Actually, you make an excellent point. Just as we could learn a few dozen commands we might as well learn basic skills with another language.

If I read you correctly, the best way to extend a known language is by learning another language and use both. Interesting idea...

Imo, the java phenomenon obeys to the fact that this industry has become hype-driven. Sun followed Goebel's motto of repeating something enough to make it beleavable and made java a credible contender by chanting the "write once run anywhere" mantra ad nauseam.

Since java came out no one has been able to give an economically and strategically sound answer to my questioning of what the #$@*$@#($ is the point of a language that can run on any platform if 99% of the platforms in use is Windows?

On top of that, a friend that goes to one of those java-only colleges complains that it's slow as molasses and is aching to learn c++.

At first MS touted C# as it's answer to java, but that sounds like utter BS in the light of MS' decision to now create J.net.

alex


>If VFP were a part of .NET, wouldn’t it need a new set of scripting command and it own set of tags. What difference does it make whether I as a VFP developer learn a new set of VFP Scripting command or I learn a new set of scripting command in some other language? I certainly have plenty of choices. Let me see, I can use C, C++, C#, J#, or VB. Is that about it if I want to be a strictly windows shop. Also, I could use perl, or Sun’s Java as a scripting language. These two can be easily adopted for use in Linux and UNIX in addition to running in windows. Microsoft has made VFP7 very capable of being a database provider much like MsSQL. VFP7 can be a provider via ADO OLE DB to an Access, VB, C or C++, etc front end. Doesn’t this mean I could use perl, with the proper ODBC DBI to access a VFP7 table using a client browser interface.
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>Also, Microsoft has written C# as a major refinement of its C++ language in answer to the Java threat. It is my understanding that many universities are replacing C++ with the Java language in teaching their computer science curriculum because it is a purer implementation of the OOP model with better memory management (e.g. garbage collection) than is C++. Microsoft will try to meet the Java threat by creating a better OOP, memory management, easier, friendlier and usable language in the form of C#. Also, it is my understanding the Microsoft will make C# open so it would be available for use in Linux and UNIX.
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>I will continue to use VFP as my primary language of choice. In the event that I need to learn some other language to implement a feature of Net, I will have to choose a second language. Since I don’t have a crystal ball, I can’t know which language to choose as a second language for .NET. I like perl because I’ve used it a lot in Linux, UNIX and Windows. C# would also be good. Any thoughts?
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>The opinions expressed here a strictly mine.
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>Leland.