>> I agree with programming to be ready for SQL based backends/client-server, but the cost benefit is just not there. For one, client-server requires usually an even more robust network, and far more powerful servers as well.
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>totally not true ! (unless you are at a microsoft only place of business) or oracle only shop. You pick up get many FREE SQL servers if you like, to run on WIn200 or Linux such as Postgres, Interbase, Mysql and if you know anything about linux, you know its free, and (trouble free once you get it running.) a simple 1,500 box can run easily 25 users, and you can get it alreay preconfigured, with with everthing running in under 15 minutes. Of course you could feel better going with the ms sql server (sure its eaiser intergratation) with vfp, using the upsizing wizard etc.. But you can lease out server space on someone else's server, at an isp, or asp.
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>MS sql server is not cheap, and the user licence's are not inexpensive either. as you pointed out and personally I feel thats the main reason that more of us vfp'er are not going that direction. So you comment about cost is debatable.

I'm not talking about the cost of the database server. But rather the cost of administering it. Any database server is going to require at LEAST a part time database administrator to run it. I have not seen one yet that didn't take a good bit of time to keep up and running. Native tables can usually be handled by someone who can follow instructions without the high pay level of a DBA. And remember, many Govt and large corporations won't even consider stuff thats free (even though they are usually as good or better than the pay for stuff) so that goes out the door too. Many of the organizations we deal with just don't have the resources to support Client Server stuff, and since the cost of the database server is typically the smallest portion of the cost, my statement still stands. As a matter of fact, the chunnel was done with VFP databases because they REQUIRED 24/7 operation with 0 downtime. They could do it with VFP tables by proper segmentation of the data, so that they could deail with maint issues on data that could be offline when not needed. They couldn't do that with any of the database servers available.

BTW the backup issue is a red herring, since there are scores of backup products that can/will back up files that are in use without any problem.