I wouldn't dream of writing an app that wasn't web possible any more! And I learned that the @..say routines work best when I need to get data driven input!

easy to say

do case
case m && name invalid
@ 1,1 say "who" get name
case n && date invalid
@ 1,1 say "when" get date
endcase

PLUS I can store this in a .dbf , and use a macro to run each line at run time!

changing a prompt, and linking the input of a text box to different data sources is error prone, so why make it more difficult than it nees to be?

many of my pricing modules prompt for missing input part way through, and @..say means I can make a change to a control table and instantly a variables can be modified in the compiled app! Yes, it IS possible using a form, but I estimate it's about 10 times more work, and requires a recompile and redistribution of the .exe

And no, data validation is NOT an option, we want to take ALL the orders, we'll sort out missing details at fulfillment time! the business rules aren't known in advance, new products mean new rules! So rather than crash, we just pop a window & fix the problem!

So I keep using the @..SAY in a window to get info on the fly. not pretty, but it pays more per hour! And allows simpler remote maintenance.

Possibly a special case, but a very useful one

mike