>Interesting and insightful analysis, although I think you are brushing aside too quickly the whole Web Services area, in which VFP components fit very well.
>

Perhaps, lets see...


>
Web Services via SOAP/XML are part of the overall .NET scheme, although they can be built with or without the .NET framework and languages.
>

Inside the .Net framework, I would use VB. Why? Because from the web forms to the components, it all meshes together. VB was built on that/for that framework. Outside the .Net framework, yes, VFP would be the call.

Remember: Inclusio unius est exclusio alterius

This is why I think VFP should be excised from Visual Studio. It is a good tool that can stand on its own. To survive, it needs to get out of the shadow of Visual Studio.


>No need to take away the data engine for Web Services.

True, but the data engine is all but irrelevant with web services.

>
True. The not-so-subtle message to the corporate world, once again, is forget Fox. Meanwhile, many of us will be VERY busy creating fast-to-develop and fast-performing Web Services for consumption by corporate and not-so-corporate clients. Rick's wwSOAP classes will be out in a few weeks, and we'll be off and running, delivering solutions NOW that continue to amaze clients with their speed and scalability.
>

>
We can easily break out parts of our web apps into services with just a few lines of code. Sometimes that will be all that's needed to convince a corporate decision-maker, and sometimes it won't be. In that case, you use what they want to use, or find another client. Life goes on, and there's still plenty of exciting work to do for years to come with clients who can recognize a bargain when they see it.
>

>Personally, I'm not worried at all about my future contract possibilities, because I'll keep learning new stuff, and keep using the best tools again and again. Often that best tool has been (and may continue to be) VFP with Web Connection and/or related technologies.
>
>>It is all over now...except for the crying....
>
>Funny, I'm smiling... all the way to the bank ..... :-)


A healthy attitude indeed. It is the one to have..