>>>Fully support Michels hint to use data dictionary as bedrock of any DB application - which is part of my beef with any paradigma argueing for code instead of DB first.
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>>>If you are NOT using xCase or something similar in your tool chain whenever more than a dozen tables are involved you are doing the equivalent of entering a Biathlon barefoot with a blowgun ;-))
>>>
>>>Hank has integrated xCase into most of his development efforts and has written a couple of posts on the benefits of hoisting defaults, validations and similar things from backend to biz and GUI layers transparently in vfp (and Liania, where the same arguments and often almost same code apply). Perhaps ask him nicely for a compiled list of his old posts if you do not use a DD and such elevations already.
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>>Thomas, thank you for your suggestion. I am sure I am not using many tools that would make the application (and my work) more stable, better maintainable, etc. But I am not sure if I have time or mental capacity to take on these tasks, at this point. I feel like I am drowning and you are suggesting that learning to navigate a 100 foot boat would make my future so much more brighter :)
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>Well, if you are drowning, you can only expect to be thrown telephone lines with customers wanting more features ;-)
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>I think I have identified a few patterns of better practice, like MVVM being superior to MVC or putting schemas, defaults and rules as close to the DB as possible. Some of the "revolutionary" concepts discovered by/in JS fwks today like Redux normalizing data to single source of truth for many local GUI components feel conceptualy very close to things I have argued for in my layered designs turn of the century...
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>Concentrating on best practice, good protocols (usage) and clean architecture is for me the best way to reach my goals well ahead of others with less effort - which in my book is a benefit if reached in programing.
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>Think of using a Data Dictionary as a way to secure freight is tightened down on a boat in heavy waters: a bit more effort up front, but worth it ;-)

Thank you.