>Hi Craig,
>
>Thanks for the reply. Isn't there a performance hit when using ADO with native VFP? I've played around a bit with ADO, based on Jim Booth's article and Markus Egger's discussion in his new book, but I must be missing something - I don't really see how it offers an advantage over ODBC/SQL if you're using external data. It seems less "databasey" to me. This is probably my naivite, but to me, it doesn't get much easier than ODBC combined with SQL, and I can easily bind my results to grids (which I don't use often, but still, the need is there). Perhaps I haven't yet experienced a difficult ODBC connection that is looming out there somewhere.

This won't work for an n-tier solution. You can bind ADO to any VFP control except the grid. You can use an ActiveX control for that. ODBC is a technology to connect to relational databases. What happens when you need query data from Exchange, or the directory, or a text file? ADO can handle this for you.


>
>I've been following some of the threads about the new technologies and being left behind, and I'm not sure I'm sold on it. Contrary to some prevailing thoughts, I believe that it makes more sense to learn what you need to learn when you need to learn it, so you can focus your energies on being really good at the things you do know. It's just a matter of opinion. There's a fine line I like to tread between using cutting edge technology, and falling behind.

I prefer to be proactive rather than reactive.

>
>I do see your point about putting the non-UI tiers on an application server. I agree, and I've made that jump, but using a browser interface with WWWeb Connect running on the server rather than a VFP front end. Fortunately, my clients have been sold on this model. There are some drawbacks, but I think there are even more advantages. It's hard to argue against a platform independent client, especially one that's not linked to a particular machine.
>
>Anyway - thanks again for the feedback. I found your n-Tier lecture extremely valuable and well presented. I learned a lot. Thanks.

Glad I could be of help.