>Yes, but why? I am certainly not going to use the DE for any type of data binding. With the DE how do you manage your connections? How do you implement connection pooling, etc., in MTS or COM+? How much work is it if you need to switch a large app to another database (is it a matter of a couple of lines of code or a couple of lines in an INI file)? How do you scale easily from the desktop to the enterprise or to the internet?

Well, I am not a VB expert but I want to return back the question to you. Isn't it the same with hardcoded, changing the Provider or ODBC driver pinpointing the location of the server, and/or database? In the same way, the DE can also be manipulated programmatically because its properties are exposed. Unlike VFP's DE, VB's DE is an object which can be manipulated on the fly. DE is just a visual representation of ADO Data Control but the same methodology exists, I think.

DE_DBServer1.Connection1.Open = "Something"