John,

>Doug
>
>>>put that energy into pushing this product forward.<<
>
>With respect, how, exactly, do you suggest that people here should "push the product forward?"

Well, commit to being the best developers that they are able. That will reflect on their VFP-based efforts, teach them some good disciplines and, when (not if) VFP reaches the natural end of its existence (as defined by market forces) those developers will be better able to move forward.

All this fretting will have little or no effect on the market. The market will decide when VFP should end it's existence. I actually think it will some day but I have absolutely no worries about this as I know I carry my development competency with me, not the product I use.

>
>FYI I poured huge energy into promoting VFP some years ago. I took on Jeff Winchell as strenuously as I could, at quite a personal cost. I wrote papers about really cool national registries we did with VFP, wrote to magazines, addressed Microsoft, and generally promoted VFP. Result: competitors told clients I "actually used VFP!" as if that is a silly thing to do. Gartner was paraphrased and quoted repeatedly. MS damned with faint praise.

Sure, we all know and agree that more could be done. Getting more done is IMO not accomplished by hand-wringing. Just do your job well. If you want to use another product go use it. For goodness sakes - this strikes me as about as important as arguing when a particular tool manufacturere is going to stop making a particular saw. Just use the saw and the manufacturere still might dump the line but the need for saws will never go away. Who gives a rip whether we use VFP or any other product as long as we have the necessary tools to meet the needs of those we serve? That's my angle. I just think that VFP is going to be around for some time.

>
>I came to realise that by myself, I was just being "King Canute". With no prospect of improvement I moved the company to Java (which is another story!)
>
>So where next? I'm all ears. It seems to me that "somebody" has to target decision-makers in business if the product is to make its way. Who will do it?

For goodness sakes.. Use VFP as long as you are able and it gives you the tools you need to do what you need. As for tomorrow? There are enough troubles today for me to fret over that. Should I be prepared? Sure. Say I tell you to learn VB. What are it's chances of being in the future what it is now? About the same as VFP's are I'd suppose.

IOW, I totally understand the need to look over the horizon but I fear that we may have gotten our perspectives a bit too weighted there rather than meeting today's needs today - and in the process, by effectively using this tool (saw <g>) we call VFP in such a fashion as to demonstrate that it can and does meet day-to-day business needs, enhancing it's chances of living for another business cycle.

Remember, we developers, by nature, are paid to look 'over the horizon', but that's no reason to not be clear-headed about today.

Today VFP lives. VFP 7 is just about ready to be released. VFP8 is on the drawing boards. John Koziol just went to work for the team (ie. they are growing) and from what Craig says VFP is making $$ for MSFT. That is enough to satisfy my business sense. However, if I can free my schedule I'm spending next Monday at an all-day Delphi/Kylix event to get a sense of what they are about.

That's how I deal with these issues.