I don't think that you have tried out Borland's latest C++ Builder. As far as database development goes, it blows VFP5 right out of the water, no comparison. (I have not tried VFP6, so I can't comment there.) You would be surprised to see how much tools like that have advanced. You can create a database app with not having to type much code, and if you do, it has code completion to really help you along if you are a little shaky on C++ syntax.