>If you were looking into using VFP as an alternative to Access or VB and browsed through the threads on the UT, What would your opinion of the future of VFP be?

I work for a fairly large consulting firm. Although I have done two major VFP projects, this is entirely because it was the Client's tool of choice.

The default, defacto tool set here is VB and SQL Server. When new projects are bid, estimated, considered, it is always VB.

VFP is only considered if the client has it on their list. I think this is a mistake, especially with Internet development, but that's the way it is. I am doing my best to change views, and it is working a little.

Most of our clients are large companies(1000+ employees). They want VB. Cost is not a factor. I mean, it is, but only relative to VB. Can your company build a VB system for less than company b. It doesn't matter that this cost may be double or triple the cost of a VFP solution. IT DOESN'T MATTER!

VFP will hold it's own where cost does matter. I see this in small companies when the solution cost is important, not the tool. VFP has always excelled in this area and will continue to do so. It is a RAD tool for database development that can produce excellent results in a cost competitive way.

If you were building a bring to market system you would want to do it with a tool that provides quick results, easy to distribute and easy to support and maintain.

What I see a lot of big companies asking is:
How long will it take to build in VB?
How much will it cost to build in VB?
What is the labour supply of VB programmers?

Small cost conscious companies ask:
How long will it take?
How much will it cost?

The big companies are lost to VFP unless there is a marketing revolution or some really great success stories that can get it another look.

So the question is, are there still small companies who want cost effective solutions? As long as these companies exist, VFP will have an excellent future!