Hi Bill,

Glad you took the time to elaborate. You state it exactly as I see it (but was far too lazy to write).

Cheers,

Jim N

>>Problem is that this can create an army of half-baked programmers that know a little of this and a little of that and do not master anything. This will be reflected in their delivered projects and customers will bear the pain. I've seen this happen all too many times. These types of programmers may be more marketable in the short-run, but usually wind-up giving themselves and/or the programming tool a bad name.
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>>While there are a few who are exceptionally talented in more than one programming language, this is the exception and not the rule. Others could accomplish it, but the time required to do so would take away from other things - little things like eating, sleeping, working on real-world projects, etc..
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>>IMHO, anyone (including Microsoft) who promotes the idea that all programmers should try to learn more than one programming language is actually promoting a diservice to customers.
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>Hear, hear. I've met a ton of programmers who are jacks-of-all-trades, but masters of none. They take a course, read a book, write the stereotypical sample application (CD library, video store, contact manager, you know the kind), and WHAMMO! They think they can call themselves a programmer in that particular language. They do that two or three times, and they claim that they can write programs in VB, VFP, VC, and claim they can do it on the Windows platform-of-the-month, all within a year of getting out of college, the military, or whatever dead-end job they were in beforehand.
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>Sorry, folks, it just don't work like that.
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>If you are working an average programmer's schedule (8-10 hrs/day, 5-6 days/wk), it will take you about a year to two years to truly master ONE programing language. It took me about a year and half to really master the nuances of Visual FoxPro, to the point that I could train others in it's use and be the VFP resource in my company, and that was after 5 years of FPD/FPW 2.x. Multiply that time by 4 (VFP, VB, VC++, plus the operating system of your choice), and you have the sort of well-rounded solutions provider that Microsoft is shooting for....and it only took you 5 or 6 years! Meanwhile, Microsoft has released versions 7, 8, 9, and 10 of Visual Studio, completely changing their priorities.
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>I'm not saying that we should all be one-trick ponies, and with the uncertainty in VFP's future, we should start on a second language sooner rather than later. However, don't expect it to happen overnight. Use VFP to earn your bread and butter 5 days a week, and take some small side projects, or assume a lesser role in a larger team project. As a consultant, this may be difficult to do by yourself. Subcontract your services through a larger company, or look for a subcontractor yourself, someone who will take the lead programming role in the project, and let you learn from them.
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>Realize that it will take time to become an expert in your new language. You may have to turn down work rather than do a slipshod job. However, you're working toward a long-term solution, not a quick way to stick a new language feather in your cap. After 6 months to a year of this, you'll be ready. Accept the fact that at some point, you will be doing less and less VFP, and more and more VB/VC++. By that point, you will be ready for it, and with the developer skills you have from VFP and your side projects, you'll be ready. Programmers are a dime a dozen, but software developers who can look beyond the Microsoft hype to the core of a business's needs are priceless.
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>The important thing is to choose one language (or two at the most), learn it inside and out, develop in it better than these pick-a-language-any-language hacks, and be willing to defend it when a less-informed person asks you why you're not using Visual Hoopla version 9.999.
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>Earlier, someone made the argument that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Well, when the time comes to build your house, and nails need to be pounded, would you rather have a chrome-plated Craftsman hammer that is a reliable tool, or a Swiss army knife?
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>Bill