The following is a message from Compuserve (Jan 4/96) from George F. Goley IV in reponse to a question regarding the recurring question "Which is better Visual Basic or Visual Foxpro?" I have received a lot of requests for this info since I mentioned in on the UT a few months ago.

Although the info is getting a bit dated, it is still quite relevant.

George has given me permission to post this info, he just requested that I give Micro Endeavors web site address. So here it is...

http://www.microendeavors.com

I hope that everyone finds this as useful as I have.

P.S. Thanks George.

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MS offers 5 development tools that can be used in conjunction to create a variety of inter-operable business applications. When called upon by Microsoft sales office to meet with large clients, among the first questions asked is, what is the best MS tool for development? Since Micro Endeavors is an outside firm, and since Microsoft is more or less request to say "It depends, they're all good", MS clients place great store in MEI's opinions.

Clients and MS sales reps are both looking for simple answers to what is an obviously complex question. Our response is to list the 5 development products, identifying how each can/should be used to develop business applications. These lists are designed to present the 5 tools as an "integrated" set of tools that can work together to produce enterprise-wide business solutions.

Here is the list:

Access:
Features:
1. Best Report Writer
2. Eastiest for non-professionals to use
Best Uses:
1. Report and Ad-Hoc Query writer for endusers to VFP, VB and Access
2. Creation of "personal" applications managing local data, often by power users

Visual Basic:
Features:
1. Smallest footprint of high-level languages
2. Can create OLE objects
3. Excellent OLE integration
Best Uses:
1. Creation of non-data intensive business apps
2. Creation of modest-sized client/server apps
3. Creation of small-footprint apps
4. Create of OLE controls for inclusion in VFP apps
5. Creation of non-data intensive Office Automation apps using Office

Visual C++:
Features:
1. Greatest performance
2. Best control of low-level functionality
Best Uses:
1. Creat OCX's and DLLs that can be used in VFP, VB and Access applications
2. Create commercial, non-data oriented applications

SQL Server:
Features:
1. Data security
2. Robust transactions
3. Automatic data replication
4. Good transaction performance
Best Uses:
1. Data source for line-of-business VFP apps, smaller VB apps, ad-hoc Access users
2. High-volume transaction oriented applications
3. Storage of sensitive information
4. Data source for WAN-based applications

Visual Foxpro:
Features:
1. Only high-level language with Inheritance, Polymorphism, Encapsulation. (OOP support for high-maintainability, and rapid application development)
2. Fastest local data engine (query speed actually excees SQL Server in most common operations)
3. Best data manipulation language (seamless integration of Xbase and SQL)
4. Excellent ODBC and OLE support
5. Ability to write apps that seamlessly utilize either local or remote date (allows user to start with f/s and upsize to c/s if needed)
Best Users:
1. Creation of enterprise-wide, client/server, line-of-business applications (takes advantage of OOP, performance and optional local data storage)
2. Creation of Data Warehouses that combine SQL Server's transaction processing and security with VFP's superior query speed, flexibility, and local data storage
3. Creation of departmental, client/server or file server based, line of business apps
4. Creation of Decision Support Systems using c/s or f/s backends.
5. Database oriented office automation projects that utilize Microsoft Office.

If the client needs it summarized even further, it goes like this:

Access for ad-hoc reporting and personal apps.
VC++ to build OCXs.
VB for small footprint, and non-data intensive apps.
SQL Server for sensitive, WAN and high-transaction apps.
VFP for lin-of-business applications

The MS sales rep can sell all 5 products to a client with the following pitch:

Use VFP as the core language for business app building.
Use VC++ to build OCXs to use in VFP and VB apps.
Use Access as an ad-hoc report write for endusers.
Let endusers use Access or VFP for their own, personal apps.
User SQL Server as a backend to VFP and VB applications.
Use VB for non-data intensive, small footprint, distributed apps.

To use and example, at Micro Endeavors, our new office systems will include:

1. Seminar tracking system written in VFP, using SQL server and DBFs for data storage
2. Pop-up timesheet program for developers written in VB, using SQL server as the backend.
3. Sophisticated project management, estimating and timesheet tracking system written in VFP, using SQL server and DBFs for data storage
4. Ad-hoc reporting of all of this info using VFP and Access95.
5. Enhanced graphing and communications using DLLs and OCXs written in VC++.

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Well there it is. Let the comments fly. :-)