>Bob,
>
>>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?
>
>I think what you're saying makes sence, I never looked at it this way. Maybe we should learn a lesson to what you're saying and market VFP as the Tool that could do things just cheaper and faster than VB and Access and don't say thing like VFP is more advanced or more OO than other languages.
>
>Visual FoxPro .... The cheapest, fastest and most solid solution.
>
>hmmm.....
>
>What do you think ?
>
>
>Regards , Walter

I don't think the developer's get to make the choice anymore. If you're called into a company to build something new for them and then walk away, what tool will they want you to use if they have their own crew of 10 VB developers?

A friend of mine has a payroll system that is in FPW and has been in use since foxbase+. He sold it to a company he is now a partner in and they are converting it in, guess what? VB. It needs to be converted and a VB conversion will take at least a year longer. This company spent a year building VB components that essential mimic a DBC. Why? Because they are a VB shop. All their products are VB so why have some oddball VFP system that can only be supported by a VFP person and not one of the many VB'ers.

The downside of course is cost and time. To you and I, and maybe others, that may be extremely significant. For a lot of other people, that is not what matters the most.

So comparing VB to VFP is irrelevant. It doesn't matter which one is better.

Some companies require you to have a base capitalization of say $20 million before they will buy your software. If your company is too small, you won't be eligible to sell them your software. It doesn't matter how good your software is. That is not relevant.

The VFP niche is different from the VB one. I think the selling focus (from a developer standpoint) is on small companies where the advantages of the tool are considered important. (It will cost you less to do it this way. You will have a more robust system.) If time is of the essence....