>My company is looking at the future for database development. We are debating between VFP and Visual Basic. Any thoughts Pro / Con would be appreciated.
>
>Thank You.

Rich,

I would advise your staff to become proficient in VB/SQL as well. There certainly is a larger demand for these technologies in the market - VFP is rather a niche market and I'd hate to be confined to such a small market if I were a development company.

In addition, make sure you and your staff are familiar with web development in IIS. Many organizations are looking at porting their network and client/server apps to their intranet or even the www. Therefore, learning ASP, VBScript and JavaScript would be most beneficial.

But wait, there's more. In terms of enterprise database systems and the web, the "Microsoft Camp" comprises the minority share and more companies are embracing the Oracle/Sun platforms. I personally intend to get up to speed with VB/SQL/ASP etc. but I would be foolish if I didn't learn Java and become more proficient with Oracle. You'll notice that many developers on the UT are fluent in all these technologies and languages in order to guarantee their success in getting good projects from their customers. Sure, you'll always find work in VFP/FoxPro but the type of work may not always be that glamorous (i.e. maintenance, support, analysis etc.) I myself prefer to develop new apps than work on existing ones.

There's also a lot of concern about Microsoft's volatility as a company given the fact that they're currently involved in a break-up appeal and several class-action lawsuits. I'm frankly a little nervous about only being adept in Microsoft's technologies because I'm not so sure where they'll be in a few years. And what's with this new .NET thing? I'm not sure where that's going either to tell you the truth. At least with Java/Sun you know they're not going to turn their entire paradigm upside down.

Best of luck and enjoy the excitement of your new endeavors!

-JT