Hi Mark..

For the most part, comparing VFP and SQL Server is like comparing apples and oranges. There is a very precise meaning as to what constitutes a datbase benchark. For example, there are the TPC benchmarks (A, B, C, D). In order to compare DB's, benchmarks have to be fairly uniform and standard. And as you might have guessed, you cannot run the sort of benchmarks used to compare DB's like SQL Server, Oracle, etc in VFP.

In some cases, VFP will be faster. In other cases, SQL will be faster. SOmetimes the difference is not signficant. Sometimes there is a signficiant difference. VFP and SQL are very different beasts. SQL scales in ways that VFP could only dream of. That of course is not to say that VFP's data model is inferior - it is not. Rather, it is different.

The most powerful combination is to use SQL Server as a data store and VFP's local engine for data-manipulation and presentation. Of course, if you don't need to rely on VFP's local engine, then ADO/XML is a great alternative.

I guess this is my long-winded way of saying to steer clear of the whole VFP vs. SQL Server argument... :)