laboriously compiled.
>
>Converting incrementally as business needs change minimizes that risk at almost no cost - the software has to change one way or the other- and it begins to address the intangible issue I mentioned.

Hen and egg story:
No one wants to collect the garbage but as long as households will produce garbage there'll some folks out there to do the job.

The real question is how much value one can get from a specific platform over time; Microsoft has decided not to add any additional value to VFP, no worries, you have many initiatives continuing the job: VFPx, 64-bit compiler, west-wind web connect, CleverFox, FoxFire, FoxInCloud, etc.