Hi all,

My next project is to built a sales/customer support application, all data is VFP and it will be VFP only for a year more or so , then we will go for SQL Server maintaining VFP for the middle tier.

The client have Winframe (based in NT 3.51, no Terminal Server/Metaframe yet) running aplications in VFP and FoxPro DOS.
9 countries are accessing those apps, dial ups for some and with leased and expensive lines for others.

I wrote the middle tier for their new Web site -we use Web Connection, of course- and it is alive and working very well.

For x reasons, they want to mantain both solutions, and we need to upgrade the apps in Winframe.
The actual problem is poor perceived performance because VFP screen refreshes are slow in that environment; VB is a better choice for the UI there and we will use it for that. VFP will be in the middle for data retrieval/processing and storage (again, for a aprox. a year more).

So I need to pass data between VB and VFP.

Not being BV literate, I went to the gurus for advice, having reading for 6 weeks almost everything in Rick Strahl's Web site (thanks a lot for all those tons of information, Rick) and 2 times JVP's 'ADO Jumpstart..', now I'm informed but undecided about which option is better: ADO, XML, COM data objects, dump dbfs in temp folders and access them with ODBC, a combination of some of them?...

'Better' is subjective, sure, but being with the fox from foxbase, to me speed is critical. Additionally, having fast screen refreshes with VB but overall slow data process because data conversions doesn't inprove anything.

And that is my first question:

What is the fastest method for passing data betw VB and VFP?

I'm running out of time for testing, so any help, advise and/or insight from your experience, UT friends, will be greatly appreciated..


TIA

Agustin.